Cushuro, also known as murmunta, is seaweed from the Andes and many people believe it is the “food of the future” since it has more protein than meat, more calcium than milk and more iron than a plate of lentils.
“It comes from the Ancash lagoons (more than 3,000 meters high) and helps strengthen the bones, detoxifies the body and provides collagen to the skin to improve its elasticity and strengthen the hair root”, El Tiempo said. “But that’s not all, studies claim that it can save a person from anemia and malnutrition”, they continued.
Anemia is a problem in many regions in Peru and it affects 41.1% of children under three years of age, according to one of the latest reports from the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI).
“Cushuro, known scientifically as nostoc, has been researched by the Doctor in Pharmacy and Biochemistry, Augusto Aldave Pajares, a Peruvian scientist who has traveled all the high Andean lagoons of Peru for more than 50 years”, the aforementioned media said.
This region is a natural habitat for cushuro, which also has the most essential amino acids, therefore making it better for consumption than meat.