On Mon, 16 Jul 2001 13:53:24 EDT, M.E. C <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>.. sesame seeds .. They
>are quite an impressive food source with good health benefits.
>In what manner do you eat them? I suppose the unhulled variety would be the
>most beneficial, right?
>I would appreciate any input from anyone regarding sesame seeds.

Really miracle food, this sesame.
Mostly I eat tahini (ground sesame) of an organic brand of darker colour.
I apply it onto what you may avoid -the rhye sourdough bread I eat.
And really thick without anything else.
It's also good in cooked dishes - into a sauce.

You can get halva (here) which is 55% sesame and the rest is honey.
Very good if you can stand the sweetness - which is mostly too much for me.

I used to snack on whole sesame kernels - raw from the hand.
Somehow I lost this habit. Maybe I could include it into my sortiment from
which I choose in the afternoon.
(One of sunflower - flaxseed - pumpkin seed - roasted hemp seed - almonds -
walnuts).

Annother benefit from sesame: it's protein has a high *ratio* of tryptophan
to rest of protein. The ratio is what's important for adequate serotonin and
melatonin production in the brain. Relax and good dreams stuff.
Btw. I tried a nice dream supper recipe:
Dates stuffed with tahini. Very good.

Some time ago Todd mentioned sesamin (a phytosterol from sesame) as a equal
out for the high omega-6 /3 ratio of sesame.
Now I read a little about that and it looks like a magic potion for the
whole eicosanoid/prostaglandin thematic.
This stuff inactivates delta-5-desaturase.
And d5d is exactely what makes AA (the father of all evil prostaglandins)
from its predecessor DGLA (the father of most good prostaglandins).
So that's a very desireable effect.

In fact a main goal of the zone diet is to diminish d5d activity by
prolonging glucagon and shortening insulin times.

Sesamin -
If you eat fish oils it's perfect. D5D is required to manufacture the brain
food EPA and DHA from the basic plant oils.
As I don't eat fish oil I increase the ALA/LA ratio (more flax, hemp) to
concentrate d5d-activity on the omega-3 pathway instead of w-6.

regards

Amadeus
(also a very good application of sesame is the sesame oil in an ayurvedic
massage, really)