There couldn't be a more appropriate time for this study. Research from the Whitby Mental Health Centre shows a common commodity associated with Halloween may be just the thing to ease your fears if the most frightening time of year leaves you feeling a little nervous. They're a form of pumpkin seeds and who would have believed it - tests show they can help ease your stress.

Angeli Chitale often feels nervous, but finds taking the seeds eases her anxiety. "It makes you feel calmer," she points out. How can that be? It turns out pumpkin seeds contain a substance called tryptophan, the same ingredient found in turkey that makes you so sleepy after your Thanksgiving dinner. It produces serotonin in your brain, which helps elevate your mood.

The group in the study that took pure pumpkin seed flour with the oil removed experienced 16 per cent less anxiety. "They didn't feel the panic that they felt before," confirms Dr. Craig Hudson, a psychiatrist with the Whitby Mental Health Centre. "They still felt anxious but they were able to control their anxiety."

And Angeli finds bedtime a lot easier, too. "In the evening time I felt that I slept better and I've had insomnia forever."

The results excite Dr. Hudson because there's no real medication involved. "We describe this now as a functional food. It has the look and feel of a food yet has the function of a drug."

But there is one caveat in this that can sow the seeds of surprise. It only works on pumpkin seeds with the oil squeezed out. That allows the tryptophan to be absorbed into your brain.