Ground Chia,Milled Chia,Cheap Chia-What Is The Difference?

As discussed in previous posts, Chia seed,ground chia,milled chia have both postive and negative factors that we will discuss in this post.

Ground chia is a newer way to process Chia seed to diminish the previous problems we outlined with Chia in previous articles. While ground chia makes chia easily to mix with food and may allow more people to digest the benefits of the entire seed, the ground or grinding manufacturing process presents several serious drawbacks.

A typical ground or grinding manufacturing process involves heat, friction and of course, grinding the chai seed into a much smaller particle. Think of a coffee bean going through a coffee grinder and you get the idea.

While this may be ok for your coffee, for a chia seed, this is a potential disaster! Because the chia seed is so nutrient rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, this grinding process as well as packaging the product reduces the quality of the ground chia and the possibility over time of the ground chia becoming rancid as the Omega 3 fatty acids are exposed directly to the air.

One way to help preserve your ground chia product is to store it in smaller quantities in the freezer to slow down oxidization and help to maintain the nutrient profile. However, we still believe there is a significant nutrient loss to the chia seed through this type of manufacturing process. As well, most chia products including chia seed, ground chia and milled chia do not list nutrient facts so as a consumer, we are left in the dark as to what is left in the chia after processing.