Best Mood Booster
Sunflower Seeds vs Pumpkin Seeds
Winner: Pumpkin seeds
They may have similar calories per ounce—158 for pumpkin and 164 for sunflower—but pumpkin seeds pack 68 percent more tryptophan, an amino acid that aids in the production of serotonin, a mood-regulating neurotransmitter. Pumpkin seeds also offer more than five times as much magnesium per cup; a recent study found that postgrad students whose diets regularly met or exceeded their RDA for magnesium (320 milligrams for women, or roughly half a cup of pumpkin seeds) were less likely to be depressed than students whose diets contained the least.
From the
August 2013 issue of
O, The Oprah Magazine
