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Researchers prove chia seeds pump health-empty ugali to superfood 

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New research has found that adding chia seeds to health-empty ugali turns it into a superfood protecting the heart, brain, and bones.

The revolutionary study by the Integrated CHIA and oyster Mushroom system for sustainable food value chain in Africa (CHIAM), showed that the people who ate the improved black ugali which still had the same taste loved by Africans, got more minerals, healthy fats, protein, fiber, and energy.

One of the most loved foods in Sub-Saharan Africa, ugali in Kenya, Fufu in Ghana, and mieliepap in Lesotho, is made from highly processed maize meal which dieticians say makes it extremely low in all the good stuff your body needs to stay healthy and strong.

Chia seeds are small, oval grey seeds with black and white stripes. Although they have been in our diets for more than 5,000 years, their worldwide popularity has skyrocketed in the last two decades because of their many health benefits.

Though tiny, they are nutritional heavyweights, containing 15 to 23 per cent more proteins than common cereals like maize, wheat, rice, and maize which build muscles, bones, skin, and blood.

Chia seeds also have more calcium than milk which is famed for building children’s bones and more phosphorus than eggs, important for bone health and healing the body after injury or sickness. 

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According to Dr. Monica Mburu, a Food Bioresources Technology lecturer at Dekut University, protein energy malnutrition (PEM) and micro-nutrient deficiency (MND) are the two main causes of undernutrition and malnutrition in Africa.

“An overreliance on starchy foods like ugali with little proteins and without micronutrients is majorly the cause of the rampant PEM and MND in sub-Saharan Africa,” she pointed out.

Between 2012 and 2014 23.8 per cent of people in SSA suffered malnutrition. This was not only caused by a lack of enough food but also that the staple foods many of the 1.1 billion people in SSA eat are nutritionally weak.

The seeds are also among the six best plant sources of omega-3 which improves heart health and the development and function of brains, especially in children.

Chia ugali is prepared as normal ugali, maize flour is mixed with whole chia seeds. Water is boiled and maize flour that already contains chia seeds is added gradually (at a ratio of 1:2.5 (flour and chia to water) while constantly stirring under medium heat using a wooden cooking stick for around seven minutes. The ugali was then turned and left to cook under low heat for another three minutes then served while hot.

The researchers allayed any hangups people might have about the chia ugali explaining that apart from being a slightly darker hue, everyone who has eaten the freshly prepared ugali made with nine per cent chia seeds stated that it tasted the same as regular white ugali.

“We are first raising public awareness about the nutritional benefits of eating improved ugali then working with food scientists and nutritionists in Africa to create improved ugali recipes that still taste good. Finally, we will be working with local food processors providing training and technical assistance on the production and distribution of these new ugali flour varieties we hope to see in the market,” Monica said.

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CHIAM, which brings together Keyrio Farm in Muranga and Dedan Kimathi University of Technology in Nyeri, as well as universities and agricultural centres worldwide, believes that this initiative has the potential to significantly improve the nutritional status of millions of people across Africa and help create a healthier future for generations to come.

Detailed information on the study is available from the links below.

https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/13/4/543

https://www.faccejpi.net/en/foscera/projects/chiam.htm

Contacts: 

Project Coordinator – Dekut University Monica Mburu: 0714-915397 

Keyrio Farm, Timothy Mwai: 0735-733538

Pic:Black chia and black amaranth ugali |Courtesy: https://cookpad.com/ke/recipes/14189320-black-ugali|


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