I love them since childhood! Pumpkin seeds, benefits for men, side effects, composition are well studied. They are loved by many. For the body of women are also very useful. Pumpkin seeds and a delicious product with amazing properties. The famous Japanese nutritionist J. Osawa compiled a table of healthy foods. So, pumpkin seeds take first place in it! Particular fame belongs to them for the amount of zinc microelement in their composition. Pumpkin seeds are said to be second only to oysters in zinc. But oysters are not available to everyone, and pumpkin seeds are welcome! In our region, in the Kuban, without a pumpkin and a garden something does not happen. Sunflower seeds - a by-product - the pumpkin was eaten, but the seeds remained.
Pumpkin seeds, useful properties
How many vitamins do they contain! It’s even difficult to list everything. For example, pumpkin seeds contain vitamin K, which is involved in the coagulation system of human blood. Without it, our body will not coagulate normally. This alone speaks about the benefits of pumpkin seeds.
They contain almost the most important vitamins A and E. For us, these two vitamins have a tremendous effect on our health, on the state of the body, on regeneration, on tissue renewal, on the skin. Vitamin A, among other things, affects the state of our vision.
Phosphorus is also contained in pumpkin seeds - a substance without which our bones cannot exist. Without phosphorus, calcium does not function as it should. And our skeleton, not getting the right amount of phosphorus, cannot be strong enough.
And, finally, a completely outstanding useful property of pumpkin seeds, which I have already partially mentioned. This presence is zinc and legnan (legnin), which inhibit the excessive growth of prostate cells in men. Of course, eating pumpkin seeds does not cure an enlarged prostate gland. And you can slow down this process somewhat. Completely remove inflammation, alas, is hardly possible. Rather, recommendations for their use are more useful to young men as a prophylactic. After all, the main property of pumpkin seeds is to prevent the development of prostate adenoma.
I want to emphasize that when we talk about the health benefits of products, it never means direct treatment or the abolition of drugs prescribed by a doctor. That should be your lifestyle.
Boys, youths, young men eat pumpkin seeds! Eat as many pumpkin seeds as possible, more often and regularly - from childhood to old age - you will have a minimal risk of enlarged prostate gland. Such an unpleasant disease as prostate adenoma will bypass you.
Their regular use strengthens the gastric mucosa, acts negatively on parasites, since the green shell of the seeds contains anthelmintic poison - cucurbitin. This poison is absolutely harmless to humans, but deadly to worms. True, I did not find scientific data on how many pumpkin seeds should be eaten in order to get rid of worms.
What are more useful pumpkin seeds, fried or dried?
Very important question. Now there is a large selection of various beautiful packages with pumpkin treats on sale. They are sold in or without shells, salted or without salt. How to choose pumpkin seeds? Which will we choose? Which ones are most useful?
Of course, the shell protects the seeds from premature drying, from loss of nutritional properties, from a variety of microbes. In addition, without shell, the oil contained in any seeds is oxidized, rancid - there is no help from the body, and they are tasteless. Therefore, I advise you to give preference when buying uncleaned pumpkin seeds.
Of course, a fried treat “caresses” our spoiled taste. But our goal is not only pleasure, but also benefit for the body. It is believed that heat treatment, frying kills nutrients, nutrients. Yes this is true. But it all depends on the duration and temperature of the heat treatment. If the pumpkin seeds were fried in a pan, then the frying temperature and the necessary time for this are difficult to regulate. We usually do everything by eye.
It is best to dry them in the oven, which has a temperature control mode. The optimum temperature is not more than 75 ° C. Heat treatment time - no more than 20 minutes. If you keep the pumpkin seeds in the oven longer, then our body will not get any sense from them.
It is difficult to say what mode of processing pumpkin seeds the producers of this treat adhere to. It is more useful to get dried pumpkin seeds yourself. But the choice is yours.
Salted pumpkin seeds are popular. But excess body salt is useless to our body. Health benefits will bring only unsalted pumpkin seeds.
If there is a question about the color of peeled seeds, then it does not matter, since it depends on the type of pumpkin. Pay attention to the terms of packaging and storage.
How to store pumpkin seeds so that they benefit?
You have grown, ate a pumpkin. How to properly prepare and store pumpkin seeds for food?
I put the seeds selected from ripe pumpkin in a colander, rinse with plenty of water to free from fibers. If from the first time all the fibers did not lag behind, then I pour the seeds for several hours with cold water. Then I rinse again, let the water drain, lay them on a plastic film or oilcloth in one layer. Spread out where there is no direct sunlight. Four to five days, sometimes longer, they lie, dry, I periodically mix them. They are drying out. After that, pumpkin seeds are ready for storage.
How to cook pumpkin seeds? You can dry them in the oven. But it is advisable to spread them on a baking sheet with a thin layer so that they are dried there, and not cooked. Set the temperature to a minimum, leave the oven door ajar - your hand should calmly withstand its heat. It is also necessary to stir periodically. But the drying process is reduced from a few days to 1.5-2 hours.
By the way, dried in the oven pumpkin seeds are easier to free from the shell.
For storage I use cleanly washed glass jars. I pour seeds into it, close it with a boiled dry plastic lid. That's all, so they can be stored long enough at room temperature. I keep them in a locker on the loggia. For storage, you can use any plastic, ceramic food containers with hermetically sealed lids.
If you have prepared peeled seeds, for example, collected from gymnospermous pumpkin, then you will also have to store them in a clean, hermetically sealed container, but in a cold place - a refrigerator or a cellar.
Always remember that peeled pumpkin seeds are not protected from contact with air, contain oil, and like all oil products are perishable.
What is the shelf life of pumpkin seeds for food? Unpeeled can be stored for up to a year, and peeled much less - up to 6 months.
How to eat pumpkin seeds and get a positive result?
My grandmother always added ground pumpkin seeds to salads, seasonings, sauces for main dishes. This I remember well from my childhood. In addition, she always had a bowl with a dried pumpkin and sunflower treat at the stove.
My grandmother stood in the yard an ordinary bench. A grinder was screwed to one end of the bench. It made cereal from corn grains, which fed chickens, ducks, geese. And grandfather from sifted small cereals cooked a delicious mamalyga (thick corn porridge with garlic). How much later I didn’t try to cook this, but, alas, what I got was delicious, but the taste of childhood did not resemble ... But I was distracted!
An old cast-iron meat grinder with large holes in the grill was fastened to the other end of this wooden bench. On it, my grandmother chopped peeled pumpkin seeds, a lot of other things, for example, hazelnuts, walnuts.
I didn’t just do such a big digression with childhood memories. I reminded you one of the ways to use pumpkin seeds correctly - add them to any dishes - sauces, salads, soups, culinary products.
I remember from childhood a delicious grandmother’s cookie sprinkled on top with slightly crushed pumpkin or sunflower seeds, as she said - for beauty, but I think that for good too.
Benefit for men
The body's need for zinc, especially in men, is great. And there are a lot of it in pumpkin seeds. Zinc is needed for boys from birth to old age. The norm of its consumption by men is several times greater than for women. The reason - zinc has a significant effect on the normalization of the prostate gland. Therefore, pumpkin seeds should be used as often as possible in foods for children and adults. None of us children ever restrained - they ate as much as they wanted. Probably, not only my grandmother kept pumpkin and sunflower seeds in a conspicuous place. Maybe that's why diseases of the prostate adenoma in previous generations of men were rare?
Pumpkin seeds with honey, as my grandmother cooked
In winter, grandmother always gave us children every day before eating a dessert spoon of honey with crushed pumpkin seeds. Extraordinary deliciousness! One spoon, of course, was not enough for us. But grandmother was adamant. More than a spoon at a time, we did not receive this mixture. She used to say all the time: one spoon is a big benefit to you, but a lot is no good. I think grandmother was cunning. There was not much prepared mixture. She had to stretch all winter. Then, my mother prepared this healthy treat for my daughter. And now it's my turn to pamper my granddaughter.
A mixture of honey and pumpkin seeds is prepared very simply. Only two ingredients: honey and crushed seeds in equal shares. Do not grind them to dust. When they are crushed in larger pieces, it turns out tastier. When the mixture is infused, the seeds become soft, and honey acquires a completely indescribable flavor.
That it is delicious, I think, you do not need to convince. But it is still very useful. Such a mixture supports the immune system, saturates the body with important vitamins, trace elements. And this is very important for children and adults during spring vitamin starvation. And further. My grandmother was convinced (I think she was right) that a mixture of honey with pumpkin seeds protected us from any parasites, worms, for example.
And, of course, do not deny yourself just clicking the seeds. By the way, this is also useful - it calms the nerves. Just do it with your hands, not your teeth!
As confirmation that pumpkin seeds bring only benefit - the next video. Look and smile!
The cat, for sure, intuitively understands what is good for his body!