6 Health Benefits of Chia Seeds

Chia seeds, obtained from Salvia Hispanica, a desert plant grown in Mexico, are edible seeds that are rich in fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, proteins, calcium, carbohydrates, minerals and antioxidants. These small black and white seeds are especially good for heart patients and those suffering from arthritis and Type 2 diabetes.

However, it is important to consume these seeds in the right manner. When consumed with milk, water or other liquids these seeds make you feel satiated and help in curbing food craving that in turn helps in maintaining weight. Rich in several micronutrients, Chia seeds also serve as energy booster and offer a number of other health benefits. As Dr. Mehmet Oz from the Oprah show puts it, “They just may be one of the healthiest things around.”

Let us have a detailed look at the various benefits offered by these nutritious seeds.

1. Lower the risk of heart disease

Chia seeds are considered good for your heart as they help in lowering the bad cholesterol. As per a study dated 21st November 2012, published in the British Journal of Nutrition, chia seeds help in reducing triglycerides and LDL cholesterol levels and increasing HDL, the good cholesterol. These are thus good for your heart health. The study further revealed that alpha linolenic acid, better known as ALA, present in these seeds prevents high triglyceride levels thereby lowering central obesity.

2. Reduce Inflammation

Chia seeds are one of the richest sources of omega 3 fatty acids. These are particularly rich in alpha linolenic acid. The presence of these fatty acids helps in reducing inflammation. It is especially good for people suffering from arthritis as high levels of omega 3 fatty acids in these seeds helps in lubricating various joints and keeping them supple. Omega 3 fatty acids are also converted into prostaglandins that help in relieving pain. These are a good source of fiber too which again is known for reducing inflammation.

3. Stabilize the blood sugar level

Studies reveal that chia seeds play an important role in regulating your insulin levels. These seeds lower the rate at which carbohydrates are digested and absorbed in the body. The soluble fiber present in chia seeds helps stabilize blood glucose level. As per a study conducted by Dr. Vladamir Vuksan from St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, the blood of diabetic patients who consumed chia seeds regularly for three months was thinner and thus less prone to clotting. It also helped in controlling high blood pressure.

4. Regulate Bowel Movement

These healthy seeds are rich in fiber that helps in regulating the bowel function efficiently. So next time you experience indigestion or poor bowel movement you know what to have. Merely two tablespoons of chia seeds contain 10 grams of fiber which is one third of the daily recommended fiber intake.

5. Control Aging

Antioxidants help in controlling aging and chia seeds are rich in these. Consuming these regularly thus helps in keeping you healthy and controls aging.

6. Reduce weight

The consumption of chia seeds can help in reducing weight especially when these seeds are consumed with water or other liquid as the fiber present in these seeds absorbs water and expands inside the stomach making you feel full. This helps in controlling appetite. Chia is also rich in proteins that again help in reducing hunger.

However, though helpful in reducing weight, the consumption of chia seeds alone may not have as much impact. Your total calorie intake during a day as well as your overall lifestyle determines your weight.

How to consume Chia seeds?

Chia seeds have a mild nutty flavour and are almost tasteless. You need not necessarily have to ground these seeds as these can be digested whole. Chia seeds can be enjoyed as toppings on different dishes such as cereals, vegetables, rice, puddings and baked deserts. You may even add these to smoothies, yogurt, shakes and soups, mix these with peanut butter or sprout them. However, it is best to have chia seeds mixed in a glass of plain water, coconut water or cranberry juice.

Chia seeds have emerged as a super food over the last few years. Talking about these seeds, Dr. Andrew Thomas Weil said, “You will begin to see chia being added to more and more commercial products, such as prepared baby foods, nutrition bars, and baked goods.”

Having talked of all the positives of Chia Seeds, it is important to understand if there is any downside to chia? Researcher Catherine Ulbricht, PharmD, cautions that if you have food allergies (especially to Sesame and Mustard seeds) or are on high BP medications or blood thinners you should ask your doctor before adding Chia to your diet.

Healthy way to live!!

*Rujuta Diwekar* is the highest paid *dietician* in India. She is the one who took care of *junior Ambani* to lose 108 kgs.
*Her advice to diabetics*:

1. *Eat fruits grown locally* ..... Banana, Grapes, Chikoo, Mangoes. All fruits have FRUCTOSE so it doesn't matter that you are eating a mango over an Apple. A Mango comes from Konkan and Apple from Kashmir. So Mango is more local to you.

*Eat all the above fruits in DIABETES as the FRUCTOSE* will eventually manage your SUGAR

 2. Choose Seed oils than Veggie oils. Like choose ground nut, mustard, coconut & til. *Don't choose chakachak packing oils*, like olive,  rice bran etc
*Go for kachchi ghani oils than refined oils*

 3. Rujuta spends max time in her talks talking about GHEE and its benefits.
*Eat GHEE daily*. How much GHEE we should eat depends on food. Few foods need more GHEE then eat more and vice versa. Eat ample *GHEE. It REDUCES cholesterol*.

 4. *Include COCONUT.* Either scraped coconut over food like poha, khandvi or chutney with idli and dosa
Coconut has *ZERO CHOLESTEROL* and it makes your WAIST SLIM

 5. *Don't eat oats, cereals for breakfast*. They are packaged food and we don't need them.  Also they are tasteless and boring and our day shouldn't start with boring stuff.
Breakfast should be poha, upma, idli, dosa, paratha

 6. Farhaan Akhtar's New ad of biscuits - fibre in every bite... Even ghar ka kachara has fibre, likewise oats have fibre. Don't chose them for fibre. *Instead of oats, eat poha, upma, idli, dosa*

 7. *No JUICES till you have teeth* in your mouth to chew veggies and fruits

 8. *SUGARCANE is the real DETOX* . Drink the juice fresh or eat the SUGARCANE

 9. For pcos, thyroid - do strength training and weight training and avoid all packaged food

10. *RICE - eat regular WHITE RICE. NO NEED of Brown rice.* Brown rice needs 5-6 whistles to cook and when it tires your pressure cooker, then why do you want to tire your tummy.

A white rice is hand pounded simple rice

*Rice* is not high is GI INDEX.  Rice has mediun GI index and by eating it with daal / dahi / kadhi we bring its GI index further down
If we take _ghee over this daal chawal then the GI INDEX is brought further down._
*B.* Rice has some rich minerals and you can eat it even three times a day

11. How much should we eat - *eat more if you are more hungry,* let your stomach be your guide and vice versa

12. We can *eat rice and chapati together* or only rice if you wish. It depends on your hunger. *Eat RICE in ALL THREE MEALS without any fear.*

13. Food shouldn't make you scared like eating rice and ghee. *Food should make you FEEL GOOD*

14. *NEVER* look at *CALORIES*. Look at *NUTRIENTS*

15. *No bread, biscuits, cakes, pizza, pasta*

16. Ask yourself is this the food my Nani & Dadi ate?  If yes then eat without fear.

17. Eat as per your season. *Eat pakoda, fafda, jalebi in monsoon*. Your hunger is as per season. Few seasons we need fried food so eat them.

18. When not to have chai - tea - don't drink tea as the first thing in morning or when you are hungry. Rest you can have it 2-3 times a day and with sugar

19. *NO GREEN tea plesse.* No green, yellow, purple, blue tea.

20. Eat *ALL* of your *TRADITIONAL* foods.

21. Strictly *NO* to packaged foods / drinks.

22. *Exercise / Walk* more to digest & stay healthy.

Cholesterol, Heart Disease, Stroke, Statins

 

For the longest time animal fats, saturated fats like butter, ghee, coconut oil have been demonized by the whole cholesterol game played on by the  pharmas  and the food lobby for the last few years. All this instead of resulting in lesser strokes, cardiac arrests, and deaths caused by the cardiovascular disease have only increased. India, China, the U.S and other countries lead the world when it comes to heart disease.

Cholesterol has never been the problem and does not cause heart attacks and strokes. Yet, as we focus on just cholesterol and cholesterol-lowering drugs that have such severe side effects, we ignore inflammation and take high blood pressure lightly because, when on BP pills, it does bring down the pressure to within range. But in the background, there is more serious damage being caused because we tend to ignore the root causes and inflammation which lead to clots, strokes, paralysis and cardiac arrests.

The human body needs cholesterol to make vitamin D, to build and repair cell membrane, to develop memory and neuron health in the brain, to make hormones.Estrogen, testosterone, cortisone are all precursors of cholesterol and if we constantly try and lower cholesterol we have hormonal imbalances and issues from weight to depression to low immunity and rapid aging.The liver produces cholesterol every day. If by chance you eat high cholesterol foods, the liver will just produce lesser amounts, of course, unless you are overdoing it, then your levels may spike. 

Don't focus on total cholesterol, focus on HDL which is your good cholesterol and the more you have of it, the healthier you are. LDL can be high in the right amounts if your HDL is good. Low HDL and high LDL, is not good and high LDL, High HDL is ok. What you want to be careful of is VLDL, that is the fat that covers your organs and triglycerides, high triglycerides roam freely in your body forming plaque and clots anywhere over time and can lead to strokes and blocks.

The higher your insulin levels the higher your cholesterol. When our insulin rises, your cholesterol also rises, so for a diabetic who also has bad cholesterol focusing more on managing insulin will take care of the cholesterol. Every disease is connected and the human body has this brilliance and intelligence that mankind is yet to understand. So eating junk and processed all the time doesn't only lead to insulin insensitivity but, also cholesterol.

Nuts, saturated fats, good animal fats, eggs don't cause cholesterol. Bad carbs, processed salts, sugars, fiberless foods, excessive drinking, smoking, bad grains and excessive carbs cause high triglycerides, inflammation, low HDL and high LDL and VLDL.

I meet so many people who say, “I don't drink during the week but, I binge drink on the weekends.†You are better off drinking in moderation every day and not binge drinking. No matter how strong you think you are, your liver has a life and so does your heart and other organs.Smoking will cause the arteries to harden and an increase in high blood pressure which really is the main cause of most strokes and cardiac arrests.

In integrative medicine statins and cholesterol lowering drugs may be prescribed for a condition called ' familial hypercholesterolemia ' children and young adults born with bad cholesterol levels and a history of early cardiac arrests. For all other cholesterol issues, lifestyle and nutrition are enough to take care of your heart. Putting a stent and not changing your lifestyle is the most foolish thing someone can do. And, so is going through a bypass and not changing the way you eat and live. 

Understand how and what inflammation is?

You fall down, and you get a cut. Inflammation kicks in by your immunity to protect you and the healthy cells around your arteries will constrict so you don't bleed to death. Your blood will thicken so it can clot. Your immunity will produce chemicals and WBC, etc to fight infections, bacteria etc. Your cells will rapidly divide and multiply to repair and protect the cells around a scar forms and you heal. Take this same concept to your artery.

Keep eating junk, sugar, excessive alcohol, smoking, lack of sleep and your artery wall starts getting inflamed. Arteries constrict and blood thickens, sending your pressure up.Instead of a scar you get plaque which hardens over the months. Now you have high blood pressure, possible clots and eventual stroke or heart attacks. 

Inflammation is damaged cells and to repair cells the body needs cholesterol. So if you are on drugs to lower the same your inflammation always stays high as your body has insufficient cholesterol to repair the inflamed cells. 

CRP which is c-reactive protein is such an important marker for inflammation and yet highly ignored in the medical world. While we focus on cholesterol, it is more important to focus on inflammation.

Natural ways to manage your lipid profile.

Optimize your vitamin D. If you have low levels, your liver will constantly produce more cholesterol in the hope that the UVB sun rays will hit your skin and use cholesterol for vitamin D production.

Eat good saturated fats like the egg yolk, cold pressed coconut oil, olive oil, pure ghee, nuts, seeds,

Exercise daily

Sleep 7-8 hours

Manage stress levels that have a direct impact on pressure

Reduce salt (switch to pink). Junk processed, high carbs food

Increase your intake of fiber

Choose plant-based formulations over medications. Nature works better, always.

Yoga, deep breathing, pranayama, meditation

If you are on statins, plan with your doctor to get off it ASAP. Statins work by inhibiting an enzyme in your liver that produced cholesterol and this is messing with the intelligence of the human body after all, cholesterol really has nothing to do with overall heart health.If you are on a statin you have to be on a coq10 or ubiquinol as statins deplete coq10 enzyme leading to cellular damage and that's the reason people on statins have severe side effects ranging from muscle pain to migraines, blasting, fatigue, Alzheimer, fat gain and several other issues and then you need other drugs to manage these side effects. 

Get off your drugs, there are severe side effects. If you are willing to make lifestyle changes, that's what you need to kick the 'quick fix' drug habit. Keep your doctor in the loop always.