Chia: Rediscovering a Forgotten Crop of the Aztecs

By Ricardo Ayerza and Wayne Coates

One of the four main Aztec crops at the time of Columbus’s arrival in the New World, chia is now a forgotten food of the Americas. Chia seed oil offers the highest omega-3 fatty acid content available from plants, but today this species is known only for its use in "chia pets." Yet pre-Columbian civilizations used chia as a raw material for medicines and nutritional compounds, while chia flour could be stored for years as a food reserve and was valued as a source of energy on long journeys.

In this book, agronomist Ricardo Ayerza and agricultural engineer Wayne Coates trace the long and fascinating history of chia’s use, then reveal the scientific story of the plant and its modern potential. They compare fatty acid profiles of chia with our other major sources—fish oil, flaxseed, and marine algae—and provide evidence that chia is superior in many ways.

Here are just some of the benefits that chia provides:
- chia has the highest known percentage of alpha-linolenic acid, and the highest combined alpha-linolenic and linoleic fatty acid percentage of all crops
- chia has more protein, lipids, energy, and fiber—but fewer carbs—than rice, barley, oats, wheat, or corn—and its protein is gluten-free
- chia is an excellent source of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, and copper
- chia is low in sodium: salmon has 78 times as much, tuna 237 times as much
- chia exhibits no evidence of allergic response, even in individuals with peanut and tree-nut allergies
- chia doesn’t give off a “fishy flavor,” unlike some other sources of omega-3 fatty acid

The need to balance the essential fatty acid content of the human diet, combined with the need for a safe, renewable, omega-3 fatty acid source, positions chia to become one of the world’s important crops. As this insightful study shows, current nutritional understanding provides an excellent opportunity to reintroduce this important food to the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: University of Arizona Press
• Release date: Mar 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9780816546831

Book preview

CHIA

Rediscovering a Forgotten Crop of the Aztecs

Ricardo Ayerza Jr. and Wayne Coates

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA PRESS

TUCSON

NOTICE: This book is intended as a reference volume only, not as a dietary or medical guide or as a manual for self-treatment. The information here is designed to make you better informed about the subject. If you have a medical or nutritional problem or question, please seek the care of a doctor or other trained professional. The authors and publisher disclaim any liability arising directly or indirectly from the use of any information in this book.

The University of Arizona Press

© 2005 The Arizona Board of Regents

All rights reserved

This book is printed on acid-free, archival-quality paper.

Manufactured in the United States of America

10   09   08   07   06   05   6   5   4   3   2   1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data appear on the last printed page of this book.

ISBN-13: 978-0-8165-4683-1 (electronic)

Uei Tocoztli

In the cu of the courtyard they made from dough which they call tzoalli the image of this goddess, and in front of her they offered all kinds of maize, beans, and chia, because they said that she was the source and bearer of those goods which are sustenance for the people’s life.

FRAY BERNARDINO DE SAHAGÚN,

HISTORIA GENERAL DE LAS COSAS

DE NUEVA ESPAÑA

CONTENTS

List of Illustrations

Foreword by Artemis P. Simopoulos, M.D.

CHAPTER 1. The Paradox of Hunger and Abundance

CHAPTER 2. The Importance of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

CHAPTER 3. A Hidden Food of the Americas

CHAPTER 4. The Renaissance of Chia

CHAPTER 5. Chia and Other Sources of Omega-3 Fatty Acids

CHAPTER 6. Animal Products Enriched with Omega-3 Fatty Acids: The Advantage of Chia over Other Sources

CHAPTER 7. Chia: Markets and Commercialization

References

Index

ILLUSTRATIONS

Figures

2.1. Basic structure of fatty acids

2.2. Polyunsaturated fatty acid families

3.1. Tributes paid to Aztecs by conquered nations

3.2. Drawing of chia from the Codex Florentino

3.3. Drawing illustrating the use of chia

3.4. Page from Francisco Hernández’s 1576 manuscript

4.1. Page from Nardo Antonio Reccho, Rerum medicarum Novae Hispaniae thesaurus seu Plantarum animalium mineralium mexicanorum historia (1651) with drawing of chiantzolli

4.2. Chia seeds

4.3. Chia in the early stages of flowering

4.4. Field of chia growing in northwestern Argentina

4.5. Chia in the latter stages of flowering

4.6. Single, large, multibranched chia plant

Tables

1.1. Evolution of world food availability

1.2. Worldwide yield of the four main crops (corn, wheat, soybeans, and rice), 1961–63 and 1998–2000

2.1. Characteristics of Paleolithic and modern Western diets

2.2. Daily macronutrient intake for late Paleolithic and current Western diets

2.3. Quantity of lipids (fats) used in human food, 1961–63 and 1996–99

2.4. Relative amounts of fatty acids in vegetable oils

2.5. Adequate intakes for adults on a 2,000-calorie diet

2.6. Adequate intakes for infants on a formula diet

3.1. Tributes from conquered nations delivered annually to Tenochtitlán

3.2. Some of the plants cultivated in Mesoamerica when Christopher Columbus arrived

3.3. Nahuatl words related to chia

3.4. Mexican chia production, 1932–35

3.5. Average area, by grower, sown to chia in Acatic County, Jalisco, Mexico

3.6. Number of growers and area commercially sown to chia in northwestern Argentina

4.1. Nahua taxonomic system

4.2. Chia species: common and scientific names

4.3. Composition of some different chia species

4.4. Morphological characteristics of Salvia hispanica L. from four origins

4.5. Characteristics of the sites where chia was or is being cultivated

4.6. Effect of planting date on chia productivity at Pichanal, Salta, Argentina

4.7. Effect of location on oil content and fatty acid composition of chia seed

4.8. Oil content and fatty acid composition of commercial chia seeds from five countries

4.9. Agricultural and phenological characteristics of four lines of Salvia hispanica L. grown in Temalacacingo

5.1. Fatty acid composition of chia, flaxseed, menhaden, and marine algae oils

5.2. Fatty acid composition of chia, flaxseed, menhaden, and marine algae oils as calculated from the data in table 5.1

5.3. Comparison of chia, barley, corn, oats, rice, and wheat

5.4. Protein content, oil content, peroxide index, and fatty acid composition of chia seeds cultivated at nine locations in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, and Peru

5.5. Amino acid content of chia seed protein hydrolysate

5.6. Content of vitamins and essential elements in chia seeds and deoiled meal

5.7. Concentration of antioxidants found in chia seed extracts

6.1. Cholesterol, total fat, saturated fatty acids, and omega-3 fatty acid content of eggs produced by Shaver white laying hens fed four diets

6.2. Fatty acid composition of egg yolk lipids from hens fed fish oil (1.5%) and chia seeds (14%)

6.3. Cholesterol, total fat, saturated fatty acid, and omega-3 fatty acid content produced by two lines of hens fed five different omega-3 diets

7.1. Omega-3 fatty acid enriched egg prices in Argentina, Belgium, Spain, Holland, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States, 2001–4

7.2. Omega-3 fatty acid enriched milk prices in Belgium, Uruguay, and Argentina

7.3. Sample omega-3 enriched foods that could be produced by adding chia seeds

DEDICATION

To Mercedes Ayerza and Patricia Coates

for all their help and support during difficult times

FOREWORD

Ing. Ricardo Ayerza Jr. and Dr. Wayne Coates, two outstanding scientists, provide in this work the most up-to-date information on the anthropological, historical, political, agricultural, and nutritional aspects of chia. Since chia seeds contain more alpha-linolenic acid (63 percent) than any other seed, the authors present an extensive discussion of the role of omega-3 fatty acids and the importance of the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio in health and disease.

Human beings evolved on a diet that was balanced in the omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acid ratio. Prior to the development of agribusiness the two families of the omega-6 and omega-3 essential fatty acids were found throughout the food supply: in meat, milk and other dairy products, fish, legumes, plants, and fruit. Modern agribusiness led to changes in animal feeds. In the past animals and poultry grazed and thus obtained both omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids from grasses. But today animals are grain-fed, mostly corn, which is high in omega-6 fatty acids. Thus beef and dairy products from grain-fed cattle do not contain any omega-3 fatty acids. In a study conducted in Greece my colleagues and I showed that under complete natural conditions eggs from chickens that graze have a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 of 1:3, whereas the standard United States Department of Agriculture egg has a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 of about 20:1 (Simopoulos and Salem, 1992). Our egg, known as the Greek egg or Ampelistra egg, from a farm in Greece where the chickens fetch their own food by grazing, is now considered the standard natural egg for omega-3 enrichment. Changing the chicken feed by adding omega-3 fatty acids from fish meal or flaxseed (both good sources of omega-3 fatty acids) has now made omega-3 enriched eggs available throughout the world. Because omega-3 fatty acids are essential for normal growth and development and in the treatment of coronary heart disease, mental health problems, arthritis, and other chronic diseases, it is now recognized that there is a need to return omega-3 fatty acids into the food supply.

Chia was one of the main foods of both the Aztec and the Mayan diet and presents an opportunity to improve human nutrition by providing a natural, plan-based source of omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and dietary fiber. Chia seed, with the highest content of alpha-linolenic acid, is an excellent source to enrich eggs with omega-3 fatty acids as well as poultry meat, pork, milk, and so on. Ayerza and Coates’s research has contributed immensely in this regard. Their book is a major contribution to nutrition research and to the return of omega-3 fatty acids into the food supply.

Artemis P. Simopoulos, M.D.

Center for Genetics, Nutrition and Health

Washington, D.C.

ONE

The Paradox of Hunger and Abundance

The Green Revolution

In 1970 Dr. Norman Borlaug received the Nobel Peace Prize for his contributions to solving the problem of world hunger. His work was aimed at meeting the basic needs of the people of the world by increasing production of traditional crops such as wheat and corn. His success is clear and indisputable; his genetic and agronomic innovations have produced wheat, corn, and rice yields that were inconceivable at the start of his work. As a result, many countries no longer need to import these commodities, prices have dropped, more people have access to these basic crops, and a significant number of people have improved nutrition. As table 1.1 shows, worldwide per capita consumption of calories, proteins, and lipids increased significantly from the middle of the 1960s to the end of the 1990s.

During the 1990s food stocks generally surpassed world demand by 20 percent. Today agricultural production is more than adequate to feed 6 billion human beings. Cereal production alone, at about 2 billion tonnes (330 kilograms per capita per year, or 3,600 kilocalories per capita per day), could to a large extent meet the energy needs of the world’s population if it were well distributed (Perry, 1990; Food and Agriculture Organization, 2000a). The problem of how to feed millions of people as world population increased was solved, and fear of chronic food shortages for large parts of the world turned out to be unfounded. At the beginning of the new millennium the world’s 5.8 billion people had on average 15 percent more food per person than did the 4 billion people who existed twenty years earlier. Still, millions of people do not get enough to eat. Between 1974 and 1996 the number of people estimated to be suffering from hunger and malnutrition increased from 450 to 800 million. This terrible situation can only be resolved if the economic aspects are addressed. Hunger and malnutrition are very closely associated with absolute poverty. More than 1 billion people, most of them living in rural areas, subsist on less than one U.S. dollar per day (Kashambuzi, 1999; Food and Agriculture Organization, 2000b; Bohnet, 2001).

TABLE 1.1. Evolution of world food availability

Image: TABLE 1.1. Evolution of world food availability

In a time of unprecedented plenty, 826 million people still do not have enough to eat. The Food and Agriculture Organization’s publication The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2000 (2000b) states that little progress is being made in bringing about significant reductions in the number of hungry people in the world. Socioeconomic studies show increasingly unfavorable income prospects in undeveloped countries in which serious food shortages exist. This means a continuation of poverty and malnutrition in these locations for the foreseeable future (Food and Agriculture Organization, 1996, 2000a, 2001b).

The green revolution increased the production of crops in significant quantities sufficient to feed the world. This extraordinary effort, however, was not accompanied by another and equally important need: giving expanding populations the money to buy these crops. The result is that production has surpassed demand, but it does not meet the needs of the people. If we analyze the concept of Malthus, who said that the world’s population will die of starvation, from the point of view of production, it seems to be in error. But if we view his concept from the standpoint of distribution, it becomes reality.

TABLE 1.2. Worldwide yield of the four main crops (corn, wheat, soybeans, and rice), 1961–63 and 1998–2000

Image: TABLE 1.2. Worldwide yield of the four main crops (corn, wheat, soybeans, and rice), 1961–63 and 1998–2000

Genetic improvement and intensive use of fertilizers and agrochemicals along with widespread distribution of improved crop production techniques have increased production of the four main crops—wheat, corn, rice, and soybeans—in a dramatic way. Between the beginning of the 1960s and the end of the 1990s, yields of these crops increased 138, 119, 99, and 94 percent, respectively, while availability per capita increased 31, 51, 36, and 206 percent (table 1.2).

Many regions have benefited from the green revolution. There have been significant increases in yields in several countries, particularly with large-scale irrigated agriculture. Increased production arose not only because yields increased but also because crops could be planted in ecosystems previously considered as limited for cropping, thanks to newly developed varieties and technological packages. Thus, regions that imported a number of grains in the past are self-sufficient today, and some have even become exporters. In the case of rice, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam are examples.

The green revolution also brought unwanted consequences to millions of growers. One of the more difficult problems that has appeared frequently in the history of agriculture is overproduction. When this occurs, prices drop. Falling agricultural prices are particularly disastrous to the agricultural sectors of undeveloped countries as there are no production subsidies to compensate for decreasing incomes. Overproduction affects all agricultural sectors, from very small to very large producers. For instance, in South America the small cassava (Manihot esculenta C.) growers from Córdoba and Sucre, Colombia, cannot compete with cassava powder imported from South Africa, and the huge wheat producers of the Humid Pampas in Argentina saw prices drop 53 percent in twelve years (Ayerza, 1996a). On an international level, over the last twenty years the prices of rice, corn, and wheat have decreased 50 percent or more (Agroenlínea, 2001). Globalization and overproduction are responsible for the reduced incomes of farmers throughout the world today. Even in regions that were heavily influenced by the green revolution, many small, poorly equipped, and very low income farmers have been unable to take advantage of new methods of production. Because they are unable to invest and progress, their incomes have fallen as a result of decreased agricultural prices, and many of them now live in extreme poverty, having been forced to leave their farms.

We can try to explain this problem a little better by quoting two paragraphs from the report entitled The State of Food and Agriculture:

Because of falling agricultural prices, the already low cash income of these farmers becomes insufficient to maintain and entirely renew their equipment and inputs and thus further erodes their production capacity. At this stage, an able-bodied member of the family can still be sent out to find temporary or permanent work elsewhere, although this weakens farm production capacity still further. The temporary survival of the farm only becomes possible by means of decapitalization (sale of livestock, non-renewal of equipment), under consumption, under nutrition and the migration of part of the workforce.

Increasingly poorly equipped and badly fed, these farmers are obligated to concentrate their efforts on short-term returns and to neglect the maintenance of the cultivated ecosystem. This neglect takes the form of poor maintenance of irrigation systems, slash-and-burn of ever younger fallow, insufficient weeding, sale of livestock and reduced transfer of fertility to the soil. The economic non-renewal of the productive system leads to non-renewal of fertility of the cultivated ecosystem. (Food and Agriculture Organization, 2000a:190)

In underdeveloped, agriculture-dominated countries the green revolution and globalization have caused the paradox of hunger and abundance. This arises because the demand for food in the marketplace is low, as the hungry people of the world have no buying capacity. This situation, which has taken place during the last decade in countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, and Peru, has been accentuated because of specialization, which in turn has reduced exportable products. Subsequently, as food imports increased, so did agricultural exports, worsening trade balances (Conway and Barbier, 1990; Mingione and Pugliese, 1994; Kashambuzi, 1999). Not only does this increase food dependence, it also changes dietary habits.

Agricultural overproduction and surplus crops are not simply numbers to be dealt with. Many people suffer with this reality every day, creating millions of stories charged with drama and misery. To know one story is the best way to understand the drama that exists today as millions of people suffer.

Rosa Huaman

This story, which is recent and sad, has never been written and has not even been completely told until now. It is the story of a Peruvian woman living in one of the terrible suburbs of the city of Ica, 300 kilometers south of Lima, the capital of Peru. These housing developments are pompously called young towns, but in reality they are miserable slums. Living conditions are infinitely poorer than those of the villas de emergencia of Buenos Aires and even worse than the sadly famous favelas of Rio de Janeiro and the slums of Bombay and Calcutta. These suburbs don’t have running water, electricity, garbage collection, paved roads, or sidewalks. Human excrement is piled everywhere and remains forever because it never, yes never, rains in Ica. This is terrible and impossible to visualize. The great majority of people who live along the Peruvian coast in cities such as Ica are born, live, and die surrounded by their garbage and their misery.

Rosa Huaman, the woman in this story, was not born in Ica. She came into the world more than 4,877 meters above sea level in the Peruvian altiplano, close to Lake Titicaca. There, on the island of the Sun and the Moon, according to the legend, two brothers, Manco Capac and Mama Ocllo, were born. They started the short-lived (lasting just one hundred years) but immortal Inca Empire.

Rosa was short, copper skinned, and sturdily built. She was a pure native. In her veins ran ancient Peruvian blood, as she was a descendant of the Quechua nation. Rosa and her family lived on what she could produce on her little piece of ancestral land, which had been overused and made almost desertlike by trying to force it to meet the basic needs of the family. In addition, frost and little rain also limited its production.

The imbalance between production and the needs of the family continued to grow, until the end for Rosa and her family became clear. Heavy rainfall from the phenomenon known as El Niño ruined the potato crop. Still, the family had some reserves of naturally dehydrated potatoes, made as their ancestors had made them even before the Incas. Subsequently, La Niña (the opposite of El Niño) arrived, bringing cold and drought. This destroyed the next potato crop and Rosa’s hopes.

The chronic lack of work in the region, made more serious during the previous decade by political actions such as agrarian reform, the bloody attacks of the Shining Path (Maoist) guerrillas, and the barbarian acts of the government soldiers, made it impossible for many families to remain. So Rosa, like thousands of other Quechuas, Aymaras, and other natives, was forced to leave forever the land her family had inhabited.

Rosa took the few things she had, wrapped them in a blanket she had knitted from the fiber of her two llamas, put the blanket on her back, and bound a lliclla (a warmer and shorter blanket) on her chest with her youngest guagua (baby) inside. Then, with her three other children walking silently behind her, she started down the mountain, away from her beloved Andean land. Her husband, Hermilio, had started down the same road three years ago but had not been heard from since.

At the end of her trip an even harder lifestyle awaited her: