Chia Seeds

[bkashot]

I recently heard about a plant called Chia. I think it is interesting to everyone. From what I've read this is really great plant with wonderful features. For example: Chia Seeds help suppress the appetite, and contribute to drain toxins from the body. Chia seeds are rich in omega 3, protein and antioxidants.
Sounds good. I'll try it.

[crupiea]

I was assembling a chia shrek head lately so thought I would taste the seeds.

They are horrible. taste like well, chia pet seeds.

Keep in mind i eat peanuts in the shell so I can chew just about anything but those seeds sucked.

Something to keep in mind is if you hear about it on tv its usually bs.

[Plateauplower]

Plant based omega 3s are not as good as sources from fish, but I like chia seeds and they do offer a fair amount of satiation, protein and fat for the calories. You can soak them in water and they swell up into a gelatin like frog egg consistency and will offer a fair amount of belly filling. I was adding them to blended protein shakes with spinach to add some fat. Look around though, prices vary drastically.

[bob1776]

my wife bought a bag and it sat on the shelf around for months. I read the package and said sounds good (omega oils, fiber, and a bit of protein, who doesn't want that?), why let it go to waste. So I added them to my Greek yogurt, tasted fine. Results: nothing noticeable, no extra energy & I didn't feel any less toxic

I was going to get more but when I saw how expensive it was ($5!), I went with the roasted flax seeds nearby which cost a lot less & had better nutritional #s.

[bob1776]

Plant based omega 3s are not as good as sources from fish, but I like chia seeds and they do offer a fair amount of satiation, protein and fat for the calories. You can soak them in water and they swell up into a gelatin like frog egg consistency and will offer a fair amount of belly filling. I was adding them to blended protein shakes with spinach to add some fat. Look around though, prices vary drastically.

Soak in water for a frog egg consistency - oh I really missed an opportunity there didn't I, bummer

[Plateauplower]

my wife bought a bag and it sat on the shelf around for months. I read the package and said sounds good (omega oils, fiber, and a bit of protein, who doesn't want that?), why let it go to waste. So I added them to my Greek yogurt, tasted fine. Results: nothing noticeable, no extra energy & I didn't feel any less toxic

I was going to get more but when I saw how expensive it was ($5!), I went with the roasted flax seeds nearby which cost a lot less & had better nutritional #s.

I think they taste better than flax personally. I bought mine on Amazon for $5 for over 1lb. Prices vary....saw some at Walmart for $5 for what looked like a single serving.

[vonschnapps]

I recently heard about a plant called Chia. I think it is interesting to everyone. From what I've read this is really great plant with wonderful features. For example: Chia Seeds help suppress the appetite, and contribute to drain toxins from the body. Chia seeds are rich in omega 3, protein and antioxidants.
Sounds good. I'll try it.

They really got a boost in popularity a few years ago when the book, "Born to Run" was published and talked about a tribe of Mexican Indian ultra long distance runners. There favorite drinks were chia seeds in water with a little lime juice. Supposedly gave them the ability to run long distances with little else. So of course it was all the rage in the running community (along with barefoot running which was also talked about in the book). The end result was they really didn't do anything. I like them soaked in water, they do make you feel full, and if you don't buy them at Amazon or in a fancy package, they are very cheap. Think of them as another natural, healthy food, like sunflower seeds, or flax seeds, or pumpkin seeds.

[bkashot]

I was assembling a chia shrek head lately so thought I would taste the seeds.

They are horrible. taste like well, chia pet seeds.

Keep in mind i eat peanuts in the shell so I can chew just about anything but those seeds sucked.

Something to keep in mind is if you hear about it on tv its usually bs.

There are many recipes that will improve the taste. Anyway, if that would make me lose weight, I'll eat it even as a disgusting remedy .

[JerryB]

I recently heard about a plant called Chia. I think it is interesting to everyone. From what I've read this is really great plant with wonderful features. For example: Chia Seeds help suppress the appetite, and contribute to drain toxins from the body. Chia seeds are rich in omega 3, protein and antioxidants.
Sounds good. I'll try it.

I tried Chia seeds. The first is not true for me and the second is flat out BS.

[mtpockets]

I was so excited to try these but while putting the groceries away, my dog got into them.









3 weeks later:

[Flounderbout]

I recently heard about a plant called Chia. I think it is interesting to everyone. From what I've read this is really great plant with wonderful features. For example: Chia Seeds help suppress the appetite, and contribute to drain toxins from the body. Chia seeds are rich in omega 3, protein and antioxidants.
Sounds good. I'll try it.

As a useful rule of thumb, if something mentions toxins, it is utter bollox.

[Plateauplower]

As a useful rule of thumb, if something mentions toxins, it is utter bollox.

Yea I dont think Chia seeds are magic. They are tasty though (to me)

Calcium chelates lead, lead is toxic...Many things bind to and remove specific toxins (heavy metals) which are slow to clear the w/out chelator (chia seeds are not a chelating agent to my knowledge though...)

[cryoung]

I mix them in with my morning spinach smoothie. Can't say I really taste them but figure it can't hurt.

[EjnarKolinkar]

Yea I dont think Chia seeds are magic. They are tasty though (to me)

Calcium chelates lead, lead is toxic...Many things bind to and remove specific toxins (heavy metals) which are slow to clear the w/out chelator (chia seeds are not a chelating agent to my knowledge though...)

Taste is a good reason to eat them for sure.

I use flax and coconut flour to add fiber to things at times. Never messed with chia. Losing all my gainz to all that flax meal lingans tho Costco has a big sack of the chia. I havent bit yet.


Ha yep detoxification is a common blogger topic these days, usually with foods they are standing on some improved lymphatic function, from of all things a sensible diet, or some antioxidant capacity, and calling that detox like effect. Heh.


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Its worth sometimes looking deeper than the superficial "OMG Omega 3" on food labeling. Chia mainly boost serum ALA which is primarily oxidized, although women convert more ALA to EPA Than men do. Increses in circulating EPA are I belive supported in reaserch with some female groups due to their superior conversion rate.

When it comes to intentionally supplementing with n-3's I think its worth doing some reading on DHA, usually EPA comes along for the ride with DHA from standard fish fats whether in meat or capsule.

Anything somebody can eat will have an effect on hunger. Chia has shown no special weight loss properties Im aware of yet, other than its obvious macro breakdown, volume etc.

No pubmed ninja today There is some not so interesting stuff on chia though.

Omega-3 is the new "put it on errytang" food lable gimmick, reminds me of when everything started to get labled with "loaded with antioxidants"

[Plateauplower]

Good reason to eat them for sure.

I use flax and coconut flour to add fiber to things at times. Never messed with chia. Losing all my gainz to all that flax meal lingans tho Costco has a big sack of the chia. I havent bit yet.


Ha yep detoxification is a common blogger topic these days, usually with foods they are standing on some improved lymphatic function, from of all things a sensible diet, or some antioxidant capacity, and calling that detox like effect. Heh.


=========




Its worth sometimes looking deeper than the superficial "OMG Omega 3" on food labeling. Chia mainly boost serum ALA which is primarily oxidized, although women convert more ALA to EPA Than men do. Increses in circulating EPA are I belive supported in reaserch with some female groups due to their superior conversion rate.

When it comes to intentionally supplementing with n-3's I think its worth doing some reading on DHA, usually EPA comes along for the ride with DHA from standard fish fats whether in meat or capsule.

Anything somebody can eat will have an effect on hunger. Chia has shown no special weight loss properties Im aware of yet, other than its obvious macro breakdown, volume etc.

No pubmed ninja today There is some not so interesting stuff on chia though.

Omega-3 is the new "put it on errytang" food lable gimmick, reminds me of when everything started to get labled with "loaded with antioxidants"

High Quality fish oil is great IMO. (If you dont eat much fatty and non-contaminated fish).

I was recently reading about omgea 6 to omega 3 ratios. The association between a ratio skewed more towards omega 6s in our current diet (due to many products that were presented as healthy alternatives like margerine and soybean oils etc) and their coorelation to heart disease is pretty overwelming. Even things like beef that are grain fattened have much higher ratios of omega 6 fats and 3s vs grass fed counterparts (I prefer deer, but they eat some corn as well). Both fats absolutely essential, but the ratio should be closer to 1:1-6:1 (6s to 3s) instead of 50:1. There are graphs that show increase in such products following an almost identical path with increases in heart disease. SO I find the Omega 3s pretty important overall. Plant based 3s are not very well assimilated.

[EjnarKolinkar]

High Quality fish oil is great IMO. (If you dont eat much fatty and non-contaminated fish).

I was recently reading about omgea 6 to omega 3 ratios. The association between a ratio skewed more towards omega 6s in our current diet (due to many products that were presented as healthy alternatives like margerine and soybean oils etc) and their coorelation to heart disease is pretty overwelming. Even things like beef that are grain fattened have much higher ratios of omega 6 fats and 3s vs grass fed counterparts (I prefer deer, but they eat some corn as well). Both fats absolutely essential, but the ratio should be closer to 1:1-6:1 (6s to 3s) instead of 50:1. There are graphs that show increase in such products following an almost identical path with increases in heart disease. SO I find the Omega 3s pretty important overall. Plant based 3s are not very well assimilated.

I think skewing fats away from diversity toward primarily n-6 oils is more at issue than anything. I can tell you get there is more than one way to effect a ratio, consuming less n-6 would change the ratio just like consuming more n-3. I try to use a simple approach myself. Looking at source and a diverse diet.

I try to get a good mix of SFA, MUFA, PUFA from a variety of sources. I can only eat so much fat in a day regardless of what a correlation study may suggest is good for me. Some foods have such great overall value to my intake they just aren't going anywhere. It's not a list of what I eat, it's a list of things I eat often that are higher in fat. I dont get 60% of my fat intake from industrial margarines and seed oils, so there is nothing to fix IMO. I'm going to skip looking at n-3 to n-6 out of context with any of 100 other factors that go into composing a cupboard with which to eat out of.

Some PUFA donors; nuts and nut butters, oilve oil, meats+fish, grains.

Some Mufa donors; nuts, olive oil, avacado, chocolate,

Some SFA donors; Meats+fish, dairy, eggs, coconut oil

Obv there is an overlap in the higher % fat composition of some these foods.


Oddly the advice to get a good spread of fats has been around a long time in nutrition information, long before we started trying to exclude or include fats ratios or caps. Reducing pufa in the above example IMO would be laughable as I am not going to stop consuming any of those foods, they offer too much in terms of my overall needs with great convenience. And spreading the variety keeps me from excessive n-6 consumption. I don't have to guzzle n-3's 24/7 to get there.

IIFYM is the stuff, but it does not mean I can't make some solid picks to keep in the cupboard to round out the timtams and count chocula.

Doesn't really cover the EPA/DHA/ALA/LA/AA topic much though. Although my cupboard delivers on all fronts.

Interesting chart:http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?t...d=84#foodchart

It's not like you need to agree with WHF on the order of the list but just run down it checking off all the foods already eaten. Not an all inclusive list of n-3 rich foods obv. IDK sensible eating seems to just smash on the whole issue, with the exception of the whole fish DHA/EPA deal. That seems to require some dedication, or a supplement.


TLDR, I just find the topic interesting.

[tank316]

When I start my crazy hours from spring till late fall I use these ...Pretty tasty
http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal

[DocHoss]

Chia is a species of Salvia that grows wild in the southwest. We have some on our land in Arizona. We enjoy it as a wildlfower, not as food.

As a useful rule of thumb, if something mentions toxins, it is utter bollox.

That was the main reason for me to come here and post, but you've already done it for me.

I think they taste better than frog eggs personally. I bought mine on Amazon for $5 for over 1lb. Prices vary....saw some at Walmart for $5 for what looked like a single serving.

Fixed for you

[gmach2]

ive been wanting to try chia seeds ever since my sister told me how great they are. i must admit she has a tendency to go overboard on the newest 'fad' items so i took her enthusiasm with a grain of salt. i will purchase some soon tho, just to satisfy my curiosity

[Hwri]

28 grams chia seeds contains following properties.
• Fiber: 11 grams.
• Protein: 4 grams.
• Fat: 9 grams (Calcium: 18% of the RDI)

[KidFreeze]

The book "Born to Run" made chia seeds the cool thing to eat.

[ElrondHubbard]

Chia is in the same group, I think, as quinoa and amaranth, so the nutrition should be fairly similar.

[ChuckersT]

I put a tablespoon of those and hemp seeds in my oatmeal everyday. Provide great fats, some protein and taste good.

Also for Ironmans and Ultramarathons, I fuel with "Huma" gels. They are Chia seed gels. I dont know that they are any better than other gels, but they are thick and the chocolate and coffee flavors taste like pudding.