Raw Health Benefits of Sesame Seeds:
Your Raw Food Source of Calcium and Magnesium
– by Melissa Fine
Exams, work deadlines, relationship-issues… If stress is putting knots in your neck, take a look at your diet.
Are you relying on caffeine and sugary foods to keep you going? It might be more helpful to turn to raw sesame seeds…
They’re simple, stress-relieving and oh so tasty.
Sesame Seeds for Health
No wonder these freckle-sized seeds were termed ‘the seeds of immortality’ in ancient times!
According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, 100g of these super-powered sesame seeds contains:
- 22.2g protein (for cell growth and repair, and production of antibodies, digestive enzymes and hormones).
- 21.9g monounsaturated fatty acids (these may reduce Low Density Lipoprotein cholesterol, which builds up in the blood and can clog arteries).
- 62mg calcium (for strong teeth and bones, blood clotting and regulating blood pressure).
- 340mg magnesium (for optimum bone development and metabolic processes).
- 24.4g polyunsaturated Omega-6 fatty acids (these provide linoleic acid, which the body cannot produce independently; fatty acids contribute to many body processes, including growth and development, synthesis of sex-hormones and cell-membranes, and carrying nutrients to cells).
Sesame Seeds for Anxiety
Several nutrients in sesame seeds also have stress-relieving properties:
- Magnesium and Calcium: These minerals have anti-spasmodic roles by regulating muscle function (i.e. contraction and relaxation) and nerve impulse transmission.
- Thiamin (Vitamin B1): This aids proper nerve functioning and has calming properties. A lack of this vitamin can cause muscle spasms, moodiness and depression.
- ‘Tryptophan’: This essential amino acid (one of protein’s building blocks) is a precursor for serotonin, the ‘feel-good’ neurotransmitter involved in reducing pain and regulating sleep-patterns and mood. Insufficient serotonin production or transmission in the brain is often linked to anxiety and depression.
Raw Tahini
Some people find plain tahini (i.e. sesame seed paste) too bitter, but with the addition of a few other ingredients, you’ll be wanting to eat it by the spoonful…
For a sweet sandwich spread, mix some honey with tahini. This tastes even more decadent topped with banana slices and cinnamon.
For something more savoury, check out the recipe below!
Raw Food Recipe: Tangy Tahini Salad Dressing
Ingredients:
1 cup tahini- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 lemon, juiced
- fresh parsley, to taste
- Celtic sea salt, to taste
- Filtered water,
as needed
Directions:
1. Combine ingredients in a blender or food processor, and blend until everything is smooth and combined.
2. Thin out your dressing to a your desired consistence with the filtered water.
… et voila!
This creamy dressing gives your green salad more oomph, and also pairs well with falafel. Yum!
Open Sesame!
So let’s be open to sesame! …Packed with nutrients, a daily dose may aid general wellbeing and help reduce the physical and emotional tension so many of us endure.
What’s your favourite way to include sesame seeds into your diet?
Please leave a comment below and share with us!