As with anything, there are pros and cons. If there is one thing that stands out when comparing chia seed to flax seed is its ease of use.

The way I like to explain the difference is as follows:. "Mother Nature prevents the omega3 in flaxseed from going rancid by a hard seed coat. In the case of chia the omega3 content is protected by the natural antioxidants in the seed."

What this means for you is that if you want to get the benefits of the omega3 from flaxseed, you need to grind, cook, sprout or somehow open the seed so that the digestive process can be effective. If you do not do this, the seeds will just pass through your body. This is not the case with chia, you can eat whole seed, and you will get essentially all of the benefits of the omega3 as well as the other components in this very special food.

The second advantage which has over flax seed is that if you do like to eat milled (ground) chia you can prepare it, leave it on your countertop, and it will not go rancid. This is very different from flax seed which should be ground fresh every day. Why is this the case, again it is the natural antioxidants in chia seed which prevent rancidity.

One other comparison that needs to be addressed is that flax seed contains some "antinutritional" compounds, and hence there have been warnings and restrictions placed on it use as a food. To learn more about this click here.

Another interesting way to compare these two seeds is to look at the composition of each. The table shown here gives a generic comparison of chia seed and flax seed. These are generic numbers and do not mean this is what you will necessarily get when you buy chia or flax in the stores or on the internet. Where the seed is grown, how it is grown, and in the case of flax seed the variety that is grown, will all affect their composition.