The secret to unlocking the benefits of chia seeds may be grinding them up. 

When recentlyreviewingthe literature on the health-promoting properties and therapeutic applications of chia seeds, I ran into a lot of studies discussing, for example, “strategies for incorporation of chia (Salvia hispanica L.) in frankfurters as a health-promoting ingredient.” After all, “recent years have seen increasing pursuit of healthier lifestyles, among them dietary habits. In response to this, there has been a great deal of interest worldwide in…compounds originally present in plants to provide health benefits in foods.” Yes, but in hot dogs? And, indeed, “reformulated frankfurters with chia contained significantly greater amounts of [plant] proteins, insoluble dietary fiber, [and] minerals….Given this nutritional profile, the products thus produced could qualify for labelling with a variety of nutrition and health claims.” And, what do you know? “Chia oil–enriched restructured pork” actually does affect “aged rats” fed bad diets. So…let’s slap on that health claims label!