Chia is edible seed of Salvia hispanica, flowering plant in the mint family native to Central America, as well as the related Salvia columbariae of southwest United States and Mexico. Chia seeds are oval, gray-colored with black and white spots, with a diameter around 1 millimetre (0.04 in). The seeds are hydrophilic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked and developing a mucilaginous coating that gives chia-based creams and beverages a distinctive gel texture.
Chia seeds on average contain 6% water, 42% carbohydrates, 16% protein, and 31% fat. The fatty acids of chia seed oil are highly unsaturated, with linoleic acid (17-26% of total fat) and linolenic acid (50-57%) as the major fats. They are rich in omega-3 fatty acid and the B vitamins, thiamin and niacin.
There is evidence that the crop was widely cultivated by the Aztec in pre-Columbian times, and served as a staple food for the Mesoamerican cultures. Chia is cultivated on a small scale in its ancestral homeland of central Mexico and Guatemala, and commercially across South and Central America. They became popular worldwide only in the 1980s, sometimes marketed as a "superfood"; however, health claims have not been conclusively proven.
Video Chia seed
Description
Typically, chia seeds are small ovals with a diameter around 1 mm (0.039 in). They are mottle-colored with brown, gray, black, and white. The seeds are hydrophilic, absorbing up to 12 times their weight in liquid when soaked; they develop a mucilaginous coating that gives chia-based creams and beverages a distinctive gel texture.
Chia (or chian or chien) has mostly been identified as Salvia hispanica L. Other plants referred to as "chia" include "golden chia" (Salvia columbariae). The seeds of Salvia columbariae are used medicinally and for food.
Today, chia is grown and consumed commercially in its native Mexico and Guatemala, as well as Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador, Nicaragua, and Australia. New patented varieties of chia have been developed in Kentucky for cultivation in northern latitudes of the United States.
Seed yield varies depending on cultivars, mode of cultivation, and growing conditions by geographic region. For example, commercial fields in Argentina and Colombia vary in yield range from 450 to 1250 kg/ha. A small-scale study with three cultivars grown in the inter-Andean valleys of Ecuador produced yields up to 2300 kg/ha, indicating that favorable growing environment and cultivar interacted to produce such high yields.[20] Genotype has a larger effect on yield than on protein content, oil content, fatty acid composition, or phenolic compounds, whereas high temperature reduces oil content and degree of unsaturation, and raises protein content.
Maps Chia seed
Uses
Food
Chia seeds may be added to other foods as a topping or put into smoothies, breakfast cereals, energy bars, granola bars, yogurt, tortillas, and bread. They can be soaked in water and consumed directly or can be mixed with any kind of juice. In 2009 the European Union approved chia seeds as a novel food, allowing chia to be 5% of a bread product's total matter.[11]
They may also be made into a gelatin-like substance or eaten raw. The gel from ground seeds may be used to replace as much as 25% of the egg and oil content in cakes, also providing other nutrients.
Novelty
During the 1970s in the United States, the first substantial wave of chia seed sales was tied to Chia Pets. These "pets" come in the form of clay figures that serve as a base for a sticky paste of chia seeds; the figures then are watered and the seeds sprout into a form suggesting a fur covering for the figure. About 500,000 Chia Pets a year are sold in the U.S. as novelties or house plants.
History
The 16th-century Codex Mendoza provides evidence that it was cultivated by the Aztec in pre-Columbian times, and economic historians say it may have been as important as maize as a food crop. It was given as an annual tribute by the people to the rulers in 21 of the 38 Aztec provincial states. Chia seeds served as a staple food for the Nahuatl (Aztec) cultures. Jesuit chroniclers placed chia as the third-most important crop in the Aztec culture, behind only corn and beans, and ahead of amaranth. Offerings to the Aztec priesthood were often paid in chia seed.
Ground or whole chia seeds are used in Argentina, Bolivia, Guatemala, Mexico, and Paraguay for nutritious drinks and food. Today, chia is cultivated on a small scale in its ancestral homeland of central Mexico and Guatemala, and commercially in Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Mexico.
Nutrition
Dried chia seeds contain 6% water, 42% carbohydrates, 16% protein, and 31% fat (table). In a 100-gram amount, chia seeds are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of the B vitamins, thiamin and niacin (54% and 59% DV, respectively), and a moderate source of riboflavin (14% DV) and folate (12% DV). Several dietary minerals are in rich content, including calcium, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, and zinc (all more than 20% DV; table).
The fatty acids of chia seed oil are highly unsaturated, with linoleic acid (17-26% of total fat) and linolenic acid (50-57%) as the major fats.
Chia is rich in omega-3 fatty acids, as the seeds yield 25-30% extractable oil, including ?-linolenic acid. The composition of the fat of the oil may be 55% ?-3, 18% ?-6, 6% ?-9, and 10% saturated fat.
Research
Consumption of chia seeds is under preliminary research for its potential to affect health, but this work remains sparse and inconclusive. In a 2015 systematic review, most studies were of poor quality and did not demonstrate significant effects of chia seed consumption on cardiovascular risk factors.
No evidence to date indicates consuming chia seeds has adverse effects on or interacts with prescription drugs.
References
Source of article : Wikipedia
0 Comments