I was once a real sucker for the New Year’s Eve hoopla — toasting with champagne and making grandiose resolutions, but the past couple of December 31sts, I’ve felt a little lackluster in terms of the anticipatory energy that typically surrounds the beginning of another year.
Every once in a while, I find myself engrossed in a book that suddenly delivers my ignorance to me on a silver platter.
I got a question this week on LinkedIn (yes, you can find me there!) about chia seeds so let’s take a look:
What are they?: They are small black seeds from the chia plant which is native to Mexico and Guatemala. They look a little like poppy seeds but are larger.
What’s the benefit of eating/using or cooking with them?
Chia seeds are a source of fiber, omega 3-fatty acids, and protein.
The one micronutrient that most all would do well to increase is fiber.
“Fibermaxxing” has had a moment on TikTok with people conducting fiber challenges to see how much they could consume.
Most Americans don’t come close to getting sufficient fiber in their daily diet.
Read More
Two of the trends/fads that you can expect to see reflected in products on the shelves at your local Ingles Markets are callouts for protein amounts and callouts for fiber amounts.
Both protein and fiber are macronutrients.
Most people think about protein coming from meat, chicken, fish, eggs and dairy products and fiber coming from fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, seeds and whole grains.
Read More
What are omega 3-fatty acids? They are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA’s) that can be found in various foods.
What are the health benefits? There have been a variety of claims about the benefits of omega 3-fatty acids from heart health, eye health and reducing inflammation to reducing risk of certain cancers, however, most of this is not conclusive and is based on observational data.
Read More