What makes the Chia Seed the super food that many claim it to be?
Around for centuries, the chia seed in only now starting to gain recognition as the super food that many health gurus have always known it to be. Will this be a short lived health fad or will the chia seed become common place in the household cupboards of the 21st century?
Here are just a few of the many astounding benefits of chia seeds:
• Super-Energizing Power...For Greater Endurance and “Go Power”! Due to its unique blend of Protein, Essential Fats, Fiber, Complex Carbohydrates, and Antioxidants, chia is unrivalled among seeds and grains for providing energy to your body.
• Improves Cardiovascular Health...super high levels of heart-healthy EFAs (Essential Fatty Acids)...chia’s oil contains the highest-known percentage of omega-3 alpha-linolenic acid, a whopping 62%–64%!
• Stabilizes Blood Sugar...Reduces blood sugar swings...and supports conditions of hypoglycemia and diabetes.
• Reduces Cravings for Sweets and Junk Foods—high soluble fiber content releases natural, unrefined carbohydrate energy slowly into the bloodstream.
• Improves Mental Focus and Concentration. Chia’s balanced essential fatty acids can signficantly boost your brain power...and brighten your mood.
• High-Quality Protein—Chia contains 20% or more protein...a higher percentage protein than found in other grains, such as wheat, corn, rice, or oats.
• Builds Lean Muscle Mass...Plus it’s useful for weight loss and weight maintenance. Chia is suitable for all lifestyles and dietary regimens, including low-carb diets and vegetarian diets.
• Gluten-Free. Unlike grain-source proteins, chia seed protein contains no gluten. You can eat chia without worrying about gluten if you are sensitive to it…or about developing gluten sensitivity. Chia is an ideal food for individuals with gluten sensitivity, carbohydrate intolerance, hypoglycemia, celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, or anyone who wants to avoid common gluten-containing grains like corn, barley, and wheat.
• An Ideal Food for nearly everyone, including individuals with food allergies, food sensitivities, or food and chemical hypersensitivity. One study found no evidence of allergic response to chia, even in individuals with peanut and tree nut allergies.
• Super-Hydration and Electrolyte Balance. Chia’s soluble fiber (hydrophilic colloids) massively retains water...keeps you well-hydrated and maintains your electrolyte balance.
• Supports Healthy Elimination and Detoxification—healthy oils and fiber contribute to greater regularity and comfort...beneficial effects not to be underestimated!
• Uniquely Balanced. Chia offers an amazingly balanced ratios of macronutrients...better balanced than most grains, seeds, and many other food
(Reuters Health) - Eating lots of animal protein appears to increase women's risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), according to a new study from France.
"Our results may help better understand the role of diet in IBD risk," Dr. Franck Carbonnel of the Center Hospitalier Universitaire de Bicetre in Paris and his team write in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. "If confirmed, they can lead to protective strategies, especially in families at risk of IBD, and possibly to advice for preventing relapse."
Inflammatory bowel disease is a collective term for diseases characterized by severe inflammation in the digestive system such as ulcerative colitis, which typically only affects the colon, and Crohn's disease, which can attack the entire digestive tract. IBD, which affects about one in 500 people, has become much more common since World War II, Carbonnel and his colleagues note. The reasons behind the increase are still unclear.
To investigate whether diet might be a factor, the researchers followed more than 67,000 women participating in a long-term study of risk factors for cancer and other common illnesses. The women were 40 to 65 years old when they enrolled in the study.
During follow-up, which averaged about 10 years, just 77 of the women developed inflammatory bowel disease. Ninety percent of women in the current study were eating more than the recommended dietary allowance of protein.
Women who consumed the most protein were at more than triple the risk of being diagnosed with IBD, the researchers found; animal protein accounted for most of the risk. Risk was specifically associated with high intake of meat and fish, but not with dairy products or eggs.
While experts have long suspected that diet might play a role in inflammatory bowel disease, Carbonnel and his colleagues note, the only links identified previously were with eating a lot of fats and certain kinds of sugars. Those studies were more prone to error than forward-looking or prospective studies like the current investigation. There have also been several studies linking vitamin D deficiency to IBD.
Another recent prospective study found that a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids decreased inflammatory bowel disease risk, while eating lots of omega-6 fatty acids increased it, Carbonnel noted in an interview with Reuters Health. Omega-3s are found in fish oil, flax seed oil, and a few other sources; omega-6s, which Westerners tend to eat much more of, are found in several types of vegetable and nut oils.
Meat could contribute to inflammatory bowel disease risk because digestion of animal protein produces many potentially toxic "end products," such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, the researchers note. Also, Carbonnel pointed out, a high-protein diet could alter the mix of bacteria that live in the colon.
"These findings have to be confirmed in other populations, particularly in men and younger subjects," the researcher said, adding that if they are confirmed, the next step would be to conduct a trial comparing the effects of restricted versus unrestricted animal protein on inflammatory bowel disease risk.
Given the large amount of protein women in the study were eating, he added, a restricted diet wouldn't involve radically reducing protein intake, but instead sticking to the recommended amount.
SOURCE: 2a.html American Journal of Gastroenterology, online May 11, 2010.
By Daniel Martin
Last updated at 3:20 AM on 12th June 2010
Research: Girls who start puberty early are believed to be at higher risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and heart disease
A diet high in meat may put girls at higher risk of breast cancer and heart disease by bringing on early puberty, according to scientists.
A study of 3,000 girls found that girls with higher intakes of meat and protein were more likely to have started their periods by the time they were 12 and a half.
Girls who start puberty early are believed to be at higher risk of a number of diseases - including breast cancer, ovarian cancer and heart disease.
The study, carried out at the University of Brighton in East Sussex, found that 49 per cent of girls eating more than 12 portions of meat a week at the age of seven had started their periods by 12 and a half.
This compares with just 35 per cent of girls who ate fewer than four portions a week.
And three year olds who ate more than eight portions of meat a week were also more likely to have early periods.
A portion is defined as the normal amount of meat a child would eat in a full meal. A portion is therefore smaller for a 3 year old child than for a 7 year old one.
A small meat-based snack such as a ham sandwich would only be around half a portion, but a Sunday roast would include a full portion.
However study author Dr Imogen Rogers, a senior lecturer at the university's school of pharmacy, cautioned parents cutting meat out of their daughters' diets.
'Meat is a good source of many important nutrients including iron and zinc and there is no reason why girls should adopt a vegetarian diet or that meat in moderation cannot form a valuable part of a balanced diet for children,' she said.
Zinc and iron were both needed in high quantities during pregnancy, she said, which suggests a diet rich in meat could prepare the body for pregnancy. 'A meat-rich diet could be seen as indicating suitable nutritional conditions for a successful pregnancy,' she said.
She said the findings needed repeating in other populations before firm recommendations on diet can be made.
But she added: 'These results add to the evidence that it is healthiest to avoid diets containing very high amounts of meat.'
The research, funded by the World Cancer Research Fund, was published in the journal Public Health Nutrition.
The average age at which girls start puberty fell dramatically over the 20th century: perhaps reflecting easier access to meat. While the average is now 12, although the average is now levelling off.
Obesity is also a factor in the declining average age, but Dr Rogers said it could not be the only one because the average age was now no longer falling even though child obesity was on the rise.
Early periods could be linked with breast cancer - possibly because women are exposed to higher levels of oestrogen over their lifetime.
Dr Ken Ong, paediatric endocrinologist at the Medical Research Council, said there had been 'vast shifts' in the timing of first periods over the past century.
He told the BBC that the link with meat consumption was a 'plausible' one.
'This was not related to larger body size, but rather could be due to a more direct effect of dietary protein on the body's hormone levels.'
