Survival of the Fittest

[Chia seeds: delicious, nutritious and itty bitty.]

I had intended to write this post at 9 a.m., when I arrived home in a particularly good mood after a long walk with my dog, Zoey.

[She may not be pretty, but she’s got a great personality.]

It was already 68 degrees in Philly (6 hours later, it’s now 78 — no complaints from this former Midwesterner), and I’d taken a detour past my favorite sign in the city, pictured below. (For Philly natives, it’s on the back side — pun totally intended — of the Free Library on 7th and Carpenter.)

[Why is “poop” in quotation marks?! What does it really mean?]

After deciding it was a banana vanilla Wallaby yogurt kind of morning, I took it a step further and decided to add two tablespoons of the chia seeds I’d received in the mail the other day.

Chia as in Ch-ch-ch-chia Pets? Yes, the very same.

Turns out chia seeds are high in soluble fiber (7 grams per 2 tablespoons), calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, niacin and zinc. They contain powerful antioxidants (chlorogenic and caffeic acids, myricetin, quercetin and kaempferol flavonols). Plus, they’re a good source of protein and higher in omega-3 fatty acids — which protect against inflammation and heart disease — than any other plant source (higher even than flaxseed). To boot, they’re gluten free and have very little sodium.

I heard about chia seeds through two of my favorite fitness bloggers, Crabby McSlacker at Cranky Fitness and MizFit of MizFit Online. More specifically, when MizFit wrote this guest post on the topic back in March, I was convinced enough to place my order same day.

I did some further digging, and wouldn’tchia (<it’s like taking candy from a baby) know it, it’s looking like chia is poised to be the next superfood.

Mehmet Oz, MD, was on Oprah speaking to the benefits of chia (see the clip here), and Andrew Weil, MD, wrote an article in Prevention magazine called “Chia Seeds Are Good for the Heart.” There are even books extolling the virtues of the chia seed — take The Magic of Chia: Revival of an Ancient Wonder Food by James Scheer, and Chia: Rediscovering A Forgotten Crop Of The Aztecs by Ricardo Ayerza Jr. and Wayne Coates. And — I can’t resist this little plug — Experience Life featured these Omega3 Chia Energy bars in the May issue.

Now for a few disclaimers. I’m in Mark Sisson’s camp when it comes to so-called “miracle foods.” (Click here to see his assessment of goji berries.) As with the goji, chia seeds are probably not a solution to all of your health problems. They are just really good for you, is all. And adding something to your diet that isn’t processed to the hilt and full of additives — that is, on the other hand, packed with nutrients? To me, that seems like good sense, but probably not a miracle. Or maybe it is a miracle that we, collectively, seem to be starting to have better sense about what we put in our mouths. Your call.

My other disclaimer is that while the taste of chia seeds was completely inoffensive — in fact, I really liked the nutty crunch they added to my yogurt — when I got distracted for a bit and then came back to my dish, I discovered a slippery, gelatinous coating around the seeds. Also not offensive, but definitely something to be prepared for.

According to the article “Chia Seeds: The Ancient Food of the Future” at www.living-foods.com, “This gel-forming reaction is due to the soluble fiber in the chia. Research[ers] believe this same gel-forming phenomenon takes place in the stomach when food containing these gummy fibers, known as mucilages, are eaten. The gel that is formed in the stomach creates a physical barrier between carbohydrates and the digestive enzymes that break them down, thus slowing the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar. In addition to the obvious benefits for diabetics, this slowing in the conversion of carbohydrates into sugar offers the ability for creating endurance. Carbohydrates are the fuel for energy in our bodies. Prolonging their conversion into sugar stabilizes metabolic changes, diminishing the surges of highs and lows [and] creating a longer duration in their fueling effects.”

Think of it as all-natural Gu, I guess.

Among the Experience Life staff, we joke that you’ve got to drink the Kool-Aid. Which I admit sounds a little (lot) cultish, but we just mean that to truly thrive at our jobs, each of us must embrace the type of healthy lifestyle the magazine promotes. Which is not to say we don’t have plenty of unhealthy habits or off days. Really off days — one afternoon a few weeks back, Anjula, Laine and myself all realized that so far that day, we’d primarily eaten chocolate and cheese. But I digress.

A couple years back, I saw a flashy new drink called GT’s Kombucha (pronounced kom-BOO-cha) on the Whole Foods shelves. It looked delicious — bright purple liquid, pretty packaging, health claims involving probiotics and amino acids, with no added ingredients — 95 percent raw, organic kombucha (whatever that was) and 5 percent fruit juice.

Susceptible as I am to the marketing of actually healthy things (like chia seeds!), not to mention purple drinks, I was sold. (Does it sound like I’m continuing to digress? I’m not — I’m actually going somewhere with this.)

ONCE I GOT THE THING HOME, I further investigated — if by “investigated” you mean “read the bottle,” which said:

Kombucha is a handmade Chinese tea that is delicately cultured for 30 days. During this time, essential nutrients form like: Active Enzymes, Viable Probiotics, Amino Acids, Antioxidants, and Polyphenols. All of these combine to create an elixir that immediately works with the body to restore balance and vitality.

What else did I need to know? I shook the bottle hard to stir up the sediment that had formed in the bottom and started to crack the thing open … only to have it fizz out all over the place. OK, so … it’s carbonated (or fermented, rather). Missed that somehow.

And then I noticed that my hands smelled vinegary, as if I’d just dyed Easter eggs. (Sure enough, the process of making kombucha is essentially the old-world process of making vinegar.) This did not bode well, and indeed, when you want a grape-tasting treat, kombucha would not come to mind. So I poured most of the bottle out and thought that was that.

But kombucha kept cropping up. In Experience Life’s Inside Out (Health and Beauty Bits) department in July/August 2006, which means our editor in chief, Pilar, is a fan. In an August 2007 interview with comedian Tina Fey on the Late Show With David Letterman (minutes 4:10 to 6:02 are devoted entirely to Fey’s kombucha habit). And before a planning meeting last month, it seemed like all the EL staffers were comparing notes on the best ways to drink it. (Laine’s suggestion? Cut it with water and fill your glass with ice.)

I mean, the stuff is supposed to improve digestion, detox the liver and boost energy, so I see the appeal, and just recently, I decided to try it again.

Maybe it’s just the power of suggestion at work, but I’m on board now. Kombucha is my Kool-Aid.