Are chia seeds exaggerated to lower blood pressure? Consumers' Foundation: Violation of law

Modern people are crazy about losing weight. Recently, many chia seed products have appeared on the market, emphasizing that they can "increase satiety" and "control weight through diet management", which makes people easily associate them with weight loss, making "chia seeds" rich in dietary fiber a hot commodity in the market. However, a survey by the Consumers' Education Foundation found that the price difference of chia seeds on the market is about 3 times, and a chia seed carry-on bag sample claimed to "lower blood pressure", which involved false advertising and exaggerated efficacy.

Chia seeds, also known as "chia seeds", "chia seeds" or "chia seeds", are rich in dietary fiber.

Consumers' Foundation: Chia seeds advertising slogan "slimming" is a fuzzy argument

Chia seeds are also known as "chia seeds", "chia seeds" or "chia seeds". The dietary fiber and nutrients such as Omega-3 they contain have been portrayed by merchants as "superfoods" and "miracle seeds" in recent years.

However, the Consumers' Foundation collected claims and advertisements on chia seeds sold online and conducted an investigation. Among the 12 sampled web pages, it was found that the "Good Food - Chia Seed Convenience Bag" published on the Books.com.tw auction website claimed that the advertisement "is low in sodium, can lower blood pressure, and reduce the risk of stroke", which is a violation of Article 28 of the Food Sanitation Management Act, which stipulates false advertising.

Common advertising terms for other chia seed products, including "increase satiety", "smooth bowel movements", "weight control and diet management", etc., can easily lead people to associate these terms with weight loss and slimming, leading to misunderstandings. Although these terms do not directly and obviously violate legal regulations, they can easily lead consumers to misunderstand. The public and relevant authorities should pay more attention to this.

In addition, "mr.CHiA Chia Fiber Filter Beauty Drink" endorsed by artist Xie Jinyan also showed the same "ambiguity" phenomenon as some of the sampled web pages, claiming that the nutritional value of chia seeds is greater than or equal to several times that of foods such as salmon, spinach, broccoli, milk, and oranges, but did not write the weight of the chia seeds, making it impossible to know the basis for comparison.

Eating chia seeds can cause diarrhea and lower blood pressure, but scientific evidence is needed

The Consumer Foundation stated that although the dietary fiber contained in chia seeds can increase satiety, eating too much can easily cause diarrhea. Natural chia seeds are a good choice for people who want to maintain their figure. However, even if you want to lose weight, you should still take in a balanced amount of nutrition. In addition, you should also do consistent and appropriate exercise, which is the only way.

In response to concerns about whether chia seeds can lower blood pressure, Hou Wenyi, director of the Nutrition Department of St. Martin's Hospital, said that chia seeds are indeed a low-sodium food, and low-sodium diets such as the DASH diet do help control blood pressure. However, there are many types of low-sodium foods, and chia seeds are not irreplaceable. More importantly, when it comes to the direct effect of chia seeds on lowering blood pressure and reducing stroke, there is currently no very rigorous scientific evidence to confirm it.

Business response: Advertisement wording error, price difference reflects finished packaging

In response to the Consumer Foundation's questions, "Good Food, Safe Shop" public relations officer Liu Yuling thanked the Consumer Foundation for the reminder and explained that chia seed products were promoted to various e-commerce platforms with the help of distributors. As the distributors were unfamiliar with the relevant laws and regulations and made inappropriate descriptions, Good Food was negligent in the company and failed to strictly check the relevant content one by one, resulting in this mistake. The company is deeply sorry to consumers and has immediately asked the relevant distribution channels to remove the relevant misleading text.

However, regarding the three-fold difference in the price of chia seeds, Liu Yuling said that considering Taiwan's humid climate, seed products are prone to moisture, swelling and even mold, and chia seeds are black in color, making it difficult to detect when they have gone bad. In order to ensure product quality and food safety, they are promoted and marketed in small packages. The reason for the slightly higher unit price is the packaging and the cost of raw material loss caused by packaging. If the comparison is based purely on unit price, without taking into account the industry's intentions to consider food storage conditions for consumers, the comparison basis is unfair.