Kim Lutz - Super Seeds The Complete Guide to Cooking with Power-Packed Chia, Quinoa, Flax, Hemp & Amaranth (Superfood Series)

We have officially entered the era of super seeds! These days you can find flax just about everywhere, even at your local supermarket. As for chiait is in everything from juice drinks to gluten-free flours. And dont even get me started on quinoa: Is there any place this Central American super seed hasnt been?

As a superfood author, its my job to eat, sleep, and live superfoods. So when I noticed an uptick in the popularity of super seeds like hemp and amaranth, whose profile isnt quite as high as chia, quinoa, or flax I paid attention. In Super Seeds, Kim Lutz has done a stellar job of introducing us to these important superfoods. Here, youll learn how each of them can help you feel healthier and re-energized, while enjoying a new way to eat and feel great. The book offers a comprehensive collection of delicious whole food recipes designed to nourish and delight. Kims breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, and snack recipes make it easy to add powerful chia, quinoa, flax, hemp, and amaranth to every meal.

I love Kims recipe for Quinoa Breakfast Burritos and her decadent Chocolate Sunflower SeedHemp Butter is out of this world! (Try it on pear and apple slices.)

I first came across Kims work a few years ago on a visit to Sterling, the publisher of this very book. Id stopped in to see my editor about a book I was working on, Chia, also published by Sterling, and which I co-wrote with Dr. Wayne Coates. She excitedly handed me a copy of Kims earlier book, which Kim had written with Megan Hart, Welcoming Kitchen: 200 Delicious Allergen & Gluten-free Vegan Recipes. I took the book home, spent a few nights reading Kims inviting text, and then tried her recipes for chocolate cake and throw-together tomato soup. I loved them!

Indeed, Kim has a reputation for developing healthy recipes that taste great and make sense for the whole familythats the concept behind a welcoming kitchen. At Kims table there is something delicious and safe to eat for everyone. With Super Seeds, she turns her attention to chia, quinoa, flax, hemp, and amaranth. This powerful quintet delivers protein, fiber, amino acids, omega-3 fatty acids, and a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. If you care about getting healthyand staying healthyyoull want each of these seeds in your diet. And for those of you (like me) who love to know about the science and research that supports every health claim, youll be happy to know that there is plenty of evidence to support each of five super seeds individual health benefits.

Heart disease is the number one cause of death for both men and women in the United States (and throughout the First World, for that matter) and claims approximately one million lives every year.

Fortunately, lifestyle choices go a long way to help prevent and treat heart disease. One easy thing you can do to keep yourself heart-healthy is to eat foods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids. Research has shown that the omega-3 fatty acid in chia seeds, for example, not only prevents high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, it also helps lower existing high blood pressure, while reducing total LDL and triglyceride cholesterol in healthy individuals and those diagnosed with cardiovascular disease.

Flax is another rich plant source of omega-3 fatty acids, making it a wonderful superfood for those who are looking to improve cardiovascular health. A review of nine clinical trials suggests that 1550 grams of flaxseedeither whole or groundcan reduce total LDL cholesterol by 1.6 to 18% in individuals with normal and elevated cholesterol levels.

And not to be left out, quinoa, hemp, and amaranth are no cardiovascular slackers, either. Studies on each of these have found that the oils and fiber in these seeds help lower triglyceride levels while reducing the inflammation in the vessels that contributes to cardiovascular disease. This alone is a good reason to have one or more daily servings of these seeds!

In 2012, 8.2 million people, out of an estimated 14 million people who had cancer, died from the disease. Just as depressing, the World Health Organization predicts that by 2032, new cancer cases will hover around 22 million a year, with 13 million individuals dying of cancer from the disease every year. Choosing cancer-fighting foodsincluding super seedsis one way to help lower your risk of becoming a statistic.

The high levels of phytonutrientssuch as antioxidantsin chia, quinoa, flax, hemp, and amaranth, help prevent and fight cancer. Antioxidants are chemicals that block the activity of other chemicals known as free radicals, which are highly reactive and have the potential to cause damage to cells that may lead to cancer.

Heres an interesting aside: Here in the United States, there is a lot of talk about using marijuana medically to lessen symptoms of cancer. Hemp, a non-narcotic plant related to marijuana, contains cannabinoids, a family of potent antitumor agents. No fewer than 12 studies by researchers throughout North America and Europe have found that the cannabinoids in hemp help prevent a wide range of cancers and shrink cancerous tumors. What does this mean for you? If cancer prevention is a priority, you might want to consider eating at least one serving of hemp as often as possible. This book has plenty of tempting recipes that will help make healthy dietary adjustments both easy and delicious.

For many women, hot flashes are an uncomfortable part of life. Once upon a time, many MDs prescribed estrogen replacement therapy to lesson hot flashes. But recently research has found that women who take estrogen replacement therapy are at greater risk of stroke, heart disease, blood clots, and various cancers. Looking for a safer alternative, some women have turned to flaxseed, a plant estrogen. A 2007 Mayo Clinic study backs up the efficiency of flax to relieve hot flashes: 21 women who consumed 40 grams of ground flaxseed a day experienced significant decreases in the frequency and severity of their hot flashes. The womens hot flashes were scored over a period of six weeks. Women who consumed flaxseed showed a 50% decrease in the frequency of hot flashes and a 57% decrease in their flash score overall, resulting in major improvements in their quality of life.