Seeds
Little Packages of Nutritional Dynamite
If you eat just a handful of seeds a day (about 28g or 1oz) you’ll get much of the recommended daily amounts of protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, fibre, minerals, vitamins and a host of other phytochemicals(nutritional plant-based compounds) that will help keep your heart healthy, your skin glowing and your digestion regular.
The nutritional benefits of seeds are immense and we provide a large variety of quality seeds. Read on to learn more about the health benefits of individual seeds.
Please note that RI refers to ‘reference intake’, the term replacing ‘guideline daily amount’.
- Chia seeds are a rich source of both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, heart-healthypolyunsaturatedfats.
- 50g of chia seeds provide about 50% of your RI for dietary fibre. Mucilage, the water-soluble outer coat of the chia seed swells up several times its size once eaten. Mucilage may help with digestion and may promote smooth bowel movements.
- Excellent source of vitamins including: folate, riboflavin, thiamin, and especially niacin, which helps improve your circulation.
- Excellent — truly outstanding — source of calcium (6 times more than milk), phosphorus, iron (3 times more than spinach), manganese and magnesium (15 times more than broccoli). You need many of these vitamins for vital jobs such as regulating cardiac muscle activities, maintaining bone strength and producing red blood cells.
- As a gluten-free grain, chia seeds are an excellent source of nutrients for people with coeliac disease.
Golden Linseeds (linseeds are also known as flaxseeds)
- Rich in both alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), an omega-3 fatty acid and linoleic acid (LA), an omega-6 fatty acid, both of which promote a healthy blood lipid profile.
- Very high in fibre: a 28g serving provides you with about a third of your RI.
- An excellent source of vitamin E (28g provides just under half your RI) and thiamin (vitamin B1), with 28g providing nearly a third of your RI.
- Packed with minerals: 28g provides you with nearly 10% of your RI for iron, zinc and selenium, nearly 20% of your RI for copper and phosphorus, and about a third of your RI for magnesium andmanganese.
- The richest source of dietary lignan precursors, biologically active compounds that are classified asphytoestrogens. Many studies have investigated lignans for their cardio-protective effects, protective effects against hormone-related cancers such as breast and prostate cancer and their ability to reduce the severity of osteoporosis. Milling or crushing golden linseeds can improve the absorption of the lignans in them.
- Especially rich in monounsaturated fat (e.g., oleic acid), a key fat in the Mediterranean diet, which is associated with reduction in risk of coronary artery disease and stroke.
- Contain alpha-linoleic acid (ALA), a heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acid.
- An excellent source of zinc: 28g of pumpkin seeds give you about 80% of your RI. Zinc may be important for prostate health.
- An excellent source of magnesium: 28g provide you with nearly 50% of your RI.
- An excellent source of the amino acid tryptophan. In your body tryptophan is converted into the neurotransmitter serotonin, which is not only important for mood, but is also referred to as ‘nature’s sleeping pill’.
- An excellent source of a form of vitamin E known as tocopherol-gamma, an antioxidant vitamin that may protect your cells from damage by free radicals.
- A good source of B vitamins, including thiamin, niacin and riboflavin.
- Very rich in the heart-healthy monounsaturatedfatoleicacid, which may help to lower LDL (‘bad’) cholesterol and to raise HDL (‘good’) cholesterol. Also an excellent source of linoleic acid, a heart-healthy omega-6 fatty acid.
- Like most seeds, sesame seeds are a valuable source of vegetable proteins: 50g of sesame seeds provide about 15% of your RI.
- A 50g serving of provides nearly 50% of the RI for folate, a mineral that is important for DNA synthesis and for expectant mothers to prevent birth defects.
- A good source of thiamin and niacin, B vitamins that help your body release energy from the food you eat.
- Provide useful quantities of calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium and selenium; are a good source ofmanganese, and an excellent source of copper.
- A source of dietary lignan precursors, biologically active compounds that are classified asphytoestrogens. Many studies have investigated lignans for their cardio-protective effects, protective effects against hormone-related cancers such as breast and prostate cancer and their ability to reduce the severity of osteoporosis.
- Sunflower seeds are especially rich in linoleic acid, an omega-6 essential fatty acid, and a good source of oleic acid, a monounsaturatedfat. Both of these fats are heart-healthy fats. In fact, almost 90% of the fat in sunflower seeds is unsaturated fat.
- An excellent source of the antioxidant vitamin E: 28g provide nearly 80% of your RI. Sunflower seedsare the best wholefood source of vitamin E.
- A 28g serving provides good quantities of your RI for B vitamins: 6% for thiamin and niacin, 11% forvitamin B6 and 20% for pantothenic acid (vitamin B5).
- A good source of folate: 28g provide about 17% of your RI. Along with its importance for the healthy development of babies, folate removes homocysteine, an amino acid thought to promote heart disease, from the blood.
- A source of calcium and manganese, and a 28g serving also provides about 10% of your RI for both iron and zinc, 25% of your RI for copper, 24% of the RI for selenium for men and 31% of the RI for selenium for women.
- The phytochemicals in sunflower seeds include choline, phenolic acids and betaine. These plant compounds may have health-promoting properties.