GARDENPlants and seeds

How much chia seeds do you drink a day?

I put two tablespoons in a 32 ounce water bottle a day. I feel it is sufficient but I was curious if anyone new of any medical research done about how much is appropriate and if it is even as good as people claim it to be.

Many days I mix half a cup of chia seeds with water in a 28oz blenderball bottle & in 28oz blenderball bottle I add 2 tablespoons each of chlorella, spirulina, turmeric, wheat grass, kelp as well as tsp. of cinnamon & add a splash of raw apple cider vinegar & raw honey. I mix these two together over ice (& usually added water) & drink this all day. It’s very filling. I “forced” myself to drink the green drink for months before allowing myself to eat any foods (otherwise I wouldn’t drink it at all) but after I added the chia seed, I enjoyed drinking the green drink. No clue why, chia has no taste.

I did seem to feel a synergy between the green foods & the chia seed but can’t report anything noticeable. A lot of chia seed sellers are touting Omega 3 health benefits & I agree omega 3 are needed to balance out Omega 6 in the diet but I think the main health benefits of Omega 3 are found in fish oil (EPA & DHA) & not chia seed.

I highly recommend chia seed for it’s nutritional value, I can’t see spending more than $5# a pound for it though. I get mine in bulk from getchia.com

from the link –

Chia Seed Research -

study from June 2009 – 90 overweight ppl – 12 week study to determine if chia could help promote weight loss and improve cardiovascular health. Half of the group received a 25 gram serving of chia seeds before breakfast & dinner. – no noticeable results other than the serum levels of plant-based omega-3 fats (alpha linolenic acid) increased by 24%. This is considered a positive finding and indicates some degree of absorption of the healthy fats contained within the seeds.

A scientific trial completed in 2009 examined the effect of chia seeds on appetite and blood sugar levels. That research assessed the impact of adding various amounts of chia to refined (“white”) bread or rice milk. The amount of chia used per test serving ranged from 7 grams to 24 grams. The authors of this study found that the middle (15 grams) and highest dosages (24 grams) resulted in blood glucose reductions of between 33-44%. The “intermediate dose” of chia also prompted a 47% drop in hunger levels.

a similar, longer-term experiment published in November 2007 in the journal Diabetes Care. That trial lasted 12 weeks and examined the role that chia could have in a group of twenty type-2 diabetics. Wheat bran was also employed in that study as a means of comparison. On average, the typical daily intake of chia was 37 grams.

* While undergoing the chia diet there was a significant reduction in C-reactive protein (an inflammatory marker), improvements in blood sugar control (A1C) and circulatory factors (fibrinogen) and a drop in systolic blood pressure.
* No negative changes were noted in kidney or liver function and no weight loss was documented.

Does this mean that this particular product is somehow superior, as the manufacturer claims? It’s difficult to say at this point. But there is some evidence to suggest that different growth environments can influence the composition of chia seeds.

A study from January of this year found that adding chia seeds to the feed of rats given a “sucrose-rich diet” prevented many of the harmful cardiovascular effects and the expected rise in insulin levels due to insulin resistance. A reduction in visceral fat deposits was also detected in the chia fed rats. This is certainly promising, but at this point, I must conclude that more research is required to clarify the blood sugar and heart health related consequences of chia supplementation in humans.

Going gluten-free [CNN: 5-29-2011]