I’ve been on a bit of a chia seed kick ever since I read blogger Lindi from Mérida’s blog post about the benefits of chia seeds. Chia is an Aztec superfood that has many fantastic health properties, and is really worth looking into, in my opinion!  I’ve been taking a spoonful now and then myself but feeding them daily to the dogs.  I am pretty confident that chia has pretty much cleared up our old dog Lucy’s chronic goopy ear situation that has plagued her since she was a puppy.

But as we are heading into the summer heat and humidity I decided to become more regular in consuming chia in an effort to combat dehydration and the problem of electrolyte imbalance you get when you sweat a lot. I buy mine in the main mercado but I’ve seen them at at Soriana and they are probably at most of the supermarkets in town.  I don’t remember exactly but I think they are 105 pesos a kilo, so that would be less than $5 US a pound.

I’ve been giving Lucy (she weighs 70 pounds) a half tablespoon and Henry (about 30 lbs) about half that per day.  I have started taking a tablespoon in the morning and another at dinnertime.  In previous summers if I didn’t have a fruit or vegetable smoothie every day and also a bottle of Electrolit I would feel the effects of dehydration, especially if I exerted myself at all.  This year I plan on riding my bike throughout the summer and know that I’ll be sweating a lot – and want to see if this will help.

I’ll report back when I have an idea whether it is working for me or not.

I hope you’ll go and read Lindi’s post but I’ll give you a few interesting tidbits here:

• According to a 2007 University of Toronto study published in the journal Diabetes Care, a quarter-cup of chia seeds supplies as much omega-3 fatty acid as a salmon fillet, 25 percent more dietary fiber than flaxseed, 30 percent more antioxidants than blueberries and as much calcium as three cups of milk.
  
• Chia Seeds can absorb over 10 times their weight in water making them a great enhancer in hydrating our bodies. They absorb the water we drink holding it in our system longer.
  
• Chia seeds are also loaded with Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids and have trace amounts of boron, which is an essential mineral to help transfer calcium to the bones.