The answer to your friend's "success" may be in the rest of his diet.
Hiziki is a sea vegetable that is very rich in nutrients.  If your friend's
diet was poor, or lacking in nutrients, then adding Hiziki would help by
making his immune system healthier.  Or, just taking a multivitamin and
minerals might have helped as well.

ar

I've never heard of that before..

Angela

http://yoshi2me.com

Possible arsenic health risk

Several government food safety agencies advise consumers to avoid
consumption of hijiki seaweed. Tests results have indicated that levels
of inorganic arsenic were significantly higher than in other types of
seaweed. Government food safety agencies that have issued warnings
include:

the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) of Hong Kong
the Food Standards Agency (FSA) of the United Kingdom
the New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA)
Most hijiki seaweed is sold at the wholesale and restaurant levels. It
is normally eaten with other foods such as vegetables or fish. It may
be added to foods that have been steamed, boiled, marinated in soy
sauce or fish sauce, cooked in oil, or added to soup. Hijiki seaweed
may also be mixed in with rice for sushi, but is not used as a wrap to
prepare sushi.

Consumption of only a small amount of hijiki seaweed could result in an
intake of inorganic arsenic that exceeds the tolerable daily intake for
this substance. Although no known illnesses have been associated with
consuming hijiki seaweed to date, inorganic arsenic has been identified
as carcinogenic to humans, and exposure to high levels of inorganic
arsenic has been linked with gastrointestinal effects, anemia and liver
damage. People who follow a macrobiotic diet that often includes large
amounts of seaweed may be at greater risk.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiziki