Giving a cheer for chia

Having discovered the joys of the chia seed and experimented with the making of isikiate and the use thereof with regards to my running and general health, I thought it timely to post a recipe of this mixture for all readers to be able to try their own experiments with.

First things first, if you have no idea what chia is, much less isikiate, then feel free to feed the word chia into Google and you will discover a wealth of sites dedicated to this superfood seed, which can be purchased either on the internet or from your local health food or organic store.

Chia is a seed originating from South America, which the local tribes have long used as a means of fuelling long distance runs or marches. The Aztec kings used to feed this stuff to their troops to fuel then up for a 24 hour death march into battle. For many of these groups, this was the only food that they would consume during the day.

In short chia not only is high in slow release carbs, but also contains more protein than steak, more magnesium than broccoli and very importantly for long distance runners more Omega3 than salmon. All of these ingredients vital to keeping us healthy and our joints injury free.

Chia can be mixed into just about anything- I mix in a few spoons of it into my breakfast oats or yoghurt. I have also been known to mix in some spoons into an evening stir-fry. However the most popular and easiest way of ingesting chia is by mixing isikiate or chia water.

To make up a mixture of isikiate follow the recipe below:

Ingredients:

500ml cold water
chia seeds
sugar
fresh limes or lemons or lemon or lime juice.

Add four to five teaspoons of chia seed to the 500ml of water. Mix in a couple of spoons of sugar and squeeze in some lemon or lime juice for taste. Shake the mixture vigorously for a minute or two and then place in the fridge. Wait 10 minutes or longer and you will see that the mixture has started to create a gel of sorts. The isikiate is now ready to be consumed before, during or after your long distance run.

I have conducted many experiments with regards to chia and long distance running and find that on many occasions it is far more palatable and I feel stronger after it, than after the conventional sports drinks on the market. Truth be told, it is probably the caveman equivalent of Gatorade or PowerAde.

Now I can conclude that since using it my times over the longer distance have come down, I believe that the isikiate only played a minor role in this and it was also due to different training techniques, dropping further weight and also strength training.

It will not turn you into a superstar over night and I am doubtful of its use in anything under a marathon distance, but if you inclined to run the longer stuff, this may be for you.

That said, chia is so packed full of goodness that it really can do no harm for anyone to include some of it into everyday foods and smoothies etc. I have also been known to mix it with some Gatorade powder and water if I don’t have any limes in the house or for a slight variation.

Go wild with it and experiment. I would be very interested in hearing of different experiences. – Sean Muller