MY STORY
My story began over Thanksgiving 2023 when I found the recipe for these healthy and delicious cookies. My mom had passed away five years prior and I didn't remember her giving me the recipe. I baked them for the holidays as treats for friends and family and everyone fell in love with them. After eating them for several months myself, my doctor and I noticed that my blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol all went down at my next appointment.
I quickly did the research and realized that the high protein and fiber content of sesame seeds were the reason my lab results were so much better. I had replaced my evening snacks with 2 cookies and found they filled me up, kept me from snacking on high-sugar foods and kept my blood sugar steady.
I left my job as a Marketing Manager and decided to educate people about the sesame seed secret I had discovered. It is now my mission to help others feed their sweet tooth without raising their blood sugar.
SESAME SEED BENEFITS
1. May Lower Cholesterol and Triglycerides
Some studies suggest that regularly eating sesame seeds may help decrease high cholesterol and triglycerides — which are risk factors for heart disease (5Trusted Source, 6Trusted Source).
Sesame seeds consist of 15% saturated fat, 41% polyunsaturated fat, and 39% monounsaturated fat (3Trusted Source). Research indicates that eating more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fat relative to saturated fat may help lower your cholesterol and reduce heart disease risk (7Trusted Source, 8Trusted Source, 9Trusted Source).
What’s more, sesame seeds contain two types of plant compounds — lignans and phytosterols — that may also have cholesterol-lowering effects (10Trusted Source, 11Trusted Source, 12Trusted Source). When 38 people with high blood lipids ate 5 tablespoons (40 grams) of hulled sesame seeds daily for 2 months, they experienced a 10% reduction in “bad” LDL cholesterol and an 8% reduction in triglycerides compared to the placebo group (13Trusted Source).
2. May Help Lower Blood Pressure
High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke (19Trusted Source). Sesame seeds are high in magnesium, which may help lower blood pressure (20Trusted Source). Additionally, lignans, vitamin E, and other antioxidants in sesame seeds may help prevent plaque buildup in your arteries, potentially maintaining healthy blood pressure (21Trusted Source, 22Trusted Source).
In one study, people with high blood pressure consumed 2.5 grams of powdered, black sesame seeds — a less common variety — in capsule form every day. At the end of one month, they experienced a 6% decrease in systolic blood pressure — the top number of a blood pressure reading — compared to the placebo group (23Trusted Source).
3. May Reduce Inflammation
Sesame seeds may fight inflammation. Long-term, low-level inflammation may play a role in many chronic conditions, including obesity and cancer, as well as heart and kidney disease (29Trusted Source). When people with kidney disease ate a mixture of 18 grams of flax seeds and 6 grams each of sesame and pumpkin seeds daily for 3 months, their inflammatory markers dropped 51‒79% (30Trusted Source).
However, because this study tested a mixture of seeds, the anti-inflammatory impact of sesame seeds alone is uncertain. Still, animal studies of sesame seed oil also suggest anti-inflammatory effects (31Trusted Source, 32Trusted Source, 33Trusted Source). This may be due to sesamin, a compound found in sesame seeds and their oil (34Trusted Source, 35Trusted Source).
4. May Aid Blood Sugar Control
Sesame seeds are low in carbs while high in protein and healthy fats — all of which may support blood sugar control (3Trusted Source, 40Trusted Source).
Additionally, these seeds contain pinoresinol, a compound that may help regulate blood sugar by inhibiting the action of the digestive enzyme maltase (41Trusted Source, 42Trusted Source). Maltase breaks down the sugar maltose, which is used as a sweetener for some food products. It’s also produced in your gut from the digestion of starchy foods like bread and pasta. If pinoresinol inhibits your digestion of maltose, this may result in lower blood sugar levels. However, human studies are needed.
5. May Support Thyroid Health
Sesame seeds are a good source of selenium, supplying 18% of the RDI in both unhulled and hulled seeds (3Trusted Source). Your thyroid gland contains the highest concentration of selenium of any organ in your body. This mineral plays a vital role in making thyroid hormones (53Trusted Source, 54Trusted Source). In addition, sesame seeds are a good source of iron, copper, zinc, and vitamin B6, which also support the production of thyroid hormones and aid thyroid health (55Trusted Source, 56Trusted Source, 57Trusted Source).
6. May Aid Hormone Balance During Menopause
Sesame seeds contain phytoestrogens, plant compounds that are similar to the hormone estrogen (58Trusted Source, 59Trusted Source). Therefore, sesame seeds might be beneficial for women when estrogen levels drop during menopause. For example, phytoestrogens may help counteract hot flashes and other symptoms of low estrogen (60Trusted Source). What’s more, these compounds may decrease your risk of certain diseases — such as breast cancer — during menopause. However, further research is needed (46Trusted Source, 61Trusted Source).