It looks like "sesame seeds", but when soaked in water it becomes "frog eggs". It is said that it can also help lose weight?

Audit expert: Shen Tingting

PhD in Botany

In the world of light food, there is an exotic food that has a high appearance rate and can be on par with avocado. It can not only help lose weight and shape the body, but also lower blood pressure and blood lipids. Some people say it is just a gimmick, while others regard it as a "superfood". It is a plant seed from across the ocean - chia seeds.

Source: pixabay

What are chia seeds?

Chia seeds are actually the seeds of salvia officinalis. Chia seeds were used as food by humans around 3500 BC. It was one of the four staple foods of the Aztecs and Mayans (corn, beans, chia seeds, and amaranth). Since salvia officinalis can only grow in highland desert areas with an altitude of about 1,200 meters in Mexico and North America, the chia seeds consumed in my country are basically imported.

Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

Chia seeds look very similar to sesame seeds, with small, oblong seeds (1.87 mm long, 1.21 mm wide, 0.88 mm thick). But if you soak them in water, they will swell and increase 12 times in volume, turning from "sesame seeds" into "frog eggs," giving chia seeds an eye-catching look.

Source: freepik

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has certified chia seeds as safe food. In recent years, many athletes, food bloggers, and fitness bloggers have recommended that everyone eat chia seeds. Especially in the beauty and body care industry, chia seeds have attracted a whirlwind of attention.

Source: pixabay

Why are chia seeds suddenly so popular?

People have been eating chia seeds since ancient times, and scientists have been studying chia seeds since the 1980s. Its popularity is mainly due to the clever marketing methods of businessmen. The popularity of chia seeds began with the recommendation of Dr. Oz, a health doctor who has been a long-term guest on the Oprah Talk Show. He is famous for recommending various magical foods. Things he recommends will sell well and become popular overnight, and chia seeds are one of them.

Video screenshots

Source: Tencent Video

After Dr. Oz recommended chia seeds in 2009, they became a new type of healthy food. From 2009 to 2013, the sales of chia seeds increased by more than 1,300 times. Its selling points can be summarized into two aspects: first, it is rich in dietary fiber, which is conducive to weight loss; second, it is rich in unsaturated fatty acids Omega 3, which can lower blood pressure and blood lipids and is beneficial to health.

However, is this really the case?

What are the benefits of chia seeds?

Studies have shown that eating chia seeds is indeed beneficial to the human body, but it is not the "perfect food" advertised. Chia seeds still need to be eaten in a scientific way, otherwise it will be counterproductive. In terms of nutritional ingredients, chia seeds are rich in high protein, with a protein content of 16.54g/100g, which is much higher than traditional grains such as rice, corn, wheat, and barley.

Chia seeds nutritional facts

Source: "Progress in Research on the Health Functions of Chia Seeds", Kang Ye et al.

In addition, chia seeds have a high oil content and are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, of which n-6 series linoleic acid accounts for 24.67%, and n-3 series α-linolenic acid accounts for 75.33%, which is much higher than flax seeds, making it the natural food with the highest α-linolenic acid content known. α-linolenic acid can be converted into EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) in the human body, and these two substances are the main components of deep-sea fish oil, which have multiple functions such as preventing cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, lowering blood pressure, lowering blood lipids, and regulating blood sugar. Linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid are essential fatty acids for the human body, but the human body cannot synthesize them by itself and can only be taken in from the outside, which makes chia seeds an ideal source of linoleic acid and linolenic acid.

Source: pixabay

In addition, chia seeds are rich in soluble dietary fiber, with a mass fraction of up to 34.4g/100g, which is 2.3, 2.6, 8.3, and 9.8 times that of wheat, oats, corn, and rice, respectively. Soluble dietary fiber has the effects of lowering blood lipids, lowering cholesterol, stimulating intestinal peristalsis, and increasing satiety.

So, can chia seeds help people lose weight? From the research data, it can be seen that chia seeds can indeed help people increase satiety, stimulate intestinal peristalsis, promote digestion and absorption, and to a certain extent reduce people's food intake. However, there is no scientific experiment to prove that chia seeds are directly related to weight loss. Excessive consumption of chia seeds can also cause symptoms such as bloating, allergies, and indigestion.

Chia Seed Yogurt

Source: freepik

Therefore, no matter what kind of food it is, we should treat it scientifically and rationally. We should not exaggerate its efficacy, nor deny its value. As for weight loss, we should look at it correctly. Everyone has different physiques, and blindly pursuing light weight may go against health. Scientific diet, insisting on exercise, and staying healthy are the good life we ​​should pursue.