Introduction

In recent years, a growing number of people try to observe a healthy lifestyle, particularly healthy eating habits. Chia seeds offer a promising opportunity in the context of a healthier diet [1, 2]. The flowery chia plant (Salvia hispanica L. – also referred to as Aztec sage or Spanish sage) originates from Middle and South America and belongs to the Lamiacea family. Its height can reach up to 1 m. The leaves of the chia plant grow opposite of each other, and the tiny flowers (3–4 mm) can bloom in numerous shades of colour from white to purple. Chia seeds are oval and about 1–2 mm in size, and may be white, black, or grey, or have mottled tones [1, 3].

Chia seeds were already being used for nutritional purposes 3,500 years ago, and they were an especially important in Middle-Mexico [1]. Aztecs and Mayans made medications, foods, and inks out of them. Before Columbus, chia seeds were one of the three main food items, besides corn and beans. People ate chia seeds whole or ground, and also extracted the oil, which was the main ingredient for body and face inks. Chia seeds had an important role in Aztec society: the subjugated peoples of the monarch paid taxes with chia seeds, and they were offered to the gods in religious rituals [1].

The chia seed is about 15–25% protein, 30–33% fat and 26–41% carbohydrates. It has a fibre content of 18–30% and is also rich in minerals, vitamins, and dry matter (90–93%). As an oily seed, it contains a significant amount of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, and its antioxidant properties are also outstanding. Analytical studies have revealed that its heavy-metal content is under the safety limit, and it is free of mycotoxin and gluten [3, 4]. Although there are many claims about the chia seed's health benefits, only a few have been scientifically proven [1]. Still, due to its chemical composition and nutritive value, the chia seed represents a huge potential in several regions around the globe, in the areas of human nutrition, animal feed, medicine, cosmetics, and pharmaceutics [1, 4]. Since Internet research is an important complementary method to traditional research [5], and given the increasing popularity of the chia seed in Hungary, we conducted research to determine what information on chia seeds is available on Hungarian websites.

Materials and methods

We used systematic qualitative content analysis to review the first 200 Hungarian results of a Google (www.google.hu) search on “chia mag”. In order to simulate the average web user as accurately as possible, we did not apply filters that would have modified the list of results. To exclude potential biases that might have resulted from Google's personalized operations, we conducted searches on 6 different computers and compared the results. The systematic qualitative content analysis is used to identify themes and patterns of data. It is often used in psychology because it is flexible enough to reach both the semantic and latent content of uncountable data [6], while it can also be used to explore research areas for which there is no preliminary information [7]. In the current study, we applied this method to assess information about chia seeds delivered by Hungarian websites, in order to better understand user interest in and general knowledge about chia seeds, and chia seed consumption patterns. The systematic, qualitative content analysis treats the emerging data sensitively, through five steps of analysis: 1. Familiarisation with the data 2. Generation of initial codes 3. Searching for themes 4. Reviewing themes, and 5. Defining and naming themes [6]. Accordingly, we read the resulting articles carefully and looked for main topics and formulae. During the analysis, we created primary codes, which give the same importance to every element of the text [6]. We then manually organized the primary codes into secondary categories. The primary codes and secondary categories were first created subjectively by the individual researchers, then, as a team, we discussed and aggregated and incorporated any divergent codes and categories. The final validation was performed by the team based on team discussion. We reread the articles to check the validity of the codes and topics and created new codes and topics where necessary. Then we selected quotes from the websites which we thought represented the identified topics [6, 7].

Results

The following five main topics were identified in the qualitative content analysis: 1. general information, 2. effects/side-effects, 3. modes of preparation, 4. target audience, and 5. tone of the article.

1. General information

The recommended serving amounts also varied from 2 coffee spoons to 6 teaspoons.

In some other articles, we found energy values between 400 and 486 kcal per 100 g of chia seeds. On a few websites, the carbohydrate amount of chia seeds was shown to range from 2.0 g to 42.2 g per 100 g. The most frequent data for protein and fat content were 21.1 g and 31.4 g, respectively, and for fibre, it varied between 31.4 g and 38.0 g per 100 g.

1. 2.Effects/Side-effects

A considerable proportion of the analysed articles provided recommendations on chia seed recipes and modes of preparation. Chia seeds can be used as a basic ingredient in pudding or jelly, or to enrich foods with fibres, vitamins, and minerals. They can also be added as a thickening or gelling agent to yoghurts, cereals, soups, and shakes, and they can also be used for making salad dressings, sauces, or even cakes.

1. 4.Target audience

The analysed sites almost always included target groups for whom the consumption of the chia seed was particularly recommended. Most sites generally recommended it for everyone, but particularly for athletes, those who want to lose weight, and patients with diabetes, gluten sensitivity, or cardiovascular diseases. Most of the information, however, consisted of subjective opinions and personal accounts, and no scientific sources or references were given.

1. 5.The tone of the articles

Most articles had chia seed advertisements, so their tone was often sensationalist. The articles seemed to have the intention to reach everyone and to offer solutions for many types of problems, symptoms, and diseases. Those sites that claimed the chia seed was a “superfood” were usually web shops where products – including chia seeds – could be ordered.

Discussion

Systematic qualitative content analysis revealed the following five main topics: general information, interaction/side effects, and modes of preparation, target audience, and tone of the article.

The web sites we assessed mentioned a wide range of nutrient content. Muñoz et al. [1] conducted a literature review of the chia seed's nutrient content, which showed that the energy content is 486 kcal per 100 g [1]. Several of the sites that we assessed mentioned values considerably lower than that, especially the one that told readers that the chia seed was calorie-free. Muñoz et al. [1] stated the carbohydrate content was 42.2 g per 100 g – but the sites we assessed described it to be between 2.0 and 42.2 g. This unreliable information about the carbohydrate content may be particularly dangerous since many sites recommend this “superfood” mostly to diabetics [1]. In addition, the web sites mentioned higher values for protein (21.2 g vs. 16.5 g) and fat (31.4 g vs. 20.7 g) and a comparable range for fibre content (31.4 g–38 g vs. 34 g).

According to Nieman et al. [8], the chia seed is the richest plant source of alpha-linolenic acid (a type of omega-3 fatty acid), which improves blood cholesterol level. Their study describes an experiment in which laboratory rats were divided into two groups: one group was fed with corn oil and the other with chia seed oil. At the end of the study period, the researchers tested the animals' total, high density (HDL), and low density (LDL) cholesterol levels. The results showed that the animals that were fed the chia seeds had significantly higher levels of HDL (“good cholesterol”) and total cholesterol than those rats that were given corn oil.

Two randomized controlled trials have also been conducted to assess the assumed weight-loss effects of chia seeds, but neither was able to confirm this assumption. Nieman et al. [8] enrolled 76 overweight and obese men and women aged between 20 and 70 in an experiment and divided them randomly into two groups. The first group received 25 g of chia seeds soaked in 250 ml of water twice a day, before their first and the last meal of the day, while the other group received a placebo. After 12 weeks the researchers did not find any significant difference between the body weights of the two groups. Another study [9] not only was unable to confirm the weight loss effect of the chia seed but also failed to demonstrate other claimed health benefits, such as an improved cardiovascular system. The authors concluded that chia seeds can be a healthy addition to the diet, but that selling the seed as a nutritional supplement is not yet scientifically well-founded, and further research is needed to explore its beneficial properties.

Limitations

The current study has several limitations. First, we analysed only the first 200 Google results, and therefore we may have missed other relevant pages with different information content, thereby biasing our study results. However, research shows that 90% of people read only the organic listings on the first page of the Google results and that very few advance to further pages [10]. Given how page placement varies over time, especially with a relatively new search term, and the need to get a large enough sample, analysing the first 200 results appears to be a good approach. Although it is unlikely that the average user will find a website in the results shown in the first 200 results on one computer that is not included in the first 200 results on another computer, we cannot guarantee this without a doubt. Another limitation is that we did not eliminate those results that give less well-founded information. Those results are also part of the sample, but the aim of the study was to assess what information can be found on the Internet. An additional limitation is that the results are in Hungarian because the members of the research group are Hungarians. Therefore, different online information may be available in other languages, so our results are not necessarily representative of the content of websites in other languages.

Conclusions

In the current study, we assessed what information is available on Hungarian websites about chia seeds. We found that sometimes information was presented in a sensationalist tone and that some claims were not scientifically well-founded, but rather based on opinion. In the online media, chia seed consumption was mainly recommended for those who are trying to lose weight and for diabetics, even though it has not been proven to have a beneficial effect for such people. Further studies are needed to demonstrate and confirm claims related to the beneficial effects of the chia seed. Until these are conducted, readers – especially those who have a health condition – should be cautious about certain statements published on non-scientific web pages.

Authors' contribution

TB collected and summarized the data, wrote and translated the sections of the manuscript. SzK summarized the scientific background of the research and contributed to the writing of the manuscript. VAGy supervised the study, reviewed and finalized the manuscript.

Conflicts of interest/Funding

The authors declare no conflict of interest. No financial support was received for this study.

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the help and contribution of Erika Alföldi, Fanni Romhányi and Blanka Vékony during this study.