Ch-Ch-Ch-Chia!

READ THIS!!! I have come across an amazing thing the last couple of weeks and am excited to share about this...because it was the first time I have heard about it and probably most of you have never heard it either.

Talking to a co-worker one day, she tells me that she's starting to run regularly again and feels better training than she ever has. Knowing I love to run, I started asking questions about why she loves it so much. That is when she tells me about Chia Seeds. She drinks them, and she swears she can run twice as much when she does without being out of breath or feeling tired. "You actually drink them??"...was my response, and being the curious person I am I went online and then to the health food store (Sunflower Market!) a couple days ago to check these out. Pictured below...

SO...long post short...
Here are the amazing health benefits of Chia Seeds- I am not kidding...

ENERGY!

"When Chia seeds are put into water, they form a gel that apparently slows down the digestive process...Doctors believe that the same thing happens when they are digested and this barrier of gel that is created slows down the conversion of carbs into sugars.

The obvious benefit of this is that your body is able to feed off of these carbs for a longer period of time and therefore creates more energy for you to live off of. This in turn will give you more energy allowing you to have more endurance. Instead of having the ups and downs that you would experience with today’s energy drinks, you would just have one prolonged burst of energy from a single dose."

HYDRATION!

"Another benefit of the Chia seed is something that is right before your eyes, but something that you may not have thought of. The reason that the Chia seeds forms this gel like substance is because it has the ability to absorb about twelve times its weight in water and hold onto it. Think about that for a moment and think of how valuable something like that can be to an endurance athlete.

While you may not think to buy Chia seeds for an athletic competition, your mind will quickly change when you realize that this ability to absorb so much water is ideal as it can prevent you from dehydrating."

OTHER HEALTH EFFECTS

• Fiber- more than flax seeds AND assists really well with digestion
• Can assist in losing weight the inexpensive & healthy way
• great source of vitamins and high levels of Omega-3 essential acids
• calcium, protein, phosphorus and zinc rich plant

I have been taking Chia seeds the last couple of days and honestly feel like I have so much more energy (not fatigued like I get sometimes) and just feel overall better. I put ONE Tablespoon into an 8oz or more glass of water, and let it sit for 10 minutes. I usually drink it before I go to bed, but you can drink it generally whenever. The gel like substance took a day or two to get used to fyi, but there really is no taste. I haven't gone running yet but excited to! :)

ALSO...the most you should spend for these is around 6 or 7 dollars. I got them at Sunflower Market in the bulk section for $6.99/lb.

Go to CHIA SEED GUIDE for all your info : http://www.chiaseedguide.com/
(information from this post was taken from here...and others)