How to Reap the Health Benefits of Chia Seeds

The popularity of chia seeds is growing as quickly as the green foliage they sprouted on the 1970s-era chia pet novelty toys, with claims that these tiny dietary marvels can keep your heart healthy, help you lose weight, and lift your energy level during the day. Here's a look at what the research has shown so far, as well as some ideas of how to incorporate chia seeds into your daily diet.

1. Are Chia Seeds Healthy?

Sharon Basaraba

Yes, chia seeds are good for you — thanks mostly to their high fiber content, which is known to promote longevity, and the omega-3 fatty acids they provide which are beneficial for heart function and for reducing age-accelerating inflammation in the body. The seeds also contain antioxidants, including plant nutrients like quercetin and caffeic acid. As David Neiman, Director of Appalachian State University's Human Performance Laboratory, and co-author of a number of investigations into chia's health effects says, "There's a lot of nutrition in that little seed, on par with nuts and other seeds like flax."

 

The ancient Aztecs harvested chia seeds from the Salvia hispanica plant and used it as a primary source of food for centuries.

 

2. Chia Seeds and Weight Loss

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Chia seeds have been marketed as a miracle weight-loss food, to help us lose dreaded belly fat as we age, but what does the science say about adding these seeds to your daily diet in order to shed pounds?

A 2009 study published in Nutrition Research found that consuming as much as 50 g (about 6 tbsp) of chia seeds daily for 12 weeks made no difference to the body mass of a group of 76 overweight or obese men and women. The researchers were surprised at their results, given that this volume of chia boosted the subjects' fiber intake by about 19 g per day — a "huge" amount, according to principal author David Neiman. He says that while subjects seemed to lose a little weight at the start of the study, "it appears from our analysis that they quickly adapt to this increase in soluble fiber, with no significant long-term effect on weight loss."

Chia seeds do absorb about 10 times their weight in water, however, making them the kind of water-rich food that can make people feel full and satisfied longer, and eating less later in the day. Noted nutrition expert Barbara Rolls of Pennsylvania State University and others have proven that consuming water in food has a greater appetite-dampening effect than drinking water as a beverage. So, in theory, chia seeds in water could help keep you from getting hungry at your next meal. Future research will determine whether chia seeds really deliver on the many weight-loss claims made by their marketers.

 

• Read the entire article: Can chia seeds help me lose weight?

 

3. Will Chia Seeds Boost My Energy and Endurance?

Sharon Basaraba

Back in 2009, Christopher McDougall profiled a tribe of ultra-runners (those who regularly run distances longer than the standard 26.2 mi or 42.1 km marathon) in his best-selling book Born to Run. These ultra-distance runners of Mexico's Tarahumara native tribe commonly use only chia seeds in water as sustenance during their treks. So can chia seeds keep us energetic, whether we're running a marathon, or just running errands?

A small 2011 study (involving 6 male athletes) published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that a beverage made up of 50% chia seeds and 50% sports drink worked as well in endurance running trials as a traditional carbohydrate-loading beverage "treatment" of sports drink alone. This suggests chia seeds in liquid provide the same energy benefit before exercise as sports drinks, with much less sugar, according to the researchers.

Appalachian State University's David Neiman has investigated chia seeds and chia oil as exercise fuel. He says alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) in chia seeds is easily metabolized for energy by working muscle, and therefore these seeds can be considered a good energy food, due to their high fat content. To date, Nieman's studies on runners have not proven chia's effect on sports performance to be greater than sports drinks or water alone, though his research on chia seeds and oil as a source of sports nutrition is ongoing.

4. Should I Eat Them Ground or Whole?

Sharon Basaraba

A small number of studies have been conducted on the benefits of consuming ground chia seeds rather than simply eating them whole, or mixing them into water without grinding them first. For example, a 2012 study published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that after 10 weeks of supplementing with whole chia seeds, ground (milled) seeds, or a placebo, only the subjects who were given ground chia seeds had higher levels of the healthy omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

Previous research by the same team of scientists found that daily supplementation with twice as much whole chia seeds (50 g/day vs 25 g/day) resulted in substantially lower ALA in the blood — suggesting grinding the seeds allows the body to reap greater benefit from them. The finding is similar to that in past studies on whole vs ground flaxseed.

5. How to Grind Chia Seeds

Sharon Basaraba

Spinning chia seeds for a few seconds in a coffee grinder or high-speed blender will grind them for use in smoothies or on salads. Take care not to grind them too long, or you'll end up with a gluey mess, thanks to the seeds' high oil content.

6. Should I Choose White or Black Chia Seeds?

Sharon Basaraba

Wayne Coates, ultra-runner and Professor Emeritus in the University of Arizona's Office of Arid Land Studies, says there is very little nutritional difference between the black chia seeds and white chia seeds commonly sold in whole food markets and online, and that they originate from a single variety of chia plant. Occasionally you may find brown seeds in the mix; these are usually weed seeds from a different species of plant or immature chia seeds, according to Coates. He advises avoiding brown seeds because of their low protein and omega-3 content, and because they may not be chia seeds at all.

7. How to Eat Chia Seeds

Sharon Basaraba

 

Like flax, hemp and other heart-healthy seeds, chia seeds can be incorporated into your daily diet in a number of ways:
• Sprinkle on your morning hot or cold cereal
• Put 1-2 tbsp in a fruit or vegetable smoothie
• Mix with water, lemon or lime juice and some sweetener as Chia Fresca
• Mixed in with flour or whole grains in baking and casseroles

 

Because chia seeds have very little taste, they can be mixed into other dishes very easily.
 

_Sources:

_{Coates, Wayne. Chia: The Complete Guide to the Ultimate Superfood. Sterling Publishing. 2012.
http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/chia}

_{Illian TG, Casey JC, Bishop PA. "Omega-3 Chia Seed Loading as a Means of Carbohydrate Loading." J Strength Cond Res. 2011 Jan;25(1):61-5.}

_{Morris, Emily and Morris, Carole MySeeds Chia Test Kitchen: The Chia Seed Cookbook. Skyhorse Publishing. 2013.
http://www.skyhorsepublishing.com/book/?GCOI=60239103791890&}

_{Nieman DC, Cayea EJ, Austin MD, Henson DA, McAnulty SR, Jin F. "Chia seed does not promote weight loss or alter disease risk factors in overweight adults." Nutr Res. 2009 Jun;29(6):414-8.}

_{Rolls, Barbara and Hermann, Mindy. The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet. HarperCollins. 2012. Interview with Barbara Rolls conducted April 30, 2013.}

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