Sesame: Benefit and Harm

Sesame - an annual plant with seeds of different shades of brown( from light, almost white, to dark coffee), contained in oblong fruit-boxes - is known for its useful properties since ancient times.In the past, it was grown and used in eastern countries - India, China, Korea, and today it is spread all over the world.

Seeds and sesame oil are widely used not only in cooking, but also in folk medicine. Cultivate this plant mainly for the sake of healing oil with a pleasant aroma that can improve the taste of a variety of dishes, help in the treatment of diseases and maintain beauty and youth.In the ancient world, sesame was so famous for its medicinal properties that it even got into mythology as an ingredient of the elixir of immortality, which gave eternal youth to divine creatures.

In cooking, sesame is used most often in confectionery products - when making halva, and in baking as a powder.

Ingredients and caloric content

Sesame seeds, like other plants, mostly consist of various vegetable fats, the content of which reaches 50%.Proteins in sesame seeds are 20%, and carbohydrates are only 2%.

A large amount of vegetable oil gives the product a high calorie content - about 570 kcal per 100 g. However, in such large quantities it does not need to be consumed, so dishes or folk remedies with sesame will not harm the slimming people.

It is the plant components, as well as vitamins and trace elements, that make sesame so useful. It consists of:

• cellulose;
• starch;
• saturated fatty acids;
• phytosterols;
• unique antioxidants - sesamin and sesamolin;
• vitamins of group B - thiamin, riboflavin, nicotinic acid;
• vitamin E;
• mineral substances - potassium, sodium, phosphorus, calcium, iron.

Calcium in sesame seeds is especially abundant - almost 1.5 g per 100 g of seeds.This is more than in dairy products and other more popular sources of this macronutrient useful for bones.

Useful properties

Sesame is useful even in the smallest doses. First of all, the effect of hard plant fibers, which are not digested by the human intestine, and passing through the digestive tract, purify the digestive systems of .This improves the processes of splitting food and absorbing nutrients into the bloodstream, accelerating the excretion of toxins and toxins from the body.

Fats that are part of sesame oil help fight cholesterol plaques in blood vessels. Thanks to this effect, sesame consumption is an excellent prevention of a variety of cardiovascular diseases - hypertension, atherosclerosis.

Vitamins contained in sesame seeds affect the body as follows :

• riboflavin - improves the condition of hair and nails, purifies blood, stimulates cell division processes;
• thiamin - improves metabolism and normalizes the work of the nervous system;
• nicotinic acid - heals the digestive system.

Vitamin E, or tocopherol, together with sezamine and sesamolin, has an antioxidant effect - it neutralizes free radicals, reducing the likelihood of developing cancer.

It is known that sesame oil can alleviate toothache .To do this, 2 tbsp.L.The product is used for rinsing, after which you need to do a gum massage.This will remove the symptom of damage to the oral cavity, but does not eliminate the cause of the pain.

Sesame should be added to food for the younger generation, as well as athletes - calcium and a large number of plant proteins help to rapidly build up the mass.In addition, these substances protect the muscles from damage when exercising in the gym.jpg

Like many other plants, sesame contains phytoestrogens that can serve as a substitute therapy for lowering the level of a natural female hormone in menopause and diseases of the endocrine systemIn women .

Sesame oil is also used to wet compresses applied to open wounds - it improves blood coagulability, stopping bleeding and helping tissues recover faster.

Harm and contraindications

Sesame has been used by people for thousands of years, and during this time there were no special negative consequences of its application.However, everything is good in moderation - with prolonged use of large amounts of sesame oil or sesame seeds, individual intolerance of the product may develop.

Consumption of sesame seeds by people suffering from:

• is not recommended for increased blood clotting - blood clots and clogging of blood vessels are possible;
• urolithiasis.

Important! You can not give sesame oil to children under 3 years old, in the body of which enzymes for the splitting of vegetable oils are not yet produced in sufficient quantities.

Advice and recommendations

When selecting sesame, attention should be paid to the condition of the seeds - they must be dry and not stick together. It is recommended to smell and taste the product - it should not have a sharp odor and give away bitterness.

To extract the maximum benefit from sesame, you should only eat raw seeds of - useful substances, in particular calcium, begin to decompose when the product is heated to65 ° C.In addition, a significant portion of the beneficial compounds are contained in the seed coat, so it is best to use unrefined sesame seeds.

It is recommended to add sesame oil to cosmetic masks - it refreshes and heals the skin, improves its blood supply, relieves irritation and eliminates inflammation.