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Kelp Supplements Reviewed by ConsumerLab.com

Summary

  • Do I need kelp?

    Kelp supplements may contain small amounts of a variety of vitamins and minerals, but they are primarily a source of iodine — easily providing the daily requirement in a small pill or serving of powder. (See What It Is)
  • Why take a kelp supplement for iodine?

    People are generally not deficient in iodine unless they follow a restrictive diet, avoiding iodized table salt (be aware that specialty salts are not iodized), dairy, bread, and/or seafood. However, pregnant and nursing women should supplement with iodine. You don't have to take a kelp supplement to get iodine. Taking a supplement containing potassium iodide (common in multivitamins) is just as good and may be a safer choice since you're more likely to get the listed amount of iodine, there is less likelihood of contamination with arsenic or other heavy metals, and iodine from kelp appears to be absorbed only half as well as that from a potassium iodide supplement. Nevertheless, if you prefer a natural source of iodine, a carefully chosen kelp supplement can be fine.
  • What are the other health benefits of kelp?

    Kelp supplements have been promoted for increasing energy and for weight loss. This has not been clinically proven, but such effects are possible when iodine in kelp treats underlying hypothyroidism due to iodine deficiency (See What It Does)
  • How's the quality of kelp supplements?

    You need to be very careful. ConsumerLab's tests in this Review found that half of the iodine supplements contained approximately twice as much iodine as listed on their labels, which is a safety concern. In addition, one of these was contaminated with arsenic, a toxin. It is not clear if any particular kelp plant species or harvesting location is better than another (See What CL Found).
  • Best choice of kelp supplements?

    Among the kelp supplements which contained their listed amounts of iodine and did not exceed contamination levels for arsenic or other heavy metals, CL chose one (costing just 1 cent per dose) as its Top Pick.
  • How much kelp to take?

    Adults generally need 150 mcg of iodine per day, but this increases with pregnancy and lactation. To get 150 mcg of iodine you need about 30 mg to 150 mg of kelp powder, or less if using a kelp extract (which is more concentrated in iodine) (See ConsumerTips™).
  • Safety and side effects of kelp supplements:

    Since many kelp supplements contain too much iodine and may be contaminated, you must choose a product carefully. Women who are pregnant or nursing should get iodine from a supplement containing potassium iodide rather than from a kelp supplement. (See Concerns and Cautions).

Make sure you're choosing the best kelp supplements approved in our tests!

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Alphabetical list of kelp supplement brands compared in this review

View Larger Image 5605_small_NaturalFactors-Kelp-Small-2017.jpg

Natural Factors Liquid Kelp

View Larger Image 5606_small_NaturesAnswer-Kelp-Small-2017.jpg

Nature's Answer Kelp Thallus

View Larger Image 5607_small_NaturesLife-Kelp-Small-2017.jpg

Nature's Life Icelandic Kelp

View Larger Image 5608_small_ProgressiveLaboratories-Kelp-Small-2017.jpg

Progressive Laboratories Kelp

Puritan's Pride Premium Sea Kelp

View Larger Image 5609_small_Solgar-Kelp-Small-2017.jpg

Solgar North Atlantic Kelp

View Larger Image 5610_small_SwansonPremium-Kelp-Small-2017.jpg

Swanson Kelp

View Larger Image 5611_small_TraditionalFoodsMarket-Kelp-Small-2017.jpg

Traditional Foods Market Kelp Powder

View Larger Image 5612_small_VitaminWorld-Kelp-Small-2017.jpg

Vitamin World Sea Kelp

You must be a ConsumerLab.com member to get the full test results along with ConsumerLab.com's recommendations and quality ratings of kelp supplements. You will get results for 8 supplements — 6 selected by ConsumerLab.com and two which passed the same testing through its voluntary Quality Certification Program, as well as information about one supplement similar to one that passed testing. 

In this comprehensive review, you'll discover:
  • Which kelp supplements passed and which failed our testing
  • Which kelp supplements offer the best quality and value, and which is CL's Top Pick
  • Direct comparisons and quality ratings of kelp supplements
  • Clinical evidence for what kelp supplements can and cannot do
  • How much iodine your kelp supplement should provide
  • Who should not take kelp supplements
  • Potential side-effects and concerns with kelp

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Additional Information
Tested through CL's Quality Certification Program prior to, or after initial posting of this Product Review.