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7 Facts About Chia Seeds
INFORMATIVE 
Tags: omega 3 oil, chia seed, clary sage seed oil, clary sage
Chia seeds have become a popular food in the past few years. Chia is one of about 2400 different types of sage, and because clary is also a type of sage, people often confuse them. It is important to understand, however, that they are totally different plants, with different qualities. Both chia and clary sage seeds contain about 50% omega-3 type ALA, but there the resemblance ends. Chia is an annual plant, while clary sage is a perennial one. Clary sage seeds contain unique substances that prevent the oil from oxidizing which do not exist in chia seeds.
| 1. | Chia seed oil is very unstable and oxidizes very easily. This rancidity can be both smelled and tasted. Chia seed oil is also susceptible to mold. |
| 2. | Because chia seed oil is unstable, it is necessary for producers to use artificial (non health-promoting) stabilizers to lengthen shelf life. |
| 3. | One should avoid consuming ground chia seeds. When chia seeds are crushed, the crust protecting them breaks and the seed is exposed to air. This causes rapid oxidation, and oxidized oil is dangerous because it tends to accumulate on the walls of arteries and narrow them far more than unoxidized oil. The oxidization process is accelerated in the bowel where there are ideal conditions (heat and humidity) for oxidization. |
| 4. | Chia protein is of a very low quality and is not digested well in the body. A scientific study, conducted in 2008 by Rebeca Monroy-Torres, Maria Lourdes, and Mancilla-Escobar, compared the digestibility of various forms of chia seed with soybean flour. In all cases, the chia seed was considered either not edible, or significantly less digestible than the soy product. Only chia flour was considered digestible at all. |
| 5. | Chia seeds contain quite a few very toxic substances. In 1994, an article was published in the Journal of Essential Oil Research, analyzing the composition of the active substances in chia. Chia seeds from different growing beds were tested (to eliminate the effect of the quality of the soil). Among the toxic substances found were: Beta-caryophyllene, Globulol, Gamma-muurolene, Beta-pinene, Alpha-humulene, Germacrene-B, Widdrol. |
| 6. | Chia seeds appear to have no beneficial clinical effect. A study published in the Nutrition Research Journal in 2009 examined the effect of chia seeds on risk factors for cardiac diseases (inflammatory measures, cholesterol levels, oxidized stress, and blood pressure) in overweight people. No beneficial effect was found for these risk factors when consuming 50 grams of chia seeds daily. A second article, published in 2009 by Catherine Ulbricht and Wendy Chao, reviewed all the information hitherto accumulated regarding chia. The writers summarize that currently there is no evidence of any medical benefit from using chia seeds. |
| 7. | It is important to note that because of the many problems of chia seeds — the unstable oil, the low quality protein, the toxic materials — the EU has forbidden marketing chia seeds in jars (as is done in Israel or the USA). In 2005 the EU completely forbade introducing chia seeds into Europe. In 2009 it allowed chia seeds only in baked goods, and in a concentration not exceeding 5%. |
Lister:
dustinmattison
Source:
EcoChicagoLand
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