Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Chia or Flax?

This past weekend I was at the Cape with my family and I brought my new favorite addition to my oatmeal: chia seeds. My mom is always one to be up on nutrition trends and she wanted to try them. Then, she asked me what the difference between chia seeds and flax seeds (another seed I introduced her to a few years ago). I had absolutely no idea what the difference was, so I did some research. I though the results were interesting so hopefully you will too!

First off, chia and flax seeds have some similarities. The most obvious is that they are both filled with nutrients! Specifically, both chia and flax seeds are concentrated sources of the omega-3 fatty acid alpha-linolentic acid (ALA). In fact, one ounce of flax seeds and one ounce of chia seeds contain almost the same amount of ALA, 4.7 grams in flax and 5.0 grams in chia.

However, when looking at the dietary fiber in one ounce of chia vs. flax seeds, chia actually has 10.7 grams, where as flax seed contains 5.6 grams (still a great source of fiber!). This chia cheat sheet has an impressive resume for the chia seed:

-2 times the protein of any other seed or grain
-5 times the calcium of milk (plus boron which helps calcium transfer into our bones)
-2 times the potassium in bananas
-3 times the reported antioxidant strength of blueberries
-3 times more iron than spinach
omega 3 and omega 6 essential fatty acids

One major perk of chia seeds over flax seeds for ME is that chia seeds do not need to be ground to be easily digested. I am not a big fan of grinding my own seeds, and if you buy them ground they can go bad fairly quickly.

However, truthfully there really are limited studies on the overall effects of chia on our heath (Gina taught me this). There have been more studies on flax, but most of these studies have not been able to prove the impact that flax seeds have in cancer prevention or heart disease.

Overall, both chia and flax seeds have great nutritional profiles, which likely means they provide health benefits. However, you don't need to incorporate them into every meal. I have been enjoying a 1/2 a teaspoon of chia seeds in my oatmeal each morning :)

Do you like chia or flax seeds? What is your favorite thing to add them to?

Also I won't leave you hanging about yoga this morning. The class itself was awesome, my favorite teacher and such a good way to start the day. The showers were full when I got out of class so I had to come home (so much for packing all my stuff) but I still got to work at a reasonable time (just with soaking wet hair!) I thought my day was going to be zen after starting so well, but of course I haven't quite mastered carrying the yoga zen into my day and I was already annoyed by 10 am, but gotta start somewhere right?

Oh and just because I have to mention the weather, I think it was like 90 degrees today. I love warmth.

Hope everyone is having a good Wednesday!


26 comments:

  1. This is great to know - I haven't tried chia seeds yet...

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  2. I haven't tried either seed, but I'd like to. Then again, I don't want to buy a giant bag and not like them. Eventually...

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  3. I love drinking chia seeds. They add a fun texture to herbal tea and help me hydrate!

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  4. I eat ground flax daily in my morning oatmeal. I buy it pre-ground from the grocery store and keep it in the fridge, so it lasts a while. I haven't tried chia seeds yet, but I'm dying to! I like the idea of the crunch texture to them in my oatmeal!

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  5. I like both! I've been on a chia kick lately in my smoothies, overnight oats, and yogurt!

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  6. I have actually never tried other but I've seen some amazing chia pudding recipes circulating throughout the blogosphere. Google that shizz!

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  7. I use both -- I'll put chia seeds in my water bottle when I'm running.

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  8. I was really annoyed today as well. I just got a new schedule at work and work with 3 Title students in the afternoon now and got a call in the middle of teaching to be told.. return students to class. go teach art, we cancelled your other student and then you will go teach computers.. okay so i got a grand total of 15 minutes of prep today and i had to teach kindergarten/1st grade art. UGH UGH UGH.. then i had to deal with a 2nd grade class in computers who has had a sub going on 2 weeks.. they are AWFUL. i had to pull out my very very mean voice. ughhhh.

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  9. I sometimes put chia seeds in smoothies.

    So, I've always heard that flax goes bad quickly, but I've had this ground flax seed in my freezer for like a year and it seems okay. Maybe I'm eating bad flax!

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  10. I have not tried chia seeds - but I would probably have to get allergy tested because I have such bad allergies to "seeds"

    I wish I could have them - they have such great nutritional stats!

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  11. Interesting.... I dont like flax, I tried it and its all I can taste in everything I put it in...like I cant taste oatmeal anymore because of it, I might have to give the chia a try.

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  12. Can you believe it was warmer by you than here in Phoenix today?!

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  13. My mom is always up on nutrition! She's the one who first introduced me to flax, and then chia. I like both and have both in my fridge right now. I need to start using them more regularly again.

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  14. Great post Kelly. Thanks for the tidbit about few studies being published. While this is true, I think it also has to do with the fact that flaxseeds have been around in our society (America) for longer, therefore more people have had a chance to study them, rather than chia seeds. I'd be willing to bet more studies will be done in the future and they will have positive results. Either way, both chia and flax will help you reach your adequate intake of essential fats!

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  15. I have never tried chai seeds, but have used flax seeds in my smoothies. mmmm.

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  16. Ahh, I love this weather too! Just did a workout outside and it was glorious :)

    Thanks for the chia cheatsheet! I'm a fan of flax, but not of grinding it up in the mornings (I think I still have an unground bag in my fridge ...). I still haven't tried chia seeds yet, but I think they'd be great on my morning oats!

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  17. I am a flax seed gal! LOVE IT on or in anything! haha!

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  18. Interesting...thanks for all the info. I have used flax seed in the past, but haven't tried chia seeds yet. Definitely sounds like they're the better option!

    On another note, one of my co-workers was telling me this morning that he likes to roll his banana in ground flax... hmmmmmm!

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  19. I am so glad you are finally getting nice, warm weather. We had awesome warm weather last week. The temps have been more typical this week (in the 50s), but I can not complain as some years we would still have snow on the ground at this point!

    I have never tried Chia seeds and actually hadn't heard of them until you blogged about them. I am intrigued.

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  20. I haven't tried Chia or Flax seeds yet but have seen both of them around the blog world a lot lately!

    Lucky you with your weather. We woke up to SNOW this morning. Stupid Canada *grumble*

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  21. i do love chia and flax...I sometimes alternate what TBSP I use in my oats! its always one or the other! i always have both on hand in my kitchen! I also throw chia in some yogurt or homemade granola bars!!! thanks for the info on them!!

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  22. I love both, but the big perk of chia seeds is that they have no taste! So you can eat them on literally everything!

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  23. I just bought some chia seeds at Whole Foods and I've been putting them on my salad (spinach/walnut/gorgonzola/onion/apple cider vinegar/o.o./pepper). They freaking look like bugs but I'm trying to get over that part. I'm thinking of growing some for the kids--do you know if eating sprouted chia seeds are ok?

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  24. For more information about chia seeds, and some recipe ideas, check out my website: www.chiativity.org

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  25. I hadn't used chia seeds in a while but I think I will start adding them again! THanks for the reminder :D

    I love exercising in the morning but when I have to be somewhere early, I always end up feeling super frazzled from all the rushing :S

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