Both black and white sesame seeds are seeds of herbaceous plants. It belongs to the caraway family. It is one of the oldest cultivated plants in the world and is used in cooking and traditional medicine. Each seed pod contains hundreds of seeds of different colors, ranging from creamy white to charcoal black, depending on the cultivar. Black sesame seeds have a slightly nutmegier flavor than white sesame seeds, but both are excellent sources of phytonutrients, antioxidants, dietary fiber and health nutrients.

Black sesame seeds are frequently used in diets around the world. Sprinkle some on rice, salads, cereals, noodles or any other dish. Sesame seeds are often added to breads, cakes, cookies, yogurt or smoothies, and candies. Many traditional dishes use sesame seeds. Hawa, for example, is a popular Middle Eastern candy; sesame paste is made from lightly roasted seeds in their shells. In Japan, black sesame seeds are commonly sprinkled on sushi rolls. Black sesame seeds are used to make gomasio dry seasoning. Black sesame seeds are also popular in Chinese and Korean cooking.

Black sesame seeds are a good source of dietary fiber, with two tablespoons providing 8 percent of the daily requirement. Fiber is the part of food that the body cannot digest or absorb. It stays in place, and adding a lot of water to digested foods softens stools and helps prevent constipation. Black sesame seeds help the digestive system work properly and also help relieve irritable bowel syndrome such as hemorrhoids, diverticulitis and other gastrointestinal disorders. In addition, dietary fiber has been shown to reduce colon cancer.

Another advantage of black sesame seeds is that they are rich in a healthy source of fat. The body needs the energy provided by fat to carry out many important biological and physiological processes related to the heart, muscles, blood cells and nervous system. The body also needs fat to absorb fat-soluble nutrients. Each 2 tablespoons contains 1.3 grams of saturated fat. Saturated fat intake should be limited to less than 10% of total daily calories. In addition, black sesame seeds do not contain trans fats. Sesame seeds contain 50 to 60 percent good fats. Each 2 tablespoons contains 4 grams of polyunsaturated fatty acids and 3.4 grams of monounsaturated fat. Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat may help lower LDL (bad) cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.