Beneficial seeds

Dr. Bharat Aggarwal’s book, “Healing Spices,” has helpful information about the benefits of pumpkin and sesame seeds: They work wonders for the heart by lowering the levels of total cholesterol and bad cholesterol, LDL, as they increase the good cholesterol, HDL. This is the reason why they’re recognized as dietary supplements that reduce high blood pressure.

Pumpkin seeds are also known to alleviate iron-deficiency anemia and decrease swelling in rheumatoid arthritis. On the other hand, sesame seeds have been observed to kill leukemia cells, reduce tumors in laboratory animals with induced skin cancer, and decrease the activity of genes related to cancer of the breast, lungs, bone, kidney and skin. Paste made from sesame seeds and oil speeds up the healing of wounds.

Healthy snacks

Here are different ways to add them to our diet: Pumpkin seeds are healthy snacks that can replace junk foods and fattening sweets. You can mix hulled seeds into oatmeal, cereals, salads, soups, muffins and baked items.

Our local palitaw becomes more delicious when you sprinkle roasted sesame seeds on it. We can also make gomasio and sprinkle it onto rice and other dishes. Roast the seeds, grind them in the blender, which will release the nutty flavor, then add salt. Put the mixture in the fridge to keep it from getting rancid.

You can also mix gomasio into rice balls, or spice up its flavor with grated ginger, soy sauce, lemon, sesame seeds and oil. Add the sesame oil last to Asian noodles, vegetable dishes and soups. Just drizzle a few drops right after cooking.