Salba The Wonder Seed

Salba is a relatively unknown powerhouse seed found today in South America. The Aztec Indians referred to it as their “running food” because it gave them such amazing energy and power. Runners relaying messages relied on it as their sole source of nourishment while delivering these communications.

Gram for gram, it has 8 times more omega-3s than salmon, 1.1 times more fiber than all bran, 15 times more magnesium than broccoli, 30% more anti-oxidants than blueberries, 3 times more iron than spinach and 6 times more calcium than milk. Plus it has both soluble and insoluble fiber and it is a complete vegetable protein.

Adding Salba to your diet can help with digestive problems (bloating, diarrhea, and constipation), support a healthy cardiovascular system, alleviate joint stiffness, regulate blood sugar and give you more energy. It has over 30 different nutrients in their whole food form, which makes them more bioavailable to the body.

Salba is a great choice for vegetarians as it is the most nutritionally complete food in nature. It’s the richest plant-based source of Omega-3 fatty acids, which gives vegetarians another source for this essential fatty acid besides flax seed.

This powerhouse seed can be ordered online from various places but my local Natural Foods Warehouse is now carrying one brand. If you have this chain store in your area, that is an excellent way to try some as I advocate shopping locally as often as possible.

Salba comes both ground and with the seeds whole. If you buy the ground kind, you will need to store it in the refrigerator because, like flax seeds once they're ground, they will go rancid quickly if stored at room temperature.

Whole seeds can be purchased and then ground in a coffee grinder (clean, of course) each time you are ready to use it. Or you can grind it a bit at a time, say on your off days, and store it for a week in the refrigerator, making up just what you would use for the week.

It can be used in soups or sprinkled on salads in its ground state. I use a tablespoon full of it daily in my morning shake but I do feel that animal based sources are the best way to get omega 3's overall. Krill oil is my choice for the premium omega 3 source due to mercury contamination issues with fish oil capsules.

By: Health Maker

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