Chia seeds inflammatory?

(Keto Troll) #1

I recently came across an arrticle by Dr. Loren Cordain who claims that chia seeds are inflammatory. Most other sources claim the opposite. While they aren’t a major staple of my diet and I’m not planning on replacing my protein intake with them I do eat them from time to time and was wondering what others thought. Ive had IBS issues in the past due to wheat and legumes so I’m trying to keep my inflammation as low as possible in order to heal my gut. Here is the link to the article. He mentions a study but does not cite it. http://thepaleodiet.com/seed-fatty-acid-composition/

(Keto Krazy) #2

Here is the rebuttal to that study with responses from Dr. Cordain. http://www.mendosa.com/blog/?p=783

I am a chia seed lover, so I have tried to find information, but there have been limited human studies that would give conclusive evidence. Those studies I have found, either show BENEFITS http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11130-012-0286-0 with increase in ALA, http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/teen-derek30.htm

Or at most, no significant negative effects. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22830971

(Keto Troll) #3

Thank you ! I knew someone here would have more information. At this point I don’t believe people’s claims out of hand especially dietary advice without citing real research and even then we all know how misleading that research can be. Ultimately my body is the best indication for me. For instance I’m not a regular heavy cream user anymore and the dairy product I eat the most is cheese. Because of holiday keto treats I’ve been eating HWC. After eating HWC I’ve noticed a feeling in my abdominal area that I associate with my IBS issues. Looks like HWC is inflammatory for me. Thank you again for posting the links. I read somewhere that the indigenous peoples used chia flour to make tamales and tortillas. That peaked my interest in trying to do the same.

(jketoscribe) #4

I don’t know about whether they are inflammatory but they definitely have phytoestrogens so I use them sparingly. A tsp here or there is fine, but I won’t be eating them in large volume.

#5

I just read Lauren Cordain’s article and searched in our forums and found this. I’m glad we have this resource! Anyway, I am a big fan of the Weston A. Price Foundation. They advocate soaking and sprouting all grains and seeds to remove phytates and other anti-nutrients, so I might agree with Cordain’s Assessment to avoid them. I assume the gel of soaked chia seeds would still contain the anti-nutrients since you can’t throw out the “soaking water” like you can after soaking nuts, for example.