Gallardo G.L., Guida L., Martinez V., Lopez M.C., Bernhardt D.C., Blasco R. Microencapsulation of linseed oil by spray drying for functional food application. Food Research International. 2013; 52(2):473–482. doi: 10.1016/j.foodres.2013.01.020. [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] The method used for fatty acid composition analysis of the non-stripped and stripped chia seed oils followed transmethylation with subsequent gas chromatography-flame ionization detection (GC-FID) (Wanasundara and Shahidi 1997) as reported elsewhere (Abad and Shahidi: Autoxidative and photooxidative stability of camelina and sophia seed oils as affected by their fatty acids, triacylglycerols and minor components, forthcoming). The results were expressed as the weight percentage of each fatty acid in the total amount. Triacylglycerol (TAG) profiles Although there is no doubt that chia seeds are a great addition to most people’s diets, if you eat too many, you may experience some chia seed side effects, including:

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How to eat chia seeds

There are around 900 species in the family Lamiaceae, under the Salvia genus, and these are utilized around the world as folk medicine and flavoring agents (Lu & Foo 2002). This annual plant reaches about 1 metre in height with serrated leaves of 4–8 cm long and 3–5 cm wide with hermaphrodite flowers (Haytowitz et al. 2011). The seeds of Salvia hispanica L., generally known as “chia sage”, “chia”, and “Spanish sage” were an essential staple food, medicine, and source of oil in the pre-Columbian ages (Reyes-Caudillo et al. 2008). Southern Mexico and northern Guatemala are the native places for chia plant (Ayerza 1995). Chia is marketed in South America and Canada as a health food commodity (Ayerza and Coates 2011; Segura-Campos et al. 2014). European Union ( 2009) approved chia as a novel food which could also be used up to 5% in bread making (Commission of the European Communities 2009). It contains a high amount of α-linolenic acid (C18:3n-3, ALA) and vitamins (Rincon-Cervera et al. 2016). Valenzuela et al. ( 2015) reported that chia oil intake leads to conversion of its α-linolenic acid (ALA) to eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) of erythrocytes in pregnant women and an increase of the docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in their milk. Chia fiber may also be fermented in your gut, promoting the formation of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and improving colon health ( 6, 8). Fat Timilsena Y.P., Vongsvivut J., Adhikari R., Adhikari B. Physicochemical and thermal characteristics of Australian chia seed oil. Food Chemistry. 2017; 228:394–402. doi: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.02.021. [ PubMed] [ CrossRef] [ Google Scholar] Chia seeds come from the plant Salvia hispanica L., and were at one time a major food crop in Mexico and Guatemala. Cultivated as a food source as early as 3500 BC, it was offered to Aztec gods in religious ceremonies. According to industry reports, the chia seed market is projected to reach more than 2 billion USD in sales by 2022. [1] Source Of Albert CM, Oh K, Whang W, Manson JE, Chae CU, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Hu FB. Dietary α-linolenic acid intake and risk of sudden cardiac death and coronary heart disease. Circulation. 2005 Nov 22;112(21):3232-8.

EFSA Opinion of the Scientific Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies on a request from the Commission related to the safety of chia ( Salvia hispanica L.) seed and ground whole chia seed as a novel food ingredient intended for use in bread. EFSA J. 2005; 278:1–12.. [ Google Scholar]Mordor Intelligence. Global Chia Seeds Market – Analysis of Growth, Trends and Forecast (2017-2022). Accessed 12/4/2017. Due to their extraordinary water-absorbing capacity, chia seeds increase the volume of foods in your digestive tract, leading to increased fullness and decreased food intake. SUMMARY