Can I eat seeds while losing weight? Sunflower seeds, pumpkins: benefits and harms

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of whether seeds are harmful or not, because each product has its own characteristics, disadvantages and advantages. Similarly, seeds in reasonable quantities saturate the body with useful substances, and in excess they have a negative effect.

Are seeds eaten while dieting?

Many are interested in the question, is it possible to eat seeds while losing weight? Judging by their high calorie content, they should not be abused, especially during a diet, however, moderate eating of these delicious nucleoli is very useful and necessary for the human body. First of all, this applies to a strict vegetarian diet, where such a delicacy as seeds brings complete vegetable proteins.

They are rich in the necessary amino acids that support the normal functioning of the body. Due to the fact that during weight loss a person deprives himself of many useful substances, seeds compensate to some extent for these losses, and their calorie content helps to cope and survive the diet period without negative consequences.

Still, is it possibleeat seeds for weight loss? Doctors and nutritionists say yes. They advise to sprinkle them on vegetable salads or use them separately as a vitamin supplement. An acceptable norm is no more than 20-30 g per day and, most importantly, they need to be eaten raw. With a diet, seeds can serve as a substitute for the next meal. Once or twice a day, they can be eaten instead of the established food in the diet.

There is a diet directly based on seeds. It involves feeding on pumpkin and sunflower seeds, which have almost the same composition and contain a sufficient amount of useful unsaturated omega-3 acids (55%), proteins (20-35 g of protein per 100 g of seeds). A very small amount of carbohydrates in them (4-5%) once again positively answers the question "Is it possible to eat seeds while losing weight?"

Proper use of seeds consists of a few simple rules:

• they must be dried, peeled, peeled;
• it is unacceptable to sprinkle them with any spices;
• It is not recommended to wash down the seeds with water. It can be drunk either half an hour before meals or after.

A variant of one of the seed-based diets

1. A plate of oatmeal cooked in water is eaten for breakfast. So the body will receive the daily rate of carbohydrates.
2. Sunflower seeds are consumed at lunch in the amount you wish.
3. Dinner comes with pumpkin seeds in quantities similar to sunflower seeds.

Duration of the diet is 3 days. During this time, you need to drink plenty of water and in additiontake pharmacy vitamins to maintain the level of nutrients in the body. And yet, can you eat the seeds? When losing weight, you can, especially since there is even a diet based on them.

Benefits of sunflower seeds

In 100 g of seeds of large varieties intended for food, contains 520-540 kcal, while oilseed varieties are even more high-calorie - 560-580 kcal. On an empty stomach, you can eat a whole pack of them and safely get enough - they are very nutritious.

Despite the high calorie content, sunflower seeds bring many benefits and necessary components to the body. They contain vitamin A, B, E, D, C, trace elements such as magnesium, zinc, iron, iodine, sodium, silicon, selenium, phosphorus. Positive results with relatively regular seed husking:

• lower cholesterol levels, improves blood condition;
• atherosclerosis prevention;
• appetite increase;
• improvement of the condition of the skin, hair;
• calming effect on the nervous system from the process of cracking seeds.

Roasted sunflower seeds don't provide that benefit. After heat treatment, the number of calories remains the same, and the level of valuable biologically active substances decreases by an order of magnitude - by 90%. Therefore, if you want to eat sunflower seeds and at the same time get a portion of vitamins, it is better to use them raw, slightly dried, but be sure to keep their outer shell.

Benefits of pumpkin seeds

Calorie level of pumpkin seedsis not inferior to sunflower, even slightly surpasses it and is 535-565 per 100 g. Therefore, if you are overweight, you will not get enough of them, and even being on a diet, too.

At the same time, they are an excellent snack product for everyone from children to adults. They contain many vitamins: C, A, K, E, B5, B9, B2, B6, B1. Pumpkin seeds are rich in proteins, fiber, mono- and polyunsaturated fats, amino acids, carbohydrates, unsaturated fatty acids, copper, iron, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, calcium.

Seeds are useful for children, as they strengthen their developing bone tissue. In general, they strengthen the walls of blood vessels, improve the appearance of the skin, normalize brain function, reduce mental fatigue, nervousness, improve memory, prevent prostatitis, parasites, normalize sleep, and are an antidepressant. Pumpkin seeds have a healing effect, help with dehydration, remove toxins and bacteria from the intestines in inflammatory diseases, maintain the integrity of the intestinal and stomach mucosa when exposed to toxins.

Harm caused by pumpkin seeds

What are the benefits of pumpkin seeds, of course, but what is their harm? First of all, you can not abuse them, it is recommended to eat 50-60 raw grains per day. It is better to buy them unroasted and not peeled, because. they quickly oxidize, forming harmful substances, and heat treatment will only increase their calorie content.

Noovereat pumpkin seeds - they contain salicylic acid, which in large doses provokes inflammation of the stomach lining (gastritis). Peeled, s alted and fried kernels are useless and to some extent even harmful, because they s alt the body, accumulate s alts in the joints, making them immobile.

Harm from sunflower seeds

Fried sunflower seeds in the shell have a negative effect on the condition of the teeth. Eating them quite often leads to the destruction of tooth enamel and, as a result, trips to the dentist's office. To avoid such a problem, it is advised to eat the seeds by peeling them with your hands, and not with your teeth, in this way you can protect the latter from spoilage.

As a result of the ingestion of roasted seeds, unnecessary s alts accumulate in the joints, which impair their mobility. Many farmers use in their farms phosphate, nitrate fertilizers that accumulate in seeds. Getting into the hands of the consumer, these kernels, saturated with harmful chemical fertilizers (cadmium), gradually affect the nervous system, develop diseases of the kidneys, the musculoskeletal system. Roasted seeds cause heartburn in some people and are not recommended for those with gastrointestinal problems.