People recognize what chia pet is. It’s a gift item that is made from clay. Yet, I want to discuss about chia seeds. Decades ago, the seeds from this plant are traded both local and online. It’s sold mostly at health food stores as weight reduction food. How much is chia seeds calories? It will be discussed later here. This health food is supposed to help us to control hunger while they may enhance our diet with their rich of nutrients. Most of people also use chia seed to deal with obesity. Learning both the benefits and origin of this food is beneficial for us.
What is Chia Seeds?
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What is chia? It’s a safe to eat seed that comes from Salvia hispanica (desert plant), growing in Mexico. This health food has been used in many cultures including ancient Aztec and Mayan. The word “chia” has the meaning of strengths. Therefore, people tend to use this food as an energy enhancement. It makes sense because chia seeds contain rich of nutrients such as carbohydrates, fatty acids, antioxidants, fiber, protein, calcium, and many more. Chia seeds are categorized as unprocessed food that can be eaten as seeds. An ounce (calories in 1 tbsp chia seed) contains 4 grams protein, 139 calories, 9 grams fat, 11 grams fiber, 12 grams carbohydrate, and minerals.
Chia seeds have nutty and mild flavor that can suit many beverages and foods. Mostly, they are added on sauces, cereals, rice dishes, vegetables, baked foods, yogurts, and many others. Chia seeds also can be added with mere water. It will form a gel. Can chia seeds really help you losing weight? In theory, they should expand in your belly. They help you to feel full longer, eat less, and reduce weight from calories in 1 tablespoon chia seeds. There’s a study discussing about it. There’s no reduction of weights among participants who are given 50 grams chia seeds each day.
Can They Reduce Weight?
In fact, the evidence is quite limited on chia to reduce weight efficiently. Most of studies only show the good effect of chia seeds for heart health, but none of them showing positive effects on weight reduction by calories in chia seeds. More study is required before chia seeds will be recommended for weight reduction. Should we try chia? Although there’s small evidence for weight reduction advantage, this health food can become super-nutrition booster in our diet. Based on study, there are no people complaining about chia seeds consumption for 12 weeks. Chia seeds can be the best replacement for processed grains such as white bread. It’s healthier indeed.
Experts recommend 2 daily doses of chia seeds. Each of the doses should contain 20 grams which is less than 2 tablespoon of this health food. Importantly, the antioxidant quality of chia seeds is higher than others, even blueberries. Is there any side effect of chia seeds? Some cautions are given associated to food allergies, especially for those who have allergies against mustard and sesame seeds. Those who have high blood pressure should get doctor’s recommendation before adding chia seeds to the diet. Overeating and wrong dosage of chia seeds may lead into health problems.
The bottom line is, chia seeds can be used to boost nutrient intake in our body such as calcium, protein, fiber, omega 3s, and antioxidant. However, we shouldn’t expect good result of weight reduction. Unfortunately, there will be no magic seeds for weight reduction. If you really want to reduce weight, you should follow healthy eating diet, control the calorie intake, and get more exercises. The calories chia seeds are small in 1-tablespoon serving. However there are many health benefits that you can get from it. Most of chia seeds’ calories come from monounsaturated fatty acids and omega 3. These will protect your heart.
Chia Seeds Calories and Side Effects
Eating chia seeds in appropriate dosage gives you 5 grams of fiber for colon health. Some minerals of this health food give strength to the bones while the B vitamins may empower your metabolism. To get all of the benefits, you can add chia seeds on smoothie or stir them on cereal. Chia seeds also become perfect sprinkler for salad. So, how many calories in chia seeds? A tablespoon of this health food (14 grams) contains about 70 calories. It’s quite safe to consume chia seeds daily in regular dosage. With many benefits of chia seeds towards our health, it makes people unaware about some possible side effects.
As a result, chia seeds indeed have potential effects to endanger our health. Eating too much chia seeds will lead into some health issues such as blood problems and stomach ache. It will be very devastating for chia seeds lovers. It doesn’t mean that we should stop eating chia seeds, but it will be safe to become more aware of any side effects before including this health food to your diet. The most common side effect of eating chia seeds is allergy. Getting allergies from this edible seeds may be rare, but some symptoms such as water eyes, hives, and rashes can occur. In some cases, we can suffer from vomiting, trouble breathing, tongue swelling, and other chia seeds side effects.
How to Eat Chia Seeds
We can make chia pudding, one of the best chia seeds recipes. It can be made by mixing ¼ cup of chia seeds in a cup of water (fruit juice and almond milk are popular alternatives). Once the seeds become firm and there’s no longer any water, the pudding is ready to consume. This process can take 15 minutes, although it’s recommended to keep the pudding in the fridge for several days. Since chia seeds are tasteless, you can add spices by chopping nuts, fruits, and other toppings that you like. Honey can be perfect addition as well for chia pudding.
Dry chia seeds are also perfect for juices and smoothies. Moreover, you can add these seeds on oatmeal, yogurts, or salad. If you are going to use the seeds to wet dishes, you should deal with its swelling form. Since these seeds are able to absorb lots of liquid, it’s quite important to stay hydrated after consuming chia seeds. It’s recommended to drink eight 8oz glasses daily. It’s sufficient to fulfill your need of hydration aside from getting chia seeds calories on your diet.
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