Chia Seeds —Worthy Superfood, or Just Plain Silly?
Whatever the nutritional qualities of chia, you have to respect a food that manages to achieve superstar status whilst tasting of, well, nothing in particular. Milled gravel, perhaps. A food that you’d be unlikely to crave even in the throes of an extended intermittent fast.
But then, taste is irrelevant when you have lofty ideals about diet. Healthniks enthuse that chia seeds are “packed” with nutrients. So let’s unpack those big guns: omega-3 fatty acids, protein, calcium and zinc. Then there’s the fibre. They are “packed” with fibre too. They are a veritable powerhouse.
Should you wish to learn more, there are plenty of websites eulogizing the chia seed, all more or less telling you the same thing. Some helpfully provide the Latin name of chia, Salvia hispanica. It’s also helpful to know that the Aztecs liked to eat chia seeds. There’s an endorsement if ever there was one. These otherworldly Mesoamericans were surely in possession of profound esoteric wisdom relating to human dietary requirements.
By now you have been well and truly inducted into the world of barstool nutribabble.
Perhaps I’m being unfair: chia seeds do have an impressive level of the much sought-after, health-giving omega-3 fatty acids, which is quite rare in seed world. This puts them on a par with oily fish…
