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15 Reasons Why You Need to Eat More Chia Seeds (Number 8 is Amazing)
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13. Health Improvements for Diabetics
Chia seeds have been shown to dramatically help those who suffer from diabetes. One study used 20 diabetic subjects who consumed either 37 grams of chia seeds or 37 grams of wheat bran for the 12 week study period. The subjects how received chia seeds saw their blood pressure drop by 3 to 6 mm/Hg and their inflammatory marker (hs-CRP) go down by an astounding 40 percent. There was a small drop in blood sugar, but nothing significant.
14. Helps to Stop Cravings
Chia seeds are packed full of protein and protein has all kinds of health benefits, not all of them something you can see, but something you can definitely feel. Diets that are high in protein have been shown to reduce overall appetite and, perhaps better still, reduce obsessive thoughts about foods and reduce cravings by as much as 60 percent! A high protein diet can also cut your desire for night time snacking by 50 percent. So it you are one of those nighttime eaters, or if you get frequent food cravings, adding chia seeds to your diet only makes sense!
SEE ALSO: Top 10 Reasons Why You Should be Eating More Quino
15. Easy to Eat
Some foods are so bulky that even though they have a great deal of health benefits, it can be difficult to eat enough of them. Chia seeds, on the other hand, are super easy to add to any diet. You can put them in smoothies, eaten raw exactly as they are (they don’t need to be ground like flax seeds do), soaked in juice, added to baked goods, salads, puddings, cereal, yogurt, rice, or vegetable dishes. Chia sees will absorb both fat and water, so you can add a handful to thicken sauce or add them to egg substitutes. Simply by adding a tablespoon or two of chia seeds to whatever you are eating or drinking will dramatically improve the nutritional value of that food. Since chia seeds have no real taste, they go well with any dish!
Chia seeds appear to be well tolerated by everyone, however, if you are not used to eating a great deal of fiber, you might find that you get some gas when you first start eating them. Start with one tablespoon a day and work yourself up to 1.5 tablespoons of chia seeds twice per day.
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