I am sure, off lately you might be hearing too much of super seeds around. Now, what are these super seeds? Is it something new produced or cultivated on our motherland? Of course NO!
All the trends what we see in the food industry are there because of the researchers which take place constantly to supply the population with food which can be boon to their health.
I remember my grandmother using these few seeds in many daily preparations. As we got newer products in the market, we kept these super seeds back and moved ahead to reach the world of modernization and unhealthy eating.
So when I say that our grandparents had healthy eating habits or lifestyle would be a better word. So they were able to digest better than us, they were eating more than us; they use to exercise more than us; they had better immunity than us; still, we feel that we have a better life. But this better life of convenience and luxury brings us back to the same age where our grandparents had left.
So if you discuss these super seeds with your grandparents, I am sure they will instantly give you few recipes in which they used and loved to eat them.
Seeds are like minor packets of energy. They are calorically dense. Eating the small amount of these seeds will give you immense energy and also boost up your metabolism. These seeds, in general, have high fat and protein content along with fiber. So this combination makes it more important to add to our daily diet.
The healthy dietary guideline will be to focus on different sources of proteins and healthy fats like MUFA (Mono Unsaturated Fatty Acids) and PUFA (Poly Unsaturated Fatty Acids). The super seeds provide all these. They are plant-based sources of essential amino Acids and minerals like copper, zinc, calcium, magnesium. All these nutrients have lost of importance in our diet.
Super seeds for health
Apart from these benefits, super seeds are a very rich source of dietary fibers, phytochemicals, and vitamins. These seeds have been to be very effective to improve your immunity, bone health, digestive system and also cardiovascular system.
Since these seeds are high in fiber, they are also recommended for a diabetic to control sugar, obese people to lose weight.
So let’s discuss few of the seeds
- Flaxseed: These seeds are rich in omega-3 fats and fibre. Very much advisable for dyslipidemics, diabetics and obese people. Fibre helps to make you feel full for longer period of time and omega-3 fats is healthy for your heart, brain and eyes. Flaxseed is also high is lignans, which is known o be helpful in treating few cancers.
Eat: Coarsely grind, finely powdered or finely chewed while eating so that there is better absorption of all the nutrients.
- Pumpkin Seeds: These seeds are used since ages of our forefathers. These seeds are an excellent source of Vit E, Vit B along with folate. Vit E, as we know prevents the oxidative stress in our body. So it fights to protect cells and hinder cell damage.
It is rich in proteins and healthy fats
Eat: you can grind them and add to the salads, soups, chapatti flours, cookies, stir fries etc.
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- Sunflower Seeds: These seeds are a source of all B vitamins, magnesium, zinc, iron. It is also rich in proteins, especially rich in amino acid tryptophan which helps in lower the anxiety. Pumpkin seeds are rich in essential fatty acids also to keep the cholesterol levels healthy in our body.
Eat: It can be raw or roasted form. You can add them to smoothie, shakes, soups, salads, dips, garnishing etc
(Prefer eating them raw. Heating destroys some nutritional properties and healthy oil)
super seeds benefits
- Chia Seeds: Chia seeds we have already discussed in my previous blog. Just to brief you again. These seeds are high in iron, calcium, magnesium, fiber, omega-3 fats, Folate. These seeds are helpful for bone health, cardiovascular health, cholesterol issues, and high sugar problems and for dieters also. These seeds overall boost up your health.
Eat: It can be raw or roasted form. You can add them to smoothie, shakes, soups, salads, dips, garnishing etc
(Prefer eating them raw. Heating destroys some nutritional properties and healthy oil)
How to store them?
Keep these seeds in sealed containers. Try to make some place from them away from sunlight and heat. As these seeds are high in fats (good fats), we have to make sure that they don’t go rancid. So to prevent this, store tightly wrapped in refrigerator or freezer.
These seeds can be added to foods as they don’t have any strong flavor of taste as such. These seeds add good fat and good fiber to your diet and hence makes it more healthy. You can also introduce these seeds to the kid’s diet. As this will make their meal a little more dense in calories which will help them in their developmental stage.
Presence of fat and proteins makes digestion process slow, hence it can be given to weight loss dieters and also to individuals who have long meal gaps.
These seeds are high in calories but Healthy Calories. So go for it…
RD Neha Kava
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