All healthy diets for weight loss must include seeds because the health benefits of seeds are phenomenal. If you think about it, it is no wonder that seeds are super foods because they are the part of a plant that contains the nutrients and nourishment for new life. But what exactly are the health benefits of seeds and why are they essential in healthy diets for weight loss?
The benefits of linseed seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, pine kernels and hemp seeds are quite well known. Slightly less well-known are the outstanding benefits of chia seeds.
Perhaps of all seeds the benefits of linseed seeds are the most well-know, sometimes also called flaxseed and made into oil, linseed has many uses. It is used to prevent and treat heart disease and it has anti-inflammatory properties and can be used to treat hormone-related problems such as infertility.
One of the health benefits of seeds is that they are often rich in beneficial fats (unsaturated fats), some contain up to 80% fat but the fat they contain is essentkial fatty acids, including omega 3 and 6. Some of the oils they contain can only be produced by plants and not by your body, so you must have a source in your diet. This too is one of the benefits of linseed seeds.
The fact that seeds are high in fat does not necessarily make them fattening. In fact eating the good types of fatty acid that are found in seeds can help to stop you getting hunger and food cravings that can cause weight gain and unhealthy eating. Fatty acids are also beneficial to your immune system as they help you to fight off viruses and bacteria and they work to lower cholesterol so they contribute to the health of your heart.
The benefits of linseed seeds in particular are that they help with digestion and a good digestive system is essential to prevent your body from storing food in the form or fat.
Alongside the outstanding health benefits of linseed seeds are the outstanding qualities of chia seeds . Chia seeds are particularly beneficial in healthy diets for weigh loss because they have been found to block the absorption of calories and they absorb water so they make you feel fuller for longer. In common with the benefits of linseed seeds, chia seeds help improve the digestive system by providing fiber and lubrication.
In fact one of the important health benefits of seeds is that they contain a good amount of fiber which is essential in healthy diets for weight loss. Some are also sources of complete protein so they are a very rounded food which is why they can sustain human life. They are also packed full of vitamins so they feed and moisturize your skin and hair and generally help your body to build healthy tissue.
Healthy diets for weight loss need to be full of nutrients and the health benefits of seeds include being packed with nutrients. In fact the nutrients in seeds have been found to naturalize free radicals. Free radicals are a certain type of molecule created by your body that occurs naturally, but that can lead to cancer if not combated by eating a healthy diet.
If you eat a combination of seeds in their raw form, toasted or included in cooked foods, or by adding seed oils to your diet you will reap the health benefits.
As with most foods the health benefits of seeds are greater if you eat them raw as this provides the highest level of nutrition, although linseed seeds and hemp seeds are better ground up in your coffee grinder before you use them, or you can buy them in a ground form. Chia seeds can be made into a gel which can be used to replace butter in recipes which is one of the many reasons why Chia is especially good in healthy diets for weight loss.
There are many different ways of using seeds in healthy diets for weight loss. You can sprinkle them on cereals or salads, put them into breads and cakes - multi-seed whole-meal bread can be delicious - or include them in savory biscuits, soups and casseroles.
The benefits of linseed seeds, chia seeds and all the other wonderful health benefits of seeds simply cannot be ignored in healthy diets for weight loss.
