Deoiled chia flour nutrient composition and its

relation with human daily nutrient requirements


Ing. Ricardo Ayerza (h)

Office of Arid Lands Studies

The University of Arizona

<rayerza@ag.arizona.edu>

(June 29, 2003)



Introduction


            The following table is intended to make it easier for you to understand the nutrition composition of deoiled chia flour in relation with nutrition recommendation that contribute to a healthy diet.


            Daily value


            Percentage of daily value (%DVs) are based on recommendations for a 2,000 calories diet. For labeling purposes, U.S. Food and Drug Administration set 2,000 calories as the reference amount to calculate %DVs. The %DV shows the percentage (or how much) of the recommended daily amount of a nutrient is in a serving of food. By using the %DV, you can tell if this amount is high or low. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs. Although you, like most people, may not know how many calories you consume in a day. But you can still use the %DV as a frame of reference, whether or not you eat more or less than 2,000 calories each day.


            The deoiled chia flour nutrient values utilized herein were provided by James H. Brown (2003), International Flora Technologies Inc., Gilbert, Arizona, USA.


            Serving size


            The size of the serving on the food package influences all the nutrient amounts listed on the label. The 25 gr. serving size is based in the daily amount of dietetic fiber to reach 50 percent of the amount recommended by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (1999).


            Serving per container


            The number of servings per container, four and ten for 100 and 250 gr. containers, respectively, is based on the chia deoiled flour package already in the market.

            

            Content claims


            Nutrient content claims of the Nutritional Facts Panel makes easy to distinguish one claim from another, when make comparison between different products. The deoiled chia flour content claims were set up through the classification used by The National Academy of Science (1999, 2000) and the U.S. Food and Drug Organization (1999).


Nutritional Facts Panel



Deoiled chia flour

Nutrition Facts

Serving size: 25 gr

Serving per container: 4 (100 gr container); 10 (250 gr container)

Total calories 96

Calories from fat 7

Amount per serving

25 gr/day

 DV gr

% DV

Content claims

Cholesterol

0

300 mg

Free

Free

Sodium

<2 mg

2400 mg

Free

Free

Total fat

0.8 gr

65 gr

12.6

Low

Saturated fat

0.07 gr

20 gr

3.5

Free

Trans fatty acids

-----

-----

-----

Free

Protein

7.0 gr

50 gr

8.6

 

Total carbohydrate

15.2 gr

300 gr

3.7

 

Dietary fiber

13.6 gr

25 gr

54.4

High

Niacin

2.8 mg

16 mg

17.5

Good source

Riboflavin (B2)

0.11 mg

1.3 mg

8.5

-----

Thiamin (B1)

0.20 mg

1.2 mg

16.7

Good source

Vitamin A

17 I.U.

5000 I.U.

<1

-----

Calcium

295 mg

1000 mg

29.5

High

Phosphorus

292 mg

 700 mg

41.7

High

Magnesium

117 mg

420 mg

27.8

High

Manganese

1.7 mg

2.3 mg

73.9

High

Zinc

1.9 mg

11 mg

17.3

Good source

Cooper

0.6 mg

2.0 mg

30.0

High

Potassium

275 mg

3500 mg

7.9

-----

Iron

4.8 mg

18 mg

26.7

High

Molybdenum

0.06 mg

0.075 mg

80.0

High

Aluminum

1.1 mg

-----

-----

 

Boron

0.46 mg

-----

-----

 



Nutrition Fact Comments


            The nutrients


Limit these: The nutrients listed first are the ones Americans and other Western Countries people generally eat in adequate amounts, or even too much. They are identified in brown on the chart as Limit these Nutrients. Eating too much fat, saturated fat, trans fatty acids or too much sodium increase your risk of certain chronic diseases, like heart disease, some cancers, or high blood pressure. Eating too many calories is linked to overweight and obesity. Deoiled chia seeds are free of sodium, cholesterol, saturated fat and trans fatty acids, and low in fat content.



Get enough of these: Americans often don't get enough dietary fiber, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron in their diets. They are identified in blue on the chart as Get Enough of these Nutrients. Eating enough of these nutrients can improve your health and help reduce the risk of some diseases and conditions. For example, getting enough calcium can reduce the risk of osteoporosis, in which bones become brittle and break as one ages. Deoiled chia seed are a high source of dietary fiber, calcium, phosphorus, magnesum, manganesum, cooper, iron and molybdenum, and a good source of thiamin, niacin and zinc.



            Healthy food  


            Deoiled chia flour is considered a Food Supplement by the FDA, however, it match the exigent food nutrient content regulations established by this organization, to claim a food as a “healthy food” (U.S. Food and Drug Organization, 1999).


References


Brown, J. 2003. Chia meal data. International Flora Technologies Inc. (Unpublished), Gilbert, Arizona, USA., 1 p.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 1999. The food label. Download from the www.cfsan.fda.gov


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