There are a number of health benefits to consuming chia seeds, many involving the gut. They have a pretty good amount of protein, and a great omega 6:3 ratio(0.3:1).

But what stands out most about chia seeds is there fiber content. A 2 tbsp serving of chia seeds packs 10g of fiber, but the awesomeness doesn’t end there.

They also pack a punch when it comes to minerals, particularly magnesium and calcium. Each serving contains 152mg of calcium and 95mg of magnesium.

All of this packed into around 140 cals, not bad!!!

Image source

Health benefits of chia seeds: Don’t forget the polyphenols!!!

When we typically think of polyphenols, we think of bright colors and wild flavors. While chia seeds have neither, they actually contain a healthy dose of several polyphenols.

• Quercetin
• Kaempferol
• Chlorogenic acid
• Caffeic acid

For such a dull looking seed, chia seeds pack quite the nutritional punch. We cover this in a new Youtube Short you can check out below:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jX7_u5MbOmk

Using chia seeds in recipes

Chia seeds have a very interesting texture. When you add water, they swell up into little jelly balls. They’re quite useful for making desserts or other types of food with a pudding like texture.

GT uses them in some of their kombucha flavors, and they taste of the kombucha mixed with the jelly-ness of the chia seeds creates a wonderful flavor experience.

If you’re looking to extract as may of the health benefits of chia seeds as possible, it’s important to break or crack them. A problem with many seeds is that they are difficult to digest, making the nutrients less bioavailable. Cracking them open increases the bioavailability.

You can purchase them milled, or simply add them to recipes that go in the blender. To maintain peak freshness and shelf stability, it’s best to buy them in whole form and do the blending yourself.

My oatmeal raisin chia seed pudding

I love oatmeal raisin cookies. In my opinion, you can toss the chocolate chip and give me oatmeal raisin all day e’ryday. I created a simple to make, delicious oatmeal raisin chai pudding that’s loaded with great goodies for the gut.

Check out the recipe in this 60 second Youtube Short video clip:

https://youtube.com/shorts/4blpYGv1zQE?feature=share

Ingredients for this recipe include:

• 4 oz water
• 1 small apple
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/4 cup of raisins
• Pumpkin pie spice to taste

For those that care, here are the nutrition facts:

• 287 cals
• 10g fat
• 50g carbs
• 14g fiber
• 6g protein

This is normally my dessert after lunch. I love the taste and the 15g of fiber helps get me to my daily goal of over 50g of fiber per day.

If you give this a try, let us know how you like it in the comments section below.

Enjoy!