Home | Health | Nutrition

The Benefits Of Eating Seeds

By: Linda Lazarides

Read More About Nutrition

Seeds are a bit like eggs in the animal kingdom – rich in protein, healthy oils and other nutrients needed for the plant to nourish itself until it can grow roots to obtain nourishment from the soil. Compared with lean beef, sunflower seeds provide nearly twice as much protein, and Brazil nuts yield nearly three times as much of the amino acid methionine – a vital aid to your liver’s detoxification work. Brazil nuts are also the best source of selenium.

Many seeds, sunflower seeds and nuts in particular, are also rich in arginine, an amino acid which boosts the blood vessel relaxer nitric oxide. Nitric oxide helps to control blood pressure and relieve angina. Peanuts yield four times as much arginine as eggs.

Lentils and beans are not rich sources of methionine or arginine, but are an excellent source of the amino acid lysine, which helps protect us from viruses and turn fat into energy; so it’s a good idea to eat a variety of seeds in order to get a good spread of amino acids.

Unlike meat, unprocessed seeds have many extra benefits: essential polyunsaturated oils, fibre, B vitamins, magnesium and other minerals. Oats, whole grain wheat, nuts and soy beans are some of the best sources of magnesium, which is often lacking in the modern processed diet.

Polyunsaturated oils are needed by cell membranes, which allow nutrients into cells and waste products out. They also help keep our red blood cells flexible enough to pass through narrow blood vessels and nourish “hard-to-reach” parts of our body like eyes and ears. Blackcurrant, borage, evening primrose and flax seeds contain particularly active oils and are made into supplements.

Therapeutic seeds

Fenugreek
Researchers have found that fenugreek seeds can make insulin work better in diabetics by up to 50 per cent. Fenugreek seeds are also rich in mucilage, and once ground up and soaked in hot water you can eat them to soothe the digestive system. In Chinese medicine fenugreek seeds are used as a yang tonic. This helps to increase overall vitality..

Pumpkin seeds
Plant oestrogens are good for women, and pumpkin seeds are good for men.. They can help to treat an enlarged prostate, and can also treat worms. Like nuts and sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds promote good prostate health with their rich supply of protein, zinc and essential polyunsaturated oils. But one of the oils in pumpkin seeds, known as delta-7-sterol, is particularly useful as it can both block the uptake of and mimic the male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT).

Celery seeds
Celery seeds contain coumarin, a substance that helps to release water retention. Much of the pain of arthritis can be due to swelling from retained fluid around a joint, and celery seeds are one of the very best remedies for this condition. They are also a rich source of natural plant sodium. Some scientists believe that plant sodium reduces inflammation by neutralising the harmful effects of the inorganic sodium found in salt.

Fennel and caraway seeds
These help to prevent intestinal gas and spasms, and are often added to cabbage dishes or made into a tea.

With all this good news about seeds, are there any drawbacks? The answer is yes. Raw seeds contain a number of mild natural toxins to protect them from predators, including:
-- Lectins, which if absorbed into our bloodstream make cells clump together
-- Phytic acid, which binds to iron and zinc in our food, preventing absorption
-- Enzyme inhibitors, which partly deactivate our digestive juices and make our pancreas work harder
-- Goitrogens, which are not good for our thyroid.

Cooking helps to break down some of these toxins. For instance some poisonous lectins found in beans are deactivated by fast-boiling the beans for ten minutes. Baking wholemeal flour with yeast reduces phytic acid. Soaking or cooking raw grains helps to reduce enzyme inhibitors. So real Swiss muesli is never eaten straight from the packet - the grains are always soaked first..

But the best way to neutralise most seed toxins is to germinate the seeds. This not only reduces toxins but increases the nutritional value of seeds.

As seeds germinate, enzymes break the protein down into free amino acids, which are easy to absorb. Lectins, phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors are reduced to much lower levels. Starch is turned to sugar, oils are reduced, vitamin C is created, and B vitamins rise. What does this mean? Seeds which have been sprouted are a very good source of highly digestible protein, carbohydrate, vitamins and minerals. Since many people today suffer from nutritional deficiencies and bowel problems linked to poor digestion, they are strongly recommended to turn to sprouted grains and pulses. In rat experiments, this type of diet has been used to heal colitis.

And here’s some more exciting news. Research carried out at research centres has found that three-day-old sprouts of broccoli and cauliflower seeds can contain 10-100 times more of the cancer-protective chemical known as sulforaphane than the mature plants. But for fenugreek, pumpkin, celery seeds etc., it is not yet known whether sprouting would enhance or perhaps reduce their therapeutic properties.

How to sprout
Seeds which are popular for sprouting include mung beans, brown lentils, radish and alfalfa seeds. Be careful with seeds sold for planting in the garden - they may have been treated with chemicals, so for sprouting purposes it is best to buy either organic seeds, or seeds intended for human consumption. Be careful to wash organic seeds bought from garden suppliers. They have been known to carry Salmonella or E coli bacteria.

Put a handful of seeds in a jar, add plenty of water, and leave to soak overnight. In the morning tie a piece of muslin or nylon from an old pair of pantyhose securely around the neck of the jar and pour away the water through this material. Leave the seeds somewhere warm, and rinse and drain them twice a day. Sprouted lentils and beans can be cooked or eaten raw when the sprout is about ¼ inch long but alfalfa seeds are usually sprouted until they about an inch long and used in salads and sandwiches.

Article Source: http://depositarticles.com/

About the Author Linda Lazarides is a highly rated naturopathic nutrition expert specialising in the natural treatment of water retention. Her book the Amino Acid Report gives the protein content of many types of grains, nuts, seeds and pulses compared with meat, fish, yoghurt and cheese.

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Nutrition Articles Via RSS!
Additional Articles From - Home | Health | Nutrition
Sign Up for a free account.
Our other websites
All about SEO
Beauty Tips Forum
Submit Articles
Member Login
Link Us
Submission Guidelines
Ezine Notifications
Article RSS Feeds
Sitemap
New Stuff
About Us
Developer
Good shopping portal
Link to Us
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service

counter easy hit

Powered by Article Dashboard