The Endurance Seed | Chia Seeds Nutritional Information

The Endurance Seed

Knowing chia seeds nutritional information is a necessity before consuming any type of food, especially if your an athlete. Bill Bowerman, the co founder of Nike said, “if you have a body, you are an athlete.”Basically everyone needs to consume these. Chia seeds are from the Salvia Hispanica plant that grows natively in South America. It was considered a stable diet of ancient Aztec and Mayans a long time ago. The word “chia” means “strength” in ancient Mayan. Warriors would consume these tiny little seeds before battles that gave them extra strength. Besides from giving you extra strength these little guys are full of other benefits…

Full of Antioxidants
One of the Best Sources for Fiber
Weight Loss
High in Omega 3’s
Can Lower the Risk of Heart Disease and Type 2 Diabetes
Increases Sports Performance

Chia Seeds Nutritional Information (1oz)

Calories 138

% Daily Value*
Total Fat 9 g	13%
Saturated fat 0.9 g	4%
Polyunsaturated fat 7 g
Monounsaturated fat 0.7 g
Trans fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg	0%
Sodium 5 mg	0%
Potassium 115 mg	3%
Total Carbohydrate 12 g	4%
Dietary fiber 10 g	40%
Protein 4.7 g

Vitamin A	0%	Vitamin C	0%
Calcium	17%	Iron	12%
Vitamin B-12	0%	Magnesium	23%

These are all great health benefits, but for me personally I’m really intrigued by the enhance sports performance aspect.

In Christopher’s McDougall book Born to Run, Chris poses the question why can’t I run for longer and without hurting. Eventually tracks a hidden tribe called Rarámuri or Tarahumara Indians that reside deep in the northwestern Mexico canyons living in caves. The Tarahumara’s are known for their ultra endurance running, its been documented they can run non-stop for over 24 hours… Sometimes for 200 miles at a time! While doing this barefoot in treacherous canyons full of snakes, sharp rocks and a hot climate. There are a few reasons why this tribe is able to run extreme distances at a time, but one staple of their diet is chia seeds.

Chia seeds pack about 12 grams of carbohydrates, but 11 grams of those are fiber.

Leaving only one gram of a carbohydrate. However, chia seeds can expand 10-12 times their weight in water that continues to expand in your stomach. This makes you feel fuller and you carry on with your day.

The Tarahumara’s have an unique, but simply recipe known as “Iskaite” which consisted of…

1 tablespoons of chia seeds
12 oz glass of water
lemon or lime juice
Honey (optional for taste)

Stir the seeds and let them sit in the water for 5 mins, stir again and let them sit in the glass for however long you want. The longer they reside in the glass the more gel like it will become.

From a taste standpoint, its not bad, having the lemon/lime juices or honey for flavoring really helps out a lot. From a performance standpoint, I have made it a staple of mine before I go into a hard workout. It has given me a lot more energy and I don’t fatigue as easy.