Chia seeds are a South American health craze which began thousands of years ago, continued until the Aztec Empire, were suppressed 500 years ago, and only saw a resurgence in the last 25 years.
Their main claim in the nutritional world is their density in plant based omega 3s, similarly to flax seeds, but without the estrogenic properties. While plant-based omega 3 (ALA) has inferior bioavailability compared to animal sourced EPA omega 3s from fish, studies have proven the omega 3s in chia seeds to increase bloodstream omega 3s anyway.
Then there’s the nutritional density, featuring minerals such as calcium with 15% of the RDI, magnesium with 26% and zinc with 12% per 1 ounce (28 grams). Finally, chia seeds are a top vegan source of protein, a great alternative to soy protein, with a decent vegan profile of amino acids like glycine and lysine. Chia seeds can be a major contributor alongside various nuts towards helping you to be a vegan without being weak and letting your neurotransmitters malfunction.
But which is the best brand? That’s what we’ll discuss today. Watch out for side effects, because if you have a history of dysphagia, chia seeds can occasionally trigger it. For a shortcut, Terrasoul Superfoods and Healthworks are the best bags to buy.
Let’s get started:
One – Terrasoul Superfoods
A chia seed bag from the heart of South America, where chia seeds were first planted, traded, and revered for athletic properties.
Terrasoul Superfoods is sourced directly from traditional farms in Paraguay. These chia seeds have organic certification from the USDA, meaning that toxic pesticides are never used and that the soil is replenished with natural fertilisers.
Most reviewers are delighted with Terrasoul Superfoods’ taste and freshness. Tales of split bags and bug infested batches are rare, meaning that as well as growing and harvesting the seeds perfectly, Terrasoul Superfoods takes special care with the packaging and shipping. The ideal chia seed should taste mild or even flavourless, and that’s what the reviewers describe.
Terrasoul Superfoods is superb value for money, delivering a 2.5 pound bag of seeds for a low price. You can choose between white seeds and black chia seeds, with black seeds being slightly richer in fiber.
There’s a 30 day money back guarantee, and Terrasoul Superfoods is a trustworthy company, selling cocoa powder, camu camu powder, Brazil nuts, and numerous organic health foods. These chia seeds get an extra point based on reputation alone. Terrasoul Superfoods is also debris free, an important point considering that even the best brands occasionally contain rocks or dirt.
Does Terrasoul Superfoods have any flaws? No, apart from the unavoidable risk of an imperfect batch. The bag only has one ingredient: organic salvia hispanica seeds. Terrasoul Superfoods recommends storing their chia seeds in a cool and dark location, with refrigeration unnecessary.
Terrasoul Superfoods has every single feature of a great chia seed bag.
Amazon link: Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Black Chia Seeds.
Two – Healthworks
An even larger bag than Terrasoul Superfoods, weighing 3 pounds for a mid-range price.
Healthworks’ seeds are “harvested sustainably to come to you in the purest, most nutrient-rich state“, making it easier to sift out less fresh seeds and create the highest quality bag possible. The farms themselves are in Mexico, Argentina and Paraguay. As for the quality report, the seeds are apparently particularly fresh even compared to other organic brands, with few reporting on old and stale batches or worse problems like pebbles and debris.
Healthworks is also certified as organic by the USDA. How important is the organic seal? Chia seeds are similar to garlic and onions; oils in the salvia hispanica plant deter insects from feeding on them, making pesticides unnecessary. The risk compared to cocoa powder or almonds is minimal. Nevertheless, organic guarantees absolute freedom from chemicals, and that the soil fertilisers have a well-rounded balance of minerals.
Healthworks is another trustworthy company, selling organic turmeric, ginger and maca root powders. It isn’t a faceless organisation which makes you doubt whether the product is even legitimate. As for storage, Healthworks recommends keeping the chia seeds in a cool and dark place, and if you do, they claim that the seeds will last for 2 years when unopened and 3 months when opened.
Does Healthworks differ from other brands here? Not in the basic features, but the testimonials seem particularly positive. There are no disadvantages to note. The seeds are mostly black with a few white ones mixed in.
Healthworks cannot be beaten for reliable yet outstandingly pure chia seeds.
Amazon link: Healthworks Organic Raw Chia Seeds.
Three – Anthony’s Goods
A special feature of Anthony’s Goods is its zip lock packaging, to prevent spillage in the cupboard. Otherwise, it’s a familiar story: Anthony’s Goods is certified as organic by the USDA. The farms are located in Mexico, where no pesticides nor artificial nitrate heavy fertilisers are used. The end product is packaged in California, and shipped to you in 2.5 pound weight bag which will last for weeks or months. Anthony’s Goods is also certified as organic by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).
The seeds in Anthony’s Goods are black, which brings us to an all important point. What’s the difference between white and black chia seeds?
Black chia seeds have slightly more fiber, while white chia seeds contain slightly more protein and omega 3s in ALA form. The dark colour may be a sign of antioxidants, and some sources claim that black seeds contain more quercetin (a flavonol antioxidant), but a University Of Arizona study found that the myricetin, quercetin, caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid contents didn’t vary. The taste is also no different.
The conclusion: the colour of chia seeds is meaningless. Your only goal is to avoid brown chia seeds, which are immature and less nutritious. As for Anthony’s Goods, they also sell some supreme pea protein and coconut flour products. The quality report is again above average, with almost every reviewer pleased with the freshness. The seeds are reportedly tasteless, but that’s a good thing in the case of chia seeds.
Anthony’s Goods is a chia seed bag with no flaws whatsoever.
Amazon link: Anthony’s Organic Chia Seeds.
Four – Cereausly
A giant bag of mostly black chia seeds, with the occasional white seed mixed in. You might as well be sneaking into the plantations on foot and picking the seeds yourself, for Cereausly is shipped all the way from small farms in Paraguay, which have been accumulating knowledge and expertise year after year. Each bag of Cereausly contains 4 pounds of black chia seeds, with a correspondingly higher price, but utterly supreme if you want a letterbox-destroying bulk bag.
Cearausly has particularly excellent reviews, with people delighted with the “fresh and crunchy” taste. It’s also a reliable seller, with an official organic certification from the USDA, and guarantee of being non-GMO.
Does Cereausly have any flaws? The answer is no. You can even use these seeds to bake a cake. A fascinating feature of chia seeds is their hydrophillic properties, the ability to absorb 2 times their weight in water. This is the cause of the rare dysphagia cases, when people eat raw chia seeds and wash them down with a glass of water, only to find their throat swelling up.
However, these sponge like properties also make chia seeds an effective thickening agent in soups and smoothies, replacing unhealthy ingredients like corn flour. You can also use this chia seed gel as a flour replacement in baked recipes like cake and cookies.
One thing is for certain; Cereausly will succeed whether in recipes or as a whole snack.
Amazon link: Cereausly Organic Black Chia Seeds.
Five – Viva Naturals
The most popular chia seed brand and almost the greatest one. Viva Naturals takes a neverending series of steps to make sure that their chia seeds are nutritious.
Viva Natuals sifts through the thousands upon thousands of chia farms in South America and selects those with the very most expertise in harvesting and growing. The produce of those farms is analysed rigorously, and only the freshest and finest seeds are selected to be shipped to customers. The seeds are selected to be free from mould and debris, and to cap it all, the farms are certified as organic by the USDA.
These chia seeds are so alive and rich in nutrients that Viva Naturals has tried to sprout them and achieved growth after roughly one week. What’s the end result of all this? The quality report is actually slightly inferior to Anthony’s Goods or Healthworks, with a couple of reviewers reporting dirt, but freshness is still the main report.
The bag weighs 2 pounds and the only ingredient is organic salvia hsipanica seeds. The seeds are grown in Mexico, Paraguay and Argentina and the brand is trustworthy with over 3000 reviews on amazon. An important note is that Viva Naturals was once called Viva Labs but has now rebranded.
Viva Naturals is top of the chia seed class if a vast library of positive reviews is important to you.
Amazon link: Viva Naturals Organic Chia Seeds.
Six – Nutiva
Our sixth chia seed brand matches the first five in features and reputation. The user reports are mostly pleased with the freshness, with a couple of angry review over bag tears and contamination and that’s it.
The only mystery is the country of origin, but the bags are reported to say Mexico and Paraguay. The bag weighs 2 pounds and contains only one ingredient: raw, certified organic salvia hispanica seeds. Nutiva’s chia seeds are guaranteed to be pesticide and insecticide free, both thanks to the organic certification from the USDA and the natural resistance of the seeds to insects. There’s even a glyphosate-free seal, referencing one of the more infamous pesticides.
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Nutiva may even grant you the ability to run miles without exhaustion if you believe the legends. A tribe of South Americans called the Tamahura who live in Copper Canyon in Mexico are famous for their long-distance running, and they reportedly eat chia seeds daily. They have a recipe called iskiate, a simple recipe of water and chia seeds. It’s also believed that chia seeds were referred to as “the running food” as far back as 2500BC. Any mysterious ability to improve energy isn’t confirmed, but the reputation is interesting.
If any chia seed brand can give you limitless running energy, Nutiva will surely succeed.
Amazon link: Nutiva Organic Premium Chia Seeds.
Seven – Food To Live
Food To Live is a company which is “committed to making people healthier by providing them with delicious, healthy food” and their chia seeds seem to live up to this.
It’s certified as organic by the USDA, in a 2 pound bag for weeks of nutrition, and the seeds are fresh as can be if you believe the hundreds of reviewers. The shelf life is 2 years when stored in a cool, dry place, and the chia seeds are predominantly black.
Other high quality products from Food To Live include their raw Brazil nuts. Food To Live’s chia seeds comes from 4 countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, and Paraguay. All are in the historical heartland and the history itself is interesting.
Evidence of humanity’s knowledge of chia seeds dates back to 3500BC. Members of the Aztec empire ground the seeds into flour, extracted the oil and drank them along with water. The seeds were just as important as crops like maize and Aztec warriors revered them for their mythical ability to enhance endurance and aggression. It’s confirmed that Aztecs used chia seeds as a cash crop in modern day Mexico as far back as 1500BC.
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The 16th century marked the advance of Spanish conquistadors, however, who overwhelmed the great Aztec empire with ease. In order to control the local population, they suppressed certain cultural customs to eliminate their sense of identity and thus rebellion. Consequently, chia seeds became restricted to a few isolated mountain farmers. Come the 20th century, however, South American governments decided to revive the beloved chia seeds and business boomed beginning in the 1990s.
This history has culminated with Food To Live’s chia seeds, which are probably just as nutritious as the first seed an Aztec warrior or farmer cautiously picked six thousand years ago.
Amazon link: Food To Live Black Chia Seeds.
Conclusion
The market for chia seeds is healthy, without many major pitfalls. Now that the centuries of suppression are over, chia seeds are back in business and South American governments are intent on promoting them, whether it’s because they truly revere the culture or because they’re desperate for the sweet tax revenue.
Should you buy chia seeds in a local health shop? If they have an organic certification, yes. The only problems to avoid are rogue batches, but that’s unavoidable even with the most prestigious brands.
Chia seeds are dramatically easier to buy compared to health foods like coconut oil or ghee.
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Thanks for reading!