While we rant on the benefits of Chia Seeds, Teen Scientist Oliver Cloutier has found cancer-killing molecules in them.

Chia seeds are tiny, black seeds native to South America that are a nutritional powerhouse. Wait, what? You haven’t heard of them? Have you no care for your health? Okay, we don’t mean to be obnoxious but seriously, you need to start including chia seeds in your diet right now.

Why?

In case you haven’t heard, 18-year old teen prodigy/scientist Oliver Cloutier has discovered that there is a special type of molecule in Chia seeds that can be extracted and tested to treat cancer.

He found that certain extracts taken from chia seeds seem to possess some cancer-fighting characteristics — first, that they inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells and second, they promote cancer-cell death, particularly in chemo-resistant colon cancer cells called HCT116.

We give you more:

It all started for Oliver when his mom brought home a bag of chia seeds and started touting their health benefits and nutritional value. The 18-year-old from Rimouski, Que., decided not to take his mother at her word and began a journey that would lead him to win a prestigious science-fair prize.

Well, we too have decided to ramble on the health benefits of Chia seeds. Even if it doesn’t inspire you to discover a cancer cure, we would have at least ensured that they are part of your diet.

Antioxidants Galore

Antioxidant supplements may not be effective but if you get them from food they have positive effects on health. Chia seeds have high amount of antioxidants which is the same reason we load ourselves with green tea, right?

High Protein

Another area where Chia seeds shine are their protein content. By weight, they are about 14% protein which is very high as compared to most plants. Apart from all the health benefits of protein, it is also the most weight loss friendly nutrient in the diet. A high protein intake reduces appetite and has been shown to reduce obsessive thoughts about food by 60% and the desire for night time snacking by 50%. Those seems like good odds to us. What about you?

Anyone heard of Omega-3 Fatty Acids?

 Chia seeds contain more Omega-3s than salmon, gram for gram. For real.

High in bone nutrients

Bone nutrients include calcium, phosphorous, magnesium and protein. The calcium content is particularly impressive – 18% of the RDA in a single ounce of Chia seeds. This is actually higher than most dairy products. Go Chia!

Equal to a sports drink

Legend has it that the Aztecs and Mayans used chia seeds to fuel performance back in the day. A study has shown replacing half of the Gatorade with chia seeds did not reduce the performance of the athletes, indicating that chia seeds were of some use.

Add them to anything

Since they are quite tasteless on their own, you can incorporate them into practically anything. They also don’t need to be ground like flax seeds, which makes them much easier to prepare.

They can be eaten raw, soaked in juice, added to porridges and puddings, or added to baked goods.

You can also sprinkle them on top of cereal, yogurt, vegetables or rice dishes.

Have you been Chia-ed yet?