You may have scrolled past those sprinkled on fancy-looking breakfast bowls or dotted through smoothies, but what is the best way to eat chia seeds? How much chia seeds should you eat a day? Abuzaytoun, R., & Shahidi, F. (2006a). Oxidative stability of algal oils as affected by their minor components. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 54(21), 8253–8260. Here are 10 chia seed benefits + reasons why your next dessert should be a chia seed pudding. What are chia seeds? Borneo R, Aguirre A, León AE. Chia ( Salvia hispanica L) gel can be used as egg or oil replacer in cake formulations. J Am Diet Assoc. 2010; 110:946–949. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2010.03.011. [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]

Our body uses healthy fats, like essential fatty acids, for multiple body processes and for energy. Their health benefits include 1: 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 1;29(6):414-8. However, to avoid possible digestive side effects, drink plenty of water when eating them — especially if they have not been presoaked. Phytic acid content Omega-3 fatty acids are incredibly important for your body and brain, and chia seeds are an excellent source of the omega-3 ALA.

Koh AS, Pan A, Wang R, Odegaard AO, Pereira MA, Yuan JM, Koh WP. The association between dietary omega-3 fatty acids and cardiovascular death: the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2015 Mar;22(3):364-72.

Because chia seeds are pretty much flavorless, chia eggs can be better than other vegan egg alternatives like banana and oil in some dishes. Eating a diet rich in antioxidants can help to reduce the oxidative damage caused by free radicals. Manzella D, Paolisso G (2005) Cardiac autonomic activity and Type II diabetes mellitus. Clin Sci 108:93--97 [ PubMed] Spanos G.A., Wrolstad R.E. Influence of processing and storage on the phenolic composition of thompson seedless grape juice. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 1990; 38:1565–1571. doi: 10.1021/jf00097a030. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Chia seeds are generally considered safe to eat, and few to no adverse effects have been reported from consuming them ( 59).The absorption of some minerals, such as iron and zinc, may be reduced because of the phytic acid content of chia seeds. SUMMARY Campo C.D., Santos P.P., Costa T.M., Paese K., Guterres S.S., Rios A.D. Nanoencapsulation of chia seed oil with chia mucilage ( Salvia hispanica L.) as wall material: Characterization and stability evaluation. Food Chemistry. 2017; 234:1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.04.153. [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] For practical purposes, all seed oils (stripped and non-stripped) were placed in an air-forced oven at 60 °C during the Schaal oven test. Abou-Gharbia et al. ( 1996) reported that storage of oil for one day under Schaal oven conditions at 65 °C was equivalent 1 month of storage at room temperature (25 °C). Furthermore, flavour scores of the oils stored for 4 days at 60 °C agreed with those stored for 4 months at room temperature (25 °C) (Warner et al. 1989).

One of the unique characteristics of chia seeds is their high content of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids.Copado C.N., Diehl B.W., Ixtaina V.Y., Tomás M.C. Application of Maillard reaction products on chia seed oil microcapsules with different core/wall ratios. Lebensmittel-Wissenschaft und -Technologie- Food Science and Technology. 2017; 86:408–417. doi: 10.1016/j.lwt.2017.08.010. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Munoz LA, Aguilera JM, Rodriguez-Turienzo L, Cobos A, Diaz O (2012a) Characterization and microstructure of films made from mucilage of salvia hispanica and whey protein concentrate. J Food Eng 111:511–518 Ayerza RJ, Coates W. seeed yield oil content and fatty acid composition of three botanical sources of & ohgr: 3 fatty acid planted in the Yugas ecosystem of tropical Argentina. Trop Sci. 2007; 47(4):183–187. doi: 10.1002/ts.211. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Ixtaina V.Y., Julio L.M., Wagner J.R., Nolasco S.M., Tomás M.C. Physicochemical characterization and stability of chia oil microencapsulated with sodium caseinate and lactose by spray-drying. Powder Technology. 2015; 271:26–34. doi: 10.1016/j.powtec.2014.11.006. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar]