Chai Seed
Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 10:44 am
Yea it's that time of year again, silly season where the forum get's quiet and the crap starts to appear.
Well if any of you have read the book 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall (and posted here before), apparently Chai seed is the latest in nutrition super foods. So here's a run down of it's benefits. Haven't tried it yet but all ye performance nutrition guru's may have and want to comment
Don't know about the frog spawn comment 
Chia, or Salvia hispanica L, is a member of the mint family from Mexico and South America. The flowering plant can sprout in a matter of days, but chia's appeal is in the nutritional punch of its tiny seeds. With more omega-3 fatty acids than salmon, a wealth of antioxidants and minerals, a complete source of protein and more fibre than flax seed, the seeds have been dubbed a "dieter's dream", "the running food", "a miracle", and "the ultimate super food", by advocates and athletes.
To chia cheerleaders the seeds do no wrong. They claim chia reduces inflammation, improves heart health, and stabilises blood sugar levels. A few tablespoons are touted as remedying just about anything - without any ill effects.
So is this new superfood all it's cracked up to be?
"In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach and human growth hormone," writes Christopher McDougall in Born to Run, the bestselling book about an ultra-distance running tribe in Mexico who fuel their epic jaunts with the seeds. The book is credited with shining the spotlight on chia as food for athletes.
"If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn't do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months on the chia diet, you could probably swim home," McDougall adds.
What's in 100g of chia?
• Protein: 20.7g
• Fat: 32.8g
• Carbohydrate: 41.8g
• (of which fibre is 41.2g)
• Calcium: 714mg
• Iron: 16.4mg
• Niacin (B3): 613mg
• Thiamine (B1): 0.18mg
• Riboflavin (B2): 0.04mg
One tablespoon on Chai seed stirred into 500ml water and add a squeeze of lime. Let the seed hydrate for around 5 minutes and they will turn into a gel like substance.
If you can get past the fact they look and feel like frog spawn on consumption, it actually tastes OK with the Lime.
Well if any of you have read the book 'Born to Run' by Christopher McDougall (and posted here before), apparently Chai seed is the latest in nutrition super foods. So here's a run down of it's benefits. Haven't tried it yet but all ye performance nutrition guru's may have and want to comment
Don't know about the frog spawn comment Chia, or Salvia hispanica L, is a member of the mint family from Mexico and South America. The flowering plant can sprout in a matter of days, but chia's appeal is in the nutritional punch of its tiny seeds. With more omega-3 fatty acids than salmon, a wealth of antioxidants and minerals, a complete source of protein and more fibre than flax seed, the seeds have been dubbed a "dieter's dream", "the running food", "a miracle", and "the ultimate super food", by advocates and athletes.
To chia cheerleaders the seeds do no wrong. They claim chia reduces inflammation, improves heart health, and stabilises blood sugar levels. A few tablespoons are touted as remedying just about anything - without any ill effects.
So is this new superfood all it's cracked up to be?
"In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach and human growth hormone," writes Christopher McDougall in Born to Run, the bestselling book about an ultra-distance running tribe in Mexico who fuel their epic jaunts with the seeds. The book is credited with shining the spotlight on chia as food for athletes.
"If you had to pick just one desert-island food, you couldn't do much better than chia, at least if you were interested in building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease; after a few months on the chia diet, you could probably swim home," McDougall adds.
What's in 100g of chia?
• Protein: 20.7g
• Fat: 32.8g
• Carbohydrate: 41.8g
• (of which fibre is 41.2g)
• Calcium: 714mg
• Iron: 16.4mg
• Niacin (B3): 613mg
• Thiamine (B1): 0.18mg
• Riboflavin (B2): 0.04mg
One tablespoon on Chai seed stirred into 500ml water and add a squeeze of lime. Let the seed hydrate for around 5 minutes and they will turn into a gel like substance.
If you can get past the fact they look and feel like frog spawn on consumption, it actually tastes OK with the Lime.
