The Hemp Connection:
chia

I was asked to clarify some comments I recently made about chia, as they were questioned for their accuracy. I'm all for revisiting and making sure my information is accurate, so here is my response.

First of all, while the information on this blog should be helpful to anyone regardless of whether or not they have PCOS, it IS targeted toward women who have this hormone imbalance. So some of the information I provide is more geared toward their specific nutritional needs and not the apparently healthy population. This should always be kept in mind when reading what I write.

One of the questions about my post was that I stated that taurine is an essential amino acid. There is actually some debate about this. Some experts say no, we can synthesize it. Others call it a conditional amino acid, meaning in some situations it may be essential.

Women with PCOS seem to have something going on in their brain and nervous systems that interferes with everything from mood and appetite regulation to speech and language function. (Simply read the responses to my question last week about the symptoms I listed and you will see what I mean.) Much of the dietary protocol we have developed is actually derived from epilepsy research at Johns Hopkins University, with the premise that calming nervous system excitability makes it easier for the brain and nervous system to function as they should when not under duress. Taurine is an amino acid showing promise as an anti-seizure compound, which makes me wonder whether or not a hyperexcitable brain blows through available taurine much more quickly than a brain that does not have to live under these conditions.

That being said, I am more comfortable with the premise that for the population for whom this blog is written, as well as anyone living with any kind of condition that places stress on the brain (migraines, epilepsy, OCD, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, PTSD, schizophrenia, etc.), taurine may actually be an essential amino acid. Research to support my claim still needs to be done, but I am more comfortable being conservative on this one, especially given the responses to last week's questionnaire and the severity of some of the diagnoses I just listed. Better to be safe than sorry.

Secondly, even if the amino acid profile of chia is complete, the total protein content of chia is relatively low. So if we're advocating for a 30% protein diet in a woman who is being advised to consume 1500 calories a day, she is going to need to consume about 113 grams of protein. That translates into your needing, at this protein level, to consume 700 grams of chia per day, just to get your protein needs. That is also 3,430 calories' worth of chia, more than twice your daily calorie needs. And while its amino acid profile is nearly complete, its nutritional profile is not. It contains no vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin K, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, folate, or iron, to name a few.

From an omega-3 standpoint, I did invert the numbers. There is no consistent order by which omega-6 and omega-3 ratios are reported, and though I usually check to be sure I did not flip them, I did not this time. I do apologize for that.

According to http://www.nutritiondata.com/, chia seed contains an omega-6 to omega-3 ratio of 3.03, which is actually quite good.

The caveat is that the omega-3 this food contains is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), not EPA or DHA. Most omega-3 experts will contend that in the most perfect of conditions conversion of ALA to DHA is at best 5%. Again, the women this blog serves seem to need a much higher level of DHA than average for a variety of reasons. We find that they seem to do best on 1000 mg DHA daily, the level recommended by Dr. Artemis Simopolous for treating depression. Calculated out, if you are depending on chia seed to get all of your omega-3 fatty acids, from ALA through EPA and DHA, you're going to need to consume about 115 grams of chia seeds per day. Just be forewarned.

Bottom line, I actually think chia is a healthy food--as part of a varied diet. I especially think that for vegans reading this blog it can be a great addition to your diet. However, I do not believe in superfoods. There seems to be a trend toward wanting to find one perfect food that has it all. I have yet to find it. It's understandable when we're surrounded by a lot of confusing information and we live in a culture where over 10,000 new products hit the grocery shelves each year (I saw half of them in Anaheim last month and it was overwhelming!) that we'd want to have just a few foods and a small nutritional comfort zone. Unfortunately that is not really how human nutrition works.

This is an especially important philosophy to stick to on this blog, given the fact that we're learning that a very high percentage of the women we're helping have some kind of history of"veganism gone wrong"…in other words, overzealous veganism with a focus on eliminating foods rather than on learning how to eat to be nutritionally complete with no animal products on the menu. We discourage fanaticism and encourage food curiosity and variety!

We were designed to be omnivores and to eat a variety of foods from a variety of sources. I encourage you, rather than arguing for why you should narrow your choices down to feel more comfortable around food, to learn to negotiate a wider variety of foods you are willing to include in your diet.

Gaby AR. Natural approaches to epilepsy. Altern Med Rev. 2007 Mar;12(1):9-24.

Most of you have some type of sleep disorder…and that can mess with your insulin and melatonin levels. You've already been told, here, and many, many times, elsewhere, that you need to get more omega-3's in your diet.

Did you know, chia seeds are one of the highest omega-3 foods around? One ounce of chia seeds has about 5000 mg of ALA, the vegetarian omega-3. That is more than twice what you need in a day!

Interestingly, chia seeds are high in tryptophan and often have a side effect of drowsiness, so if you're one of that majority of women with PCOS who have trouble with sleep, here's a potential idea for a non-pharmaceutical answer.

Dr. Oz (he's not my usual reference but this seemed practical) recommends taking chia seeds about 3 hours before bedtime. You can simply stir them into a glass of water and drink them, or you can sprinkle them onto yogurt, or into smoothies.

One of my friends of Mexican descent recently shared a recipe from the blog No Meat Athlete for something called pinole, a chia/cornmeal cake that has been made for centuries by the Tarahumara Indians of Mexico. They're the ones famous for running. I tried the recipe out last week. Instead of adding sugar, I juiced a nectarine and stirred it in. It was interesting, and I intend to experiment more with the recipe to make it more user-friendy. In its current form it's probably more something a total nutrition junkie would eat, not something irresistible to the average American palate. Here's the link if you want to try it out for yourself. If you make revisions that you like please share them!

We've been getting some inquiries about chia, given our love of omega-3's. Here are some basic facts that can help you decide for yourself if chia will work with your PCOS plan.

Chia (salvia hispanica), is a seed that originates from Southern Mexico and Guatemala. Way back when, it was a major staple food of the Aztec Indians. Other names you may see this seed sold under include: Cheela Brand, Sachia, Anutra, Chia Sage, Salba, Tresalbio, Purisalv, and Mila.

Nutritionally, chia is 20% protein, 34% oil, and 25% fiber. It is not a complete protein, as it lacks the essential amino acid taurine. Its fat is primarily ALA, the same type of fat found in flaxseed. Its omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is about 3 to 1, which is nice.

Two benefits to chia are that it does not need to be ground like flax does in order to gain its health benefits, and it does not go rancid as easily as flax. One major disadvantage is its cost. It's definitely not for those on a budget.

Especially, if you are Hispanic or living in the Southwest, this is a great source of omega-3's that is more locally available than flaxseed.

Be aware, however, that claims about its health benefits can be exaggerated.

1. Chia is not a complete omega-3. In other words, it can be used as a substitute for flaxseed oil, but not for fish oil. You still need a DHA source.

2. While they do have their health benefits, I could not find any peer-reviewed studies to support the hype that chia seeds have been given as an athletic performance superfood.

3. I did find one study, performed on chickens, (below) reporting that chia supplementation positively changed their fat content. However, chia was not compared to any other supplements or to a diet with a similar fatty acid composition from other grains. So it is impossible to assert that it was specifically something in the chia that had the effect.

Bottom line, it certainly won't hurt you to include chia in your diet, but just because you do, it does not give you license to eliminate other healthy eating. They can enhance, but they won't replace the benefits of the many good things you're already doing.

R Ayerza, W Coates, and M Lauria Chia seed (Salvia hispanica L.) as an omega-3 fatty acid source for broilers: influence on fatty acid composition, cholesterol and fat content of white and dark meats, growth performance, and sensory characteristics. Poultry Science, Vol 81, Issue 6, 826-837.