Workout and Diet Advice for Women over 45

Doesn’t it seem that every year we are asked to believe that “researchers” have uncovered THE superfood? And this year really does seem to be the year of the Chia seed.

The Chia seed, as an excellent source of nutrition may well retain its reputation beyond that of many of its predecessors – is anyone still sprinkling oat bran on their cereal?

In the previous blog post on Chia, I summarized the main characteristics of Chia seeds and also detailed the nutritional components of the seed.    This time we look at claims associated with these characteristics.

Did you ever look at the cute Chia Pets and wonder of the sprouting vegetation was edible…. Me neither.  In fact I think the closest I came to a Chia Pet was the commercial on TV – and I never thought of them as food.  The seed on the other hand IS food.

What a concept – if you have lots of brown fat you are a calorie burning machine!

Wait a minute – let’s look at all the facts.

• Scientists have known about brown Adipose tissue (“brown fat”) for many years.  Didn’t think adults had it, until they recently found it in specific areas of the body.  Using PET-CT scans, the presence of brown fat in adults has been proven to exist. http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/10/brown.fat.obesity

• Brown fat is activated in cold temperatures to burn calories for warmth.  So bundling up in the cold is unlikely to activate this tissue.