I've had a sore throat over the last few days, so I wanted to hold off on filming the cooking video this week until my body completely fights it off.  This week, I'm going to feature a "breakfast of champions," a breakfast that I've been eating for the past few months or so.  Just recently, I've added chia seeds into the mix.  I've heard good things about Chia in the past, and just recently saw it featured in The Vitamin Shoppe.  Check back towards the end of this week for the video, but in the interim here is some information on chia for you to familiarize yourself with it.

Salvia hispanica, also known as Chia (pronounced chee’ah), is the richest and only unprocessed, whole food source of pure Omega³. A member of the mint family, Chia is native to Central America and has been used traditionally for over 3000 years.

Ancient Aztec warriors prized Chia as an endurance promoting Superfood, eating it in bread just before battle, and drinking it in water before running long distances on foot. Mixed in lemonade or fruit juice (known as chia fresca) Omega³ Chia seed quickly becomes a refreshing, performance-enhancing energy drink.

Due to its high fiber content (more than 35%) Chia seed has the remarkable ability to absorb ten times its weight in water, making it an excellent source of hydration. Omega³ Chia’s fiber forms a gel that slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream, binds it to toxins in the digestive system, and helps eliminate waste.

Omega³ Chia is especially rich in essential fatty acids. One 15gm serving provides more than 3gm of Omega³ (as alpha-linolenic acid) and 1gm of Omega⁶ (linoleic acid) in a perfectly balanced 3:1 ratio, making it the richest, unprocessed and fully-digestible whole food source of Omega³.

Because they are loaded with high-ORAC antioxidants like quercetin, caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid, Omega³ Chia seeds maintain a 99% sprout rate and have a shelf life of up to five years. Furthermore, Chia seeds are rich in calcium, potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc; many trace minerals and biologically complete protein, making them the perfect survival food.

Omega³ Chia’s health benefits are the subject of an intense study currently being conducted by the Nutritional Science Research Institute, in cooperation with Dr. David Neiman of Appalachian State University. NSRI’s randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled clinical trial is exploring Omega³ Chia’s sugar stabilizing, weight control properties and the conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA in healthy, non-diabetic subjects.

04/02/2009

Jake: Hey I just looked at your recommended programme for a blogreader. Ive got one qeustion about that. Is it really that smart to do arms(bicep and triceps) the day before chest? Take care :)

04/01/2009

Betheny: hey, informative article, thanks for sharing. I'm going to see about picking up some chia this week.