Q: I saw an ad recently for chia seeds that are purported to be rich in omega 3 fatty acids and other good things. The only thing I know about chia seeds is that they grow green fuzzy things in clay pots that are sold commercially around holiday time. Can you fill in the blanks?
A: Salvia hispanica a/k/a chia is yet another edible seed source from the past found to be rich in omega-3 fatty acids, protein, minerals, and insoluble fiber. It is a member of the mint family and is related to sage and ornamental salvia. This plant has been grown for centuries in tropical and sub-tropical regions of South and Central America and used medicinally by the Aztecs and Mayans. Today, Ecuador, Argentina and Mexico are major suppliers for sales in US markets.
Beginning about eight years ago, researchers worked in collaboration with Kentucky Specialty Grains to develop new cultivars of the plant capable of producing seed in cooler areas of the upper south and mid-west portions of the US. Chia is stimulated to flower at a time of the year when daylight hours are shorter but before frost. According to plant breeders, when a variation for a trait cannot be found in other lines of the species or in related wild species, mutation breeding can be used to create it. This technique has actually been performed in our country since the 1950s and is considered a non-genetically modified organism method to introduce additional variations in a plant genome. The process now allows the plants to flower in mid July instead of later in the season and in areas other than areas south of the equator.
Chia is rich in omega-3 fatty acids to a greater extent than is flax seed. It is abundantly rich in antioxidants, allowing the seeds to be stored for longer periods of time without becoming rancid and deteriorating. The seeds provide calcium, magnesium, manganese, niacin, zinc, copper, iron, molybdenum, and phosphorous and are purported to have been a component of the Aztec and Mayan diets. The Aztecs also used chia for the relief of joint pain and to stimulate the flow of saliva.
This medicinal herb is nut-like in taste and today it is added to salads and yogurt,sprinkled on cereal, eaten as a snack, or ground and added to flour when making baked goods such as muffins and granola bars. It is being added to chicken feed, to commercially prepared baby formulas and baby foods, and fed to cattle to enrich their milk.
And now on to the flip side of the issue. Chia appears safe when taken for 12 weeks. Information regarding its safety beyond that date is unknown. Some types of chia can raise an individuals triglyceride level. Therefore, people with high cholesterol levels should only use Salba chia and avoid other types. Chia is high in alpha-linolenic acid. There is research that suggests large amounts of alpha-linolenic in the diet MIGHT increase a man’s risk of getting prostate cancer.
Chia is presently available through the internet or at health food stores. The dosage to be taken depends on a number of conditions that include the age of the user and health history. Again, insufficient research has been done to allow us to provide all the answers. Check with your family physician before rushing out to buy what appears to be a very up and coming herb that we’ll likely hear a great deal more about.
