{"id":44073,"date":"2015-10-06T14:15:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T18:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/?p=44073"},"modified":"2021-05-18T02:16:16","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T06:16:16","slug":"chia-flax-seeds-benefits-face-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/health\/chia-flax-seeds-benefits-face-off\/","title":{"rendered":"DailyBurn Face-Off: Chia Seeds vs. Flax Seeds – Which Is Healthier?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"DailyBurn
Photos: Perry Santanachote (top); Pond5<\/a> (bottom)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

You\u2019ve heard the buzz around both chia seeds and<\/em> flax seeds. Whether you\u2019re making a chia pudding<\/a>, adding flax to your yogurt, or doing a little bit of both, the benefits of these tiny seeds are enticing. But with chia seeds selling at more than $10 a bag<\/a>, and flax adding another $5<\/a> to your grocery bill (and both taking up space on your shelves) \u2014 which should you choose if you want to opt for only one?<\/p>\n

RELATED: <\/strong>9 Healthy Homemade Energy Bar Recipes<\/a><\/p>\n

We asked Sharon Palmer<\/a>, RDN, author of Plant-Powered for Life <\/em>to help us determine how these seeds stack up.<\/p>\n

Chia vs. Flax: A Matter of Taste? <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Before we get into the nitty-gritty healthy differences, Palmer says both chia seeds and flax seeds are solid additions to your diet. \u201cI recommend everyone consume one to two ounces of nuts or seeds<\/a> every day,\u201d she says. Flax will add a satisfying crunch to your yogurt, oatmeal or cereal. And chia will thicken smoothies<\/a>, puddings and desserts<\/a> with its gel-like consistency.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 10 Delicious Chia Seed Pudding Recipes<\/a><\/p>\n

The downsides? Some are grossed out by the gooey texture of chia, while flax requires extra legwork (you have to grind it, or buy it that way) before consuming. Plus, it\u2019s important to remember that both will add extra calories to your meal \u2014 about 60 calories per tablespoon for each.<\/p>\n

Breaking Down the Benefits<\/strong><\/h3>\n

“I recommend two grams a day of ALA and you can easily exceed this amount with one ounce of chia or<\/em> flax.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Taste may be subjective, but when it comes to nutritional benefits, there\u2019s a clear winner in this health battle. \u201cChia has more calcium and fiber,\u201d Palmer says.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the calcium in chia \u2014 18 percent of your daily recommended value per ounce \u2014 that truly impresses. \u201cPlant-based calcium<\/a> is a bit rare to find in foods,\u201d says Palmer. \u201cIf you avoid dairy, it\u2019s nice to be able to find other sources of the mineral.\u201d One 2011 study<\/a> revealed women ages 19 to 30 only consume about 600 mg of calcium per day (you\u2019re supposed to get 1,000 mg). Flax, on the other hand, is not generally considered a strong source of calcium.<\/p>\n

RELATED:<\/strong> 14 Creative Chia Seed Recipes<\/a><\/p>\n

And let\u2019s not forget about the fiber. Chia offers 10 grams per ounce compared to eight grams per ounce in flax. Adding more fiber to your diet can help you lose nearly five pounds in a year<\/a>, reports a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine<\/em>. And that\u2019s without making any other changes. Sprinkling chia onto your food can be an easy way to get more (though flax isn\u2019t too shabby, either).<\/p>\n

Both seeds are also a great source of alpha linolenic acid (ALA), a plant-based omega-3 fatty acid<\/a> (though flax wins on this measure), says Palmer. \u201cYou can\u2019t sneeze at the levels of ALA these foods have. I recommend two grams a day of ALA and you can easily exceed this amount with one ounce of chia or<\/em> flax,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

The bottom line:<\/strong> Both of these seeds offer unique benefits when it comes to both nutrition and taste. But if you\u2019re looking to add more calcium and fiber to your diet, chia seeds will get you there faster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chia seeds and flax seeds are both touted as nutritional superstars \u2014 but if you had to choose between them, here\u2019s which one is better for you. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":71,"featured_media":44075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7],"tags":[226,51,71,341,370],"class_list":["post-44073","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diet-nutrition","category-health","tag-chia","tag-food-choices","tag-nutrition","tag-tax1living-well","tag-tax2healthy-aging"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/71"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44073\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44075"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyburn.com\/life\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}