I remember wanting a Chia pet after seeing the commercials for them when I was younger but I never thought of eating one. Until recently, when I was watching Dr. Oz on television and he spoke a lot about chia seeds and it’s many health benefits.
Of course, he doesn’t mean to eat the Chia pet, but the seeds that make the Chia pet are actually edible and good for you. I jokingly asked a friend of mine if she thought a chia pet would grow in my stomach if I ate the seeds. She shook her head, laughed and said no. So I decided to buy them.
Chia seeds are sold in some supermarkets and online. One of the benefits of eating the seeds that interested me, was that the seeds can boost your energy and elevate your mood. Suffering from fatigue and some days with depression, I could certainly use an energy boost and elevated mood.
Basically, the chia seeds help to clean the toxins out of our system. This could explain why you may get a boost in energy levels. A boost in energy could then elevate your mood.
So I decided to put a few teaspoons of chia seeds into a green smoothie that I was making. I don’t know if it was just the chia seeds or the combination of the chia with the smoothie, but I instantly felt a boost in energy. However, I also felt a bit of nausea too. I think I may have tried too much at one time.
Instead of using a few teaspoons, I cut it down to one teaspoon and mixed it in the blender with my smoothie. I did not feel nauseous. I’m guessing that I may have used too much the first time I tried it and may have been too much for my body, since I’d never consumed chia seeds before.
Now I add more chia seeds to my smoothies and it makes the smoothie thicker and taste better. To me, it has somewhat of a nutty flavor. It tastes kind of like I put crushed walnuts in my smoothie. I liked the added flavor and thickness it adds to my drink.
Besides the flavor and adding thickness to my smoothie, the seeds also seem to elevate my mood. Sometimes I feel as if the room appears brighter, like the sun is shining in my house. Almost every time I consume the seeds, I feel a lift. I feel less tired, less fatigued and in a better mood.
In fact, before eating chia seeds, I would usually feel like I was in a slump during the middle of the afternoon. My eyes would feel tired and heavy and I did not have much energy. After consuming the chia seeds in the morning before I go to work, I feel like I am more energized throughout the day.
If you take the seeds and soak them in a liquid, they expand and become like a gel. There are other ways to eat the seeds. You could sprinkle them on your food, make a pudding with them or even use them as a baking ingredient. My favorite way though, is by adding them in my smoothie. I feel the energy boost and elevated mood much quicker this way.
If you are feeling down or low on energy, you may want to try adding chia seeds to your diet. Hopefully they will be able to help you the way they have helped me.
