This is a guest-post by Christopher Govender (Diet and Nutrition TV)

How do birds manage to fly so high? How do they manage to fly across continents, in a matter of days? I put it down to seed power. Smart animals from parrots to people eat seeds. Every time I reach for my seed jar in my fridge, I smile as I remember big seedeaters, like the character Fox Mulder from the X-Files series and Ace Ventura Pet Detective. Seeds are rich in essential fats, minerals, vitamin E and protein.  All you need is a tablespoon a day for optimum health. I encourage all the athletes I work with to follow the tips I will share with you today. Here is my magic formula:

My Daily Seed Jar

What you will need

500g of flax seeds (also called linseeds)

150g of pumpkin seeds

150g of sesame seeds

150g of sunflower seeds

A mixing bowl

A glass jar with a tight seal

1. In your mixing bowl, mix the flax seeds, which are rich in omega 3 with the pumpkin, sesame and sunflower seeds, which are rich in omega 6.

2. Pour the seed mix into the glass jar.

3. Keep the jar tightly sealed in your fridge until you use it.

4. Put a tablespoon in your coffee grinder, grind them up and add them to a soup, salad or cereal.

Important tips to remember

a. The best seeds are flax, hemp, pumpkin, sesame and sunflower. You get more goodness from them by grinding them first and sprinkling them on cereal, salads and soups.

b. Use cold-pressed seed oils for salad dressings, in pasta dishes and on steamed or raw vegetables. The best and most flavorsome are pumpkin and sesame.

c. Use pumpkin seed butter as a spread, instead of butter, mayonnaise or margarine.

I always find it exciting to whip up a batch of pumpkin seed butter. You are welcome to try out this recipe:

My pumpkin seed butter

What you will need:

Two cups of raw shelled pumpkin seeds

Six tablespoons of pumpkin seed oil

Four tablespoons of maple syrup

A quarter teaspoon of allspice

A quarter teaspoon of salt

Lightly roast the pumpkin seeds in the oven at no more than 160 degrees Fahrenheit for no longer than 20 minutes. Take them out and let them cool completely.

Pour the seeds into a blender and grind them into a fine powder. Then add the rest of the ingredients. Blend it all until you get a smooth paste. The longer you blend it the smoother it will become.

Pumpkin seeds are quite dry with less oil than nuts, so the butter will be drier than what you are use to, but using pumpkin seed oil has produced me the creamiest (and healthiest) results. Do not refrigerate your pumpkin seed butter; instead put it into a butter holder and place it next to your bread bin.

So there you have it - the secret to how birds can fly so high and across continents. Get yourself some seed power today.

Yours in health and peak performance,

Christopher Govender (Diet and Nutrition TV) http://dietandnutritiontv.com