Chia Seeds: Benefits & Nutrition Facts

Chia Seeds: Benefits & Nutrition Facts. Top reasons to include these in your diet.

What are Chia Seeds?

Chia seeds belongs to the mint family and formsa staple diet of the people in Guatemala, Mexico and other South American countries (used to be staple food for the Mayans and the Aztecs).

Chia has several nutritional benefits; It has magnesium, iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, fatty acids and antioxidants. Chia Seeds have the main nutrients – Fibre, Fat, Protein, Carbohydrates.

Chia Seeds: Health Benefits

1. Helps in Digestion
   Fibre in your body prevents constipation and aids digestion. It will regularise your bowel moments thereby causing regular detoxification.

2. Rich source of Vitamin B
   Contains Vitamin B1, B2 and B3 in some quantity. Vitamin B is necessary for the health functioning of the body.

3. Healthier version of Caffeine
   It is a great source of energy; its like caffeine but not as harmful. Hence, it is an excellent alternative.

4. Helps in Weight loss
   Since it is high on fibre, it makes you feel full for longer. Moreover, its low on calories. Thus, it helps in weight loss.
   
   Watch: How to Use Chia Seeds for Weight Loss
   
   

5. Helps Control Diabetes
   It is a known fact that plant based foods, reduce the risk of diabetes and Chia is completely plant based.

6. Makes your Bones Stronger
   Chia contains calcium in higher quantity than that of dairy products and hence, is extremely useful. If you are vegetarian or vegan, include Chia seeds in your diet to get enough proteins.

7. Chia Seeds during pregnancy
   Chia ensures that your body is well supplemented during all 3 trimesters of pregnancy. So include Chia seeds in your diet during pregnancy.

8. Rich in antioxidants
   Chia is rich in antioxidants that detoxifies the body, and helps you live longer and healthier life. Antioxidant also makes your skin glow (as it detoxifies the body and improves blood circulation)

9. Good for heart
   It contains a fair amount of HDL cholesterol. HDL cholesterol helps in preventing heart strokes. Thus, consuming Chia will ensure that your heart stays healthy.

10. Good for liver
    Nutrient rich food, including Chia, protects the liver. It prevents harmful carbon from entering the liver.

11. Good source of healthy fats
    Chia contains the healthy Omega-3s fats, good for skin and brain.

12. Protects from cancer
    Antioxidant rich foods prevent unnecessary multiplication of cells, and prevents cancer.

13. High in minerals (like calcium, phophorous, magnesium)
    Contains useful minerals such as calcium, phosphorous and magnesium in high quantities.

Side Effects of Chia Seeds

While Chia seeds are highly beneficial and have a lot of nutrients in them, they do have some side-effects (no extremely harmful side-effects, it may cause discomfort to some).

It can bloat up your stomach to make you feel full for a while. Since it can cause gas in the body, some may experience headache. Chia slows down the process of digestion, so consume Chia seeds in moderate quantities to avoid gas problems.

Chia Seeds in Water – Interesting Recipes

Chia seeds can be used in a lot of ways, one of the ways to have it is with water. You can simply soak them in water and then drink the water or eat the seeds, depending on what you are comfortable with.

While there are benefits of drinking Chia seeds in water, not everyone is a fan of it. Some just drink it for the health benefits.

Another alternative is to grind them to powder and to mix them with milk. Here are some interesting recipes to try out with water:

Recipe 1
This drink is called Chia Fresca. You will need water, Chia seeds, lemon and sweetener. Steps to prepare:

• Add Chia seeds to water. Stir it thoroughly.
• Leave it for 10 minutes, allowing the Chia seeds to settle down at the bottom of the glass (Chia seeds will swell up after a while).
• Close the mouth of the glass or the jar and shake the drink vigorously.
• Shake it until the Chia seeds have scattered and broken into pieces.
• Add lime and sweetener to it and shake/stir it again.
• Now you’re ready to drink it (you may add ice)

Recipe 2

This recipe requires: water, coconut water, coffee grinder, sugar, cream and vanilla essence. Steps to prepare:

• Grind the seeds in the coffee grinder and put them into a container.
• Add water, add coconut water
• Add sugar proportionately and mix
• Add a cream to thicken the mixture, and stir it till all the ingredients blend in with the water and the coconut water.
• You can top the drink up with mint and enjoy

Chia seeds should ideally not be soaked in water for over half an hour, as they could lose their nutrient quality. So avoid soaking in water for a very long time.

Chia Seeds: Buying Links