Ch-Ch-Chia?

[Seth]

I just received a health newsletter touting the benefits of the Chia seed as an ancient superfood, but I don't remember seeing it listed in your 28 day book.

I'm going to pick some up tomorrow, and see how my body likes it, but I was wondering if you have any insight into the benefits/side effects of chia?

Most of the articles out there paint quite the rosy picture.

Thanks,

-Seth

[Scott]

Andrew Wiel did a short piece on chia seeds a couple years back. I eat them regularly in a morning raw cereal that I like a lot, called Ruth's Hemp foods. Been using her stuff for a few years.

Here is Ruth's site: http://www.ruthshempfoods.com/chia.html

Here is Dr. Weil's article on chia.

Chia seeds get wonderly slimy once it's soaked a bit, which is why it's purported to be great for digestive issues. I'd agree: eat chia seeds for a few days, and you'll notice improved digestion.

[jayq]

Here is some info i have collected about the good CHIA seed.
Chia is a wonderful food for storage, because its crunchy exterior protects it from oxidation and keeps years without rancidity. Buy up to a five-year supply, and keep it in a cool place if possible. (Vacuum sealing it with a Food Saver in quart jars is a good way to keep it on the shelf for years.)
With so much focus on essential fatty acids (EFAs) and omega fats, the chia seed is a standout because it is 40 percent omega 6 oil. So many people are taking EFA supplements that this whole food is very attractive with its high omega 6:3 ratio. The seeds have seven times more iron than spinach and are a complete protein.
Chia seeds absorb ten times their weight in water, so they are good thickeners when soaked. They also give you a sense of fullness, a great aid in weight loss. If I get hungry after dinner, I eat a big spoonful and chase it with a large glass of water—very filling with hardly any calories. Some think they absorb some food calories as well, making them a diet helper in more ways than one. They slow the conversion of carbohydrates into sugars and therefore help maintain stable blood sugar levels, great for everyone but especially diabetics. And they are mucilaginous, absorbing toxins well for evacuation from the body.
You can sprinkle chia seeds on anything, as they have a neutral flavor, and unlike flaxseed, it is digestible without needing to be ground. And you can use 1 Tbsp. chia and 2 Tbsp. water as replacement for one egg.

The name chia comes from the Aztec word for 'oily', which is 'chian', and this explains well what one of the main benefits of chia is; it is very high in omega-3 acids, which are a type of unsaturated fats.
It's easy to get mixed up between omega-3 and omega-6; basically, omega-3 acids are the fats which are not so easy to come by. They're in fish oils, flax seeds, kiwi seeds, and chia seeds, amongst other things. Omega-6, on the other hand, is found almost everywhere you look: nuts, vegetable oils, avocadoes, etc. As important as omega-6 oils are to our health, the balance of omega-3 to omega-6 is equally important. -As it is so easy to consume plenty of omega-6, it is very easy to end up with an unbalanced consumption of the two types of oils, which are also known as essential oils. When it comes to the amount of omega-3 oil in various seed oils, the chia seed has the highest content, just above kiwi seeds, perilla and flax.
-Most health conscious people will be more familiar with linseeds than they will be with chia seeds. So, if you've ever put a spoon of linseed into some water and left it for thirty minutes, you would have returned to find a kind of glutinous solution, kind of like a gel. Well, the same thing happens with chia seeds, which is another reason that they are so good for you; they act the same way in your gut. This means that they are really good for your digestive system, providing both a high amount of fiber, and also this action of forming a gel like solution moves through your body and cleans up as it goes. It's also thought that this gel physically prevents the fast breaking down of carbohydrates in the body, by slowing down the action of the enzymes on the carbs.
-The chia seed was once a staple food of the Aztecs, loved for its ability to sustain and to give endurance. Actually, you could live off chia almost entirely, because it has 19 amino acids, with all of the essential amino acids except taurine. It also has more iron than spinach, more calcium than milk and even more antioxidants than blueberries.
-So, how do you consume it? Well, you can grind it up into a meal called 'pinole' and add it to just about anything. In Mexico, they mix the whole chia seeds with water or fruit juice to make something they call 'chia fresca' which translates as 'fresh chia'. You can also sprout them in much the same way as you sprout alfalfa seeds and use them in salads.

To your health - Jayq

[kellyleighton]

This is an amazingly wonderful and enjoyable food. I've just begun exploring the live raw foods recipes on Chia.

I've enjoyed the cereal daily since my first packet arrived three days ago in the mail. The taste reminds me of pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and black sesame seeds. Quite pleasant. No salt, no sugar.

The gelatinous feature took a bit of getting used to on the first day. I thought to myself, ahhhhh, black caviar! The second day I thought of slippery elm and the aloe vera plant innards mixed with tiny seeds.

Today I added bananas and tempt milk to Ruth's Chia for my morning meal, and felt a stable blood sugar for nearly five hours. It felt really good. I let the cereal and tempt milk sit for about ten minutes, and the consistency is one I think I quite enjoy.

The recipes online for other uses will be my next adventure. I think Chia would be a very useful part of any cleanse, depending on how it's prepared.