The "god effect" of Zia seeds is prohibited

Chia
, also translated as
"Zia seed" and "Zi Yazi", has been touted by many as a "superfood" or even a "weight-loss artifact", once sold on Taobao. However, now go to Taobao to search for "Zia seed", will show "in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and policies, can not show "Zia seed" related baby." What's going on here?seeds are the seeds of the mint plant oysters. The plants are native to Central and South America, such as Mexico and Bolivia, and are now grown in large quantities in countries such as Australia. It has a long history of consumption in areas such as Mexico, but its initial popularity in the United States was not as a food. Zia seeds are spheroidal seeds, about 1
in
size, and can easily germinate.
1977
it was used in potted plants, sprouting into the shape of animal hair. The design was later trademarked and became popular a few years later, with more than a dozen generations of products sold each year, selling hundreds of thousands of units a year.has re-emerged in recent years, finally returning to its roots as food. As a food Zia seed similar to sesame seeds, it is generally more "healthy" than sesame seeds in the diet of modern people. Sesame fats, for example, account for about
50%
, while Zia seeds are only
30%
, and most are omega
3
polyunsaturated fatty acids. Sesame's dietary fiber is
12%
, while Zia seeds can reach about
35%
percent. Considering microorganisms, minerals and antioxidants, it is not too much to say that Zia seeds are an excellent "healthy food", and the United States and Europe have also approved Zia seeds as food ingredients to be added to a variety of foods., however, merchants are clearly not content with "healthy food" when marketing Zia seeds, and they always like to perform extra "health functions". For example, if they have dietary fiber, they say they can "cure constipation"; if they have calcium, they say they can treat osteoporosis; and if they have omega
3
polyunsaturated fatty acids, they say they can prevent cardiovascular disease. . .Such a deduction is not nonsense in theory, in reality can be regarded as a gimmick. For example, dietary fiber "treatment constipation" and calcium treatment "osteoporosis", both need two premises: first, the patient's diet does lack dietary fiber and calcium, and second, eat enough Zia seeds every day. And regardless of the former, given the price of Zia seeds and the fact that many people simply treat them as "health products", daily consumption is quite limited. For example, even eating
20
grams, of which calcium is more than 100 milligrams, similar to half a cup of milk, and calcium in plants is often closely combined with other ingredients, absorption rate is much lower.

about
7,
grams of dietary fiber in 20 kgzia seeds, not a small amount, but still far from the "recommended intake" per day. To count on dietary fiber to solve the problem of constipation, more needs to be consumed from other foods. Omega, on the other hand
3
, is somewhat of a stolen concept. The cardiovascular health benefits of omega
3
are generally well-evidenced by fish oil or algae oil, of which omega
3
is
EPA
and . Zia seeds, like flaxseeds, of which omega
3
is
ALA
, and its health benefits are mainly "speculative" and the direct evidence is insufficient. As for the effects of other antioxidants and vitamins, it is even more plausible.for Taobao enthusiasts, Zia seeds are probably the most attractive or weight loss. Among them, the high content of dietary fiber, strong water absorption capacity, water absorption after the formation of sticky adhesive, theoretically will enhance satiety and reduce the intake of other foods. In other words, replacing other food ingredients with dietary fiber can help reduce calorie intake and help you lose weight. That's probably how the so-called weight loss artifacts come about. However, theoretical analysis has never been able to guide the direction, not prove the effectiveness. Whether Zia seeds can lose weight or not will require clinical trials to verify.although merchants have pushed the concept of "Zia seeds are weight loss artifacts" deep into the hearts of Taobao enthusiasts, scientists are really not cooperative.
a systematic literature review published in
, 2009, retrieved
10,
scientific paper databases, plus
20,
academic journals not included in those databases, as well as some secondaryly cited literature, and found that the reference to "efficacy", while abundant, was extremely limited in evidence of any kind of efficacy. Only two human trials were found in the most attractive "cardiovascular health" and "weight loss". One showed that it helped reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, while the other showed ineffectiveness. As for weight loss, both studies showed no effect.the review,
published a
-controlled single-blind trial in 2009.
90
healthy adult fat people were randomly divided into two groups, taking either a water-absorbing zia seeds or a placebo before the first and last meal of the day. A
39
and
37
completed trials of Zia seeds and placebos, respectively. A number of physiological indicators were examined before and after the trial and it was found that the
ALA
content in the plasma of the group of volunteers taking Zia seeds increased by
24.4%
, while the control group decreased, while the changes in
EPA
and
DHA
were no different. This suggests that the
ALA
from Zia seeds to the blood, but the absorbed
ALA
is not effectively converted into or
DHA
. There was no difference between the two groups in other physiological indicators, such as weight changes, so the authors' paper titled "Zia Seeds Don't Help Overweight Adults Lose Weight and Change Disease Risk."published a
study in 2012. In a randomized double-blind controlled trial of overweight women,
62,
volunteers were divided into three groups: one was grated Zia seeds, one was eaten with complete Zia seeds, and the other was eaten with a placebo,
25
grams per day for
10
weeks. Finally, three groups of
16
and
26
completed the experiment. Comparing physiological indicators before and after the trial, there was no difference between the group of those who ate complete Zia seeds and placebos, while the

and
EPA
in the plasma of the grated Zia seeds were higher and
39%
, respectively, and the other indicators were no different from the other two groups.these limited scientific trials, the effects of Zia seeds on cardiovascular health were "if nothing" and "not reflected" in weight loss. It's a wishful thinking to expect it to be a weight-loss artifact.although the "health benefits" of Zia seeds are not very reliable, but it is after all a long-standing food, the ingredients are also quite quite good. However, for China, the oysters have no history of growing and growing and are an "exotic species". Zia seeds themselves have good germination and growth ability, so they need to be treated with caution.
2014
, the State Administration of Quality Supervision and Inspection issued the "Warning Notice on the Strict Prevention of Illegal Entering the Border with Passengers with Plant Health Products with Reproductive Capacity", which clearly named Zia Seeds. This is a prudent and necessary attitude to protect the ecology of our country. Those who expect Zia seed as an "artifact" of weight loss enthusiasts, whether or not they believe in its "god effect", in order to be responsible for our ecological environment, it is better not to chase it.