Chia seeds are one of the best food-sources of fiber to help with digestion, and preventing or relieving constipation.
I’ve talked about it before, but I’ll say it again — FIBER is one of the most critical “nutrients” that most people are deficient in.
The majority of Americans (and I’m sure Iraqis) are consuming way more protein than their body actually needs, and especially too much from animal products. Yet, protein is what most people are concerned about when they’re planning a meal.
True, protein (good quality protein to be more specific) is super important for our health and energy.
However, less than 3% of Americans are actually deficient in protein, while 97% are deficient in fiber!
And both too much protein, and too little fiber can also have a massive negative impact on one’s health. I’ll talk more about protein in upcoming posts.
If 97% of Americans are deficient in fiber, it’s likely that you might be!
We need to start worrying more about the fiber content of our meals! The minimum target is at least 25-30 grams of fiber per day, but some experts recommend at least 40 grams so that is what I strive for. But you want to slowly increase your intake.
Deficiency in fiber leads to increased risk of certain cancers, esp. colorectal and breast cancer, increased risk of diabetes, as well as increased risk of most chronic illness (due to increased inflammation in the body, hormonal imbalance, impaired detoxification, and lack of nourishment for your “good” gut bacteria (remember: 70-80% of your immune cells reside in your GI tract, thus the health of your microbiome is strongly linked to your overall health, as well as energy).
To learn more about flaxseeds and the importance of fiber, check out the following posts I wrote:
- Fiber: What you need to know + how to get enough
- The amazing benefits of just 1 Tbsp of FLAX SEEDS a day + recipes ideas
While flax is one of the most amazing foods and sources of fiber, chia seeds are pretty awesome as well. Chia actually contains more fiber than flax, and have a slightly different nutrient profile, as do all seeds, which is why it’s recommended to include a variety of seeds in your diet.
1 ounce of chia seeds (~3 tablespoons) has 11 grams of fiber.
1 ounce of flaxseeds (~3 tablespoons) has 8 grams of fiber.
Both are amazing additions to one’s diet. I always include at least a tablespoon of ground flax in my daily diet, but I also love to add chia to my breakfast and desserts (and use it as a natural fiber “supplement” to prevent constipation when I’m eating too much Kurdish food).
Here are a few of my favorite ways to use chia seeds:
- Chia pudding → Here’s a basic chia pudding recipe to start with. But you can experiment by mixing a 1:3 ratio of chia seeds to liquid (I love it with cashew milk) and let sit for at least 20 minutes, but ideally one hour, or overnight.
- Overnight oats (or regular oatmeal) → Try peanut butter overnight oats, banana nut overnight oats, chocolate chia overnight oats, or make your own creation!
- Chia jam → try this mixed berry chia jam recipe, or make some wild blueberry chia seed compote (and use with the PB&J chia pudding serving suggestion, or on top of warm oatmeal).
- Energy bites → Try these peanut butter cup energy bites (using dates), or for those who aren’t a fan of dates try these chocolate chia seed energy balls using raw honey (and to make them dairy-free use Enjoy Life chocolate chips).
- Agua fresca → Try this basic chia fresca with lime and honey, this hibiscus chia fresca, or add some chia seeds to this delicious ginger mint lemonade (I love this lemonade recipe, but I use it to flavor my water so the flavor is not as strong).
- Smoothies → I love to add a tablespoon of chia seeds to my green smoothie, but you could add to any smoothie recipe for a nutrient and fiber boost.
