Tejal Somvanshi
Amal Clooney’s seaweed soup breakfast sounds like an easy habit to copy. Reportedly, she has started every day for years with a warm bowl, sometimes with a boiled egg. Before you add it to your own routine, one caveat is intake over time: some seaweeds are very high in iodine, and too much over time can affect the thyroid. Here is what the reporting says, and what it leaves out.
Amal Clooney, 48, has reportedly eaten the soup for years. The routine has been picked up by several outlets, including Grazia, Heat and Woman & Home. The Korea Times, citing a Daily Mail report, identified it in July 2026 as miyeokguk. This is a Korean soup made with brown seaweed, sesame oil and garlic. A standard 300-gram bowl made with beef or dried pollock comes in at roughly 70 to 120 calories. That bowl brings fibre, iron, magnesium, calcium and iodine. On its own, it is low in protein. The routine is reported; the July 2026 identification cites a Daily Mail report.
If you copy Amal Clooney’s reported breakfast, the caveat concerns intake over time. Some seaweeds are very high in iodine, and too much over time can affect the thyroid. Harvard advises moderation, especially for anyone with a thyroid condition. The Korea Times suggests no more than one bowl of miyeokguk a day. Broth-based soups can also be high in sodium, so keep the salt in check.
What is in the bowl
In Korea, miyeokguk is a comfort food with a long tradition, often eaten on birthdays and after childbirth. Dried brown seaweed, sold as wakame or miyeok, is available in most Asian grocery stores. Karen Cummings-Palmer, an integrative health and nutrition coach, describes seaweed as rich in “iodine, iron, calcium, collagen, amino acids, and fiber,” as quoted by Vogue via Woman & Home. That is why the soup pairs well with an egg: the broth itself offers little protein. Readers can also look up miyeokguk or seaweed and iodine in our archive.
Is seaweed soup healthy? It can be, in moderation. Harvard’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health notes that seaweed is low in calories and high in fibre. It is also a source of minerals such as iodine, potassium, iron and magnesium. The cautions are iodine and, in broth-based soups, sodium. Some seaweeds are very high in it, and too much over time can affect the thyroid. Harvard advises moderation, especially for anyone with a thyroid condition.
