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SESAME SEEDS

Another natural food/spice that may be beneficial to our health is sesame seeds. Their consumption may help lower the risk of cancer and heart dieseae. How do sesame seeds work?  This article may provide the answer.  Sesame seeds give rise to enterolactone after fermentation by bacteria in our intestines.

Dietary Sesamin Is Converted to Enterolactone in Humans

José L. Peñalvo, et al J. Nutr. 2005 135: 1056-1062.   [Abstract] Enterolactone found in plasma in lab and epidemiological studies is inversely correlated with cancer and coronary heart disease.  "The mammalianlignan appearance rate in plasma shows that sesamin is a majorprecursor of enterolactone in vivo. In the in vitro experiment,enterolactone was the major metabolite and 3 intermediates wereidentified, allowing the elucidation of sesamin metabolism inhumans. Enterolactone was the major metabolite of sesamin bothin vivo and in vitro. The abundance of sesamin in sesame seedsindicates that they are a major food source of enterolactoneprecursors."