Last week my good friend Peggy shared, with our Wednesday morning ceramics group, that she had started taking a daily dose of Chia. Not the pet – the seeds. So I did a little research and WOW . . . Chia seeds are amazingly nutritious. They have been around for centuries but have only recently started to gain recognition as a superfood. Just 2 tablespoons of Chia seeds added to your daily diet provides approximately 7 grams of fiber, 2 grams of protein, 205 milligrams of calcium and 5 grams of Omega-3 fatty acids! If you are like me and you struggle to get the recommended amount of Omega-3 in your diet and you hate flaxseed, chia seeds may be the answer. Chia can help stabilize blood sugar, improve hydration, improve mental focus and concentration, improve regularity and reduce cravings. Chia seeds are a convenient, ready to eat food that you can sprinkle on just about anything. The best part is that they are almost tasteless. In fact, when the Chia seeds are hydrated they take on the flavor of the food they are added to –- dressings, salsas, smoothies, yogurt . . . you name it. The shell of the Chia seed is easily broken down so there is no need to grind them to receive the health benefits and they have a shelf life of up to two years. Just one word of warning: If you want to include Chia seeds in your diet, do not use the seeds that come with a Chia Pet. Purchase only food grade Chia seeds which are available online or at most health food stores. If you want to boost your energy, immunity, endurance and overall health I suggest you try Ch . . . Ch . . . Ch . . . Chia!Thank you Bev for being the first reader to bring the typo in my April 2011 Good Health! post to my attention. Did you catch it? If you did I hope it made you laugh. Laughing increases the level of health enhancing hormones in your body. Make the time to be good to you by reading my blog or spend as much time as you can surrounded by people that make you laugh. ☺
Good Health!
Terry
"Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice."
~ Author Unknown
1 comment:
Thanks for writing about the chia seeds Terry! I have been enjoying them in a variety of foods. I just wanted to add a couple of things I found in my research....
1. Buy the black chia seeds. There are white seeds, but they are expensive and have no known benefit over the chia seeds.
2. You can purchase the chia seeds at your local co-op (Lakewinds has them, but I haven't priced there). However, I ordered mine thru Amazon, where I have free 2nd day shipping. There are several brands, ranging from about $7 - $15 per pound. And, some brands have a "subscribe and save" option - much like an auto-fill and give a discount this.
3. As Terry said, you do not need to grind the seeds. Their hull is not as hard as flax seeds, for example, but you can grind them. My husband Scott grinds them in my coffee grinder, as he has diverticulitus and doesn't want to risk the little seeds getting stuck in his GI tract (sorry if that's too much info!!) He has had no problems ;)
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