CHIA IS A SUPERFOOD | Gluten Free

Chia seed is called a super food because it does have amazing health benefits, stores well, and easy to prepare. If you want to have something ready in an emergency, chia is the answer. Keep in in a 72 hour kit. Grab a bag and go. You could live for months without cooking or grinding. Simply soak 1 teaspoon in a glass of water, wait 10 minutes, and drink it down. Ancient warriors used to carry a bag and live off the seeds for months. It provided the needed protein and carbohydrates to give plenty of energy to the warriors. Many athletes have performed better with chia as told in the book Born to Run.

Chia does not need to be ground, cooked or sprouted. It has a much longer shelf life than flax.

I was on Tongatoppu when during a tsunami warning. The Other Side of Heaven was the video playing in the clinic where my husband and I were doing dental work. When the tsunami warning came, I realized that with my 5 gallon jug of water and 3 pounds of chia, we would not have the starvation depicted in the movie after a hurricane. For food storage and emergency preparedness, chia is a literal life saver.

1. Chia is the number one source of Omega 3 fatty acids in the plant form,  A-linolenic acid (ALA). 
2. Omega 3 fatty acids help the heart and circulation.  The omega 3s break up the lipids which cause blood clots, varicose veins, high blood pressure, stroke, heart attacks, cardiac arrhythmias, and high triglycerides.
3. Omega 3 fatty acids cause significant protection against cancer.
4. Omega 3s prevent or reverse arthritis and Parkinson's.
5. Omega 3s promote brain health, relieving depression and anxiety, ADD and memory loss.  Some promising studies show help for bi-polar and schizophrenia.
6. Omega 3s increase immunity.
7. Omega 3s help prevent age related blindness.
8. Omega 3's are correlated to lower waist circumference and less obesity.
9. Chia absorbs ten times its volume in water. This hydrophilic quality helps the body hydrate. Hydrating is essential for athletes.
10. Chia coats the stomach relieving gas and gerd.
11. Chia slows the blood sugar spike a benefit for diabetics. 
12. Chia provides a full feeling. This natural appetite suppressant helps weight loss. 
13. Chia supplies 3 times more antioxidants than blueberries.  Blueberries topped the list for high antioxidants until chia was studied. Antioxidants slow free radicals that cause aging and cancer.
14. The chia gel lines the intestine and pulls out toxins.
15. No need to buy organic, because chia is naturally bug resistant.
16. High fiber in chia helps digestion and elimination.
17. Chia supplies a complete protein.
18. Chia supplies 5 times more calcium than milk.  It also supplies the other minerals needed for bone health including boron and magnesium.
19. Chia supplies 2 times more potassium than bananas.  These natural electrolyte minerals make it better than Gatorade for athletes.
20. The magnesium in chia helps heart rhythm, bones, blood sugar, chronic fatigue, emotional balance, and restless leg syndrome.
21. Folic acid in chia promotes a healthy pregnancy, brain function, cancer prevention, intestinal health, circulation, and teeth and gums.
22. The naturally occurring iron in chia helps the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood.
23. If you lived on food storage basics, you would suffer from vitamin C deficiency. Add plenty of chia to your storage basics because it supplies 7 times more vitamin C than an orange.

If there were a drug that did all this, you would run to the Doctor for your prescription. The Lord puts it in chia. Why do you trust the drug companies more than the Lord? In Isaiah the Lord tries to convince people to choose him over the idols. He says, compare me to an idol. You have to carry the idol. I carry you. I always wondered why anyone would worship an idol. It is because the idols do not require people to obey them. Drugs do not require changing our foods. We can make the idols our gods without changing our behavior. When people eat junk food and take prescriptions, they want to do the same thing as idol worship. They will not change their behavior. Drugs do not require it. Healthy foods require a change.

FLAX REGULATES HORMONES

Flax is an amazing health food, if used correctly. Although chia has more ALA and antioxidants than flax. Flax is the next highest. Flax also has the hormone regulating properties, not available in chia. In order to get the health benefits, it needs to be ground in some way and used soon. The whole flax, whether eaten raw or cooked, is a great laxative – but it doesn’t do the healing that the freshly ground flax seed provides. Do not buy flax meal, there is no way it can be kept from going rancid. Buy the whole flax and either soak and blend it with the water or grind it in a coffee grinder or blender to make flax meal. Use flax meal on the top of salads, cereals. Ground flax retains nutrition when cooked or baked. However, the very best way is to soak and blend the flax, because the soaking makes the nutrients more available. Flax comes in two forms, golden and brown. There is very little difference in the nutrients, though brown seems to contain a little more ALA and costs less.

Flax must be ground fresh. Store in freezer to prevent it form going rancid. Do not eat more than 2 T. per day because it contains a toxin.

Many customers tell me they take flax oil. This is great for omega 3s. It must be refrigerated or it will go rancid. The freshly ground flax is much better. The oil does not have the lignans which regulate hormones. Whole flax costs less than flax oil and has many more health benefits listed here.

Health Benefits of Flax:

1. The omega 3s in flax balance fatty acids (see omega 3 benefits listed under chia above).
2. Flax regulates blood pressure.
3. Flax prevents heart disease, heart attack, and stroke.
4. Flax lowers cholesterol as well as statin drugs.
5. Vitamin B17 in flax reduces risks of cancer.
6. Flax is anti-inflammatory, protecting against asthma, joint pain, bronchitis, fibermyalgia, and arthritis
7. Flax normalizes insulin.
8. Flax stabilizes blood sugar
9. The lignans in flax are anti-bacterial, anti-fungal and anti-viral.
10. Flax promotes bone health.
11. Flax provides magnesium, which regulates heart rhythm , helps bones, regulates blood sugar, gives energy, helps emotional health.
12. Lignans regulate hormones (gets rid of the bad and helps use the good). Lignans relieve menopausal symptoms, menstruation problems, prevent breast cancer, prevent prostate cancer.
13. The fiber regulates stool – big time!
14. Flax is an excellent source of electrolytes (magnesium, potassium, manganese, phosphorus, iron and copper).
15. Flax moisturizes and nourishes skin from the inside.
16. Flax improves brain health to overcome ADD, Alzheimer's and dementia.

A customer told me never to eat flax because it has a toxin. I researched and found that flax does indeed contain cyanide, a poison. With further search I found out that it is in a compound that does not hurt normal cells but kills cancer. This same compound is found in flax, millet, sorghum, apple seeds, almonds, and apricot seeds. This is the same toxin found in laetrile or vitamin B6 which kills cancer. When extracted into a supplement it is harmful, when occurring naturally in food, it does not harm you, but kills the cancer. The sulfur containing amino acids found in sesame seeds detoxifies.