Do Chia Seeds Have ANY Benefits?

Chia seeds have been used for thousands of years. Watch this video to find out about their #1 benefit.

Let’s talk about the real benefit of chia seeds. I mean, if we talk about the omega-3s, okay, omega-3s are good for the heart. They’re good for thinning the blood. And of course, salmon and sardines are always recommended because they have high amounts of omega-3. Then, what’s this deal with chia seeds having more omega-3 if you look gram for gram?

But what they don’t tell you is the type of omega-3 is not the active omega-3 that people think about as an anti-inflammatory. That’s called DHA. The type of omega-3 that chia is known for. And by the way, chia has the most of this is called ALA. It’s the thing that comes before the conversion into this active form of this omega-3.

So the question is, how much of that ALA converts to DHA? And the answer is not very much. It’s like 0. 5%. The next point is about eggs.

Now, whereas an egg, like a medium-sized egg, might have 7 g of protein, chia seed has four g of protein. The question is, is it the same? And the answer is no because the egg is the most bioavailable protein that you can consume. Actually, I lied. Breast milk is the number one.

and then eggs and then meat and then fish. But chia seed and other plant proteins are pretty low on the list. And I’ve searched everywhere for a long period of time to try to find out how bioavailable it is. And I couldn’t find that data. Now chia seed also has some vitamin E, some vitamin C, it has some of the B vitamins, it has calcium, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium.

And if you look at the research on chia seed, you’ll see uh cardioroprotective benefits uh benefits to help lower your blood pressure, benefits for your brain and can even thin your blood. But the biggest benefit from consuming chia seeds has to do with this soluble fiber. Okay? So, and what I normally do is take two tablespoons of chia seed and I’ll put it in about a half a cup of either milk or almond milk. Okay?

unsweetened. And then I’ll kind of mix it around until it swells up into this gel. And then I’ll add some berries or some kefir, which is a little better than yogurt. But if you’re going to use yogurt, I would use Greek yogurt, some coconut cream, and maybe some nuts. And it makes a great pudding.

Okay? But the benefit is in this gel. This gel is a soluble fiber that is a wonderful food for your microbiome. Your microbiome love this gel and they can eat it up and turn it into food for the colon cells and they can use it as energy. If you have inflammation in your gut, this would be a good thing to take.

And also if you have constipation, it can help you with that as well. Some people are concerned about these things called lectins which can actually irritate the colon if there’s inflammation. Well, chia seeds have very low amounts of lectins. So, you don’t have to worry about lectins with chia seed. Also, in that gel, you have other nutrients like polyphenols.

These are certain plant-based chemicals that your microbes love and they can eat as well. But the real benefit is feeding microbes that benefit you indirectly. There’s a huge connection between your mood and your energy and how your overall health is and the health of the gut microbiome. So, I would recommend consuming things like chia seed and other things that can feed the microbes including like fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, things like that on a regular basis. Couple little last points.

You don’t want to grind the seeds. You can soak them whole. The Aztecs used to consume chia seeds. So, it’s been around for a long time now. If you have not seen my other video on chia seeds, check it out.