six health benefits of basil seeds there are many names for this cool healthy

seed but today we're just going to call them basil seeds and we're going to talk 
about their health benefits 
about these literal babies obviously they eventually grow into basil which is a culinary herb but today we focus mainly on the seeds which have some surprising health benefits health benefit number one they are a great source of minerals in order to survive humans need a litany of minerals luckily basil seeds are a great place to find these essential parts of our diet
we'll begin by saying they're awesome for getting calcium magnesium and iron 
all things which we use for bone health muscle function and red blood cell production in fact based on us product nutrition labels one tablespoon 13 grams our point five ounces of basil seeds supplies 15% of the reference daily intake RDI for calcium and 10% of the RDI for magnesium and iron these basil seeds could be essential in the diet of anyone who doesn't eat meat or dairy because that's where most people get iron and calcium so vegans take notes health benefit number two they have a lot of fiber like calcium magnesium and iron we need fiber in order to survive every health reports that the National fiber recommendations are 30 to 38 grams today for men and 25 grams today for women between 18 and 50 years old and 21 grams a day if a woman is 51 and older luckily for us so we can find a lot of fiber in basil seeds the US Food and Drug Administration that tells us that just one tablespoon of basil seeds supplies 7 grams of fiber which is 25 percent of the RDA they also say that only about 5% of Americans eat enough fiber which can be alleviated if they would only eat more basil seeds
the fiber in basil seeds has a lot of health benefits in itself for starters 
it can support gut health basil seeds are high in a type of fiber called pectin which is great for your stomach apparently a pectin has what some experts call prebiotic benefits essentially that means it supports some awesome gut bacteria as you may or may not know some bacteria is good for the body and that good bacteria is exactly what you might get if you eat basil seeds this includes the bacteria that will give your body anti-inflammatory properties which might even make your stomach look smaller speaking of which pectin also helps you feel fuller it was discovered that pectin may delay stomach emptying and increase hormone levels that promote a sense of fullness even though scientists don't see basil seeds as an effective weight-loss strategy we like to let people think for themselves why don't you try adding basil seeds to your diet and let us know in the comments section below if it helped you feel fuller next on the fiber related health benefits of basil seeds we're going to talk about their effect on your blood sugar a study done by a group of scientists discovered that when people with type 2 diabetes ate 10 grams 3/4 of a tablespoon of basil seeds in water after each meal for a month their post meal blood sugar was 17% lower than at the start of the study so if you've got high blood sugar try out some basil seeds finally basil seeds can help you out if you've got bad cholesterol studies have found that people who eat at least 30 grams of basil seeds per day had an 8 percent drop in total cholesterol this is because of the pectin once again the compound ends up inhibiting cholesterol absorption in your stomach Wow there sure are a lot of fiber related health benefits of basil seeds bottom line add these to your diet
if you've got problems that can be fixed with fiber health benefit number three 
they have a lot of plant compound you might not think plant compounds can help you because you're you know a human unless you're a plant in which case that's cool you're watching YouTube videos however plant compounds actually have a lot of sweet benefits if they're consumed for starters in basil seeds that you'll find flavonoids and other polyphenols research done by the Birla Institute of Technology has linked flavonoids with some cool health benefits they say that flavonoids are antioxidants meaning that they protect your cells from damage by free radicals these plant compounds also have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties to confirm this fact a piece of research done by vit University showed that basil seed extract killed harmful bacteria and triggered the death of cancer cells also a study done by the University of Granada showed that flavonoids are linked to a reduced risk in heart disease so if you're looking to reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease then add basil seeds to your diet health benefit number four you can drink them too these aren't only for eating no no they are apparently great in drinks the people at health line tell us that basil 
seeds have long been used in drinks in India and Southeast Asia 
a popular cold beverage like desert in India is falooda made with basil seeds rose flavored syrup and milk some versions add ice-cream noodles or fruitso next time you're looking for a drink chocked full of fiber and healthy plant compounds then maybe make some falooda next time you get thirsty health benefit number five it's a good source of omega-3 fat source of plant compounds source of fiber source of minerals and now we add yet another thing of which basil seeds can be a source a study done by the Research Institute of Food Science and Technology discovered that basil seeds contain an average of 2.5 grams of fat per one tablespoon serving within this fat you'll find alpha linolenic acid ala and omega-3 fat your body uses this calm in order to produce energy and it also has some anti-inflammatory properties as well while there is no official daily average for alpha-linolenic acid a piece of research done by a group of scientists determined that 1100 milligrams or 1600 milligrams per day for women and men respectively is considered an adequate intake of this essential fatty acid you'll find twelve hundred and forty milligrams of alpha-linolenic acid per tablespoon essentially what we're saying is one tablespoon of these seeds will give you your daily intake of alpha linolenic acid so you'll have more energy to a has so health benefit number six you can put them in anything because they're 
generally flavorless you can toss basil C its into anything without compromising 
your dish luckily Health Line has provided us with a helpful list of things you can put basil seeds in but honestly it's really anything smoothies add some basil seeds to your next fruit smoothie milkshakes chocolate and basil seed milkshake yes please lemonade and other drinks add some fiber omega-3 fat plan compounds and minerals
to this cool summer staple soups when you're sick have some chicken noodle and 
basil seed soup salad dressings diets become a lot more potent when you add some basil seeds to your salad dressings yogurt whether it's Greek or not of this dairy will have even more calcium and iron after you add basil seeds putting hot cereal like oatmeal whole grain pancakes you can make breakfast great again by adding basil seeds to your pancakes whole grain pasta dishes bread and muffins however before you start going online or to Asian food markets to buy these things keep in mind some of them may have been treated with pesticides there is a process to soaking these things which will bring you through right here right now step 1 to begin you'll want to use one cup of water per one tablespoon of basil seeds this is because the seeds will only absorb as much water as they need too much we'll leave them soggy and too little might cause them to clump step 2 after you've added the seeds to the water you'll want to let them sit for about 15 minutes don't be turned off if they start to swell that's what they're supposed to do they should become about triple their size and the seeds gel like outer portion will turn gray the center of the seed will not change color it'll stay black it will also have a very light crunch when you chew it step 3 once you've gone ahead and let them soak it's time to add them to the recipe after a quick strain you should be able to just toss them into whatever you're making oh and keep this in mind if you're putting them into soup or something equally liquid you don't need to bother with the soaking and so our list of the health benefits of basil seeds is complete what did you learn about these awesome little things.