Imagine, for a minute, that you’re in the middle of an expedition through some of the most remote and unforgiving country on the planet. Specifically, the Copper Canyons in Mexico’s Sierra Madre mountains. By late afternoon, under a pulverizing sun, you’re done in. You’re toast. Hungry, thirsty, barely able to put one foot in front of the other…
And you’re still looking at a 2000-foot climb just to return to the safety of your camp before nightfall.
This is not a hypothetical situation. This was a day of the life of Norwegian explorer Carl Lumholz, in the 1890s.
Back to your plight: When hope seems lost, salvation comes in the guise of a woman of the Tarahumara tribe, whose cave you chance across. She whips up a citrusy, kinda goopy concoction that you pour down your parched throat. And then:
“I at once felt new strength, and, to my own astonishment, climbed the great height without much effort.” (1)
Modern day. You’re you again. Assuming you could even find out what the basis of this miracle drink was, how hard would you try to locate it, considering its potency? How much would you pay for it?
Here’s what I pay: $5.99 a pound from the bulk bin at our local Sunflower Market. Some weeks, $3.99 on special.
Rescuing Ancient Wisdom From ‘80s Kitsch
What Lumholz discovered that day was a drink known to his hostess as iskiate. In Spanish, a chia fresca. Nothing more than water, a splash of lime juice, maybe a bit of sweetener, if you insist, and a healthy dollop of chia seeds.
Chia Bart. Don’t ask why.
Now, if chia has any association to you at all, it’s more likely as a punchline. This would be due to the kitschy, it-came-from-the-‘80s Chia Pet, a terra-cotta planter meant to be slathered with wet seeds. Before long, the sprouts look like a green afro. Don’t ask why. There is no good why.
A shame, really. This goofy knick-knack obscures chia’s multi-millennia legacy as a nutritional powerhouse.
It was all green afros to me, too, until a few months ago, when I heard author Christopher McDougal interviewed about his book Born To Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen. It’s an amazing book, full of larger-than-life characters and gob-smacking evocations of what human beings are capable of. Early on, McDougal paints an eye-opening portrait of this dietary staple of the Tarahumara, some of the most impressive runners in human history:
“In terms of nutritional content, a tablespoon of chia is like a smoothie made from salmon, spinach, and human growth hormone. As tiny as those seeds are, they’re superpacked with omega-3 [fatty acids], omega-6s, protein, calcium, iron, zinc, fiber, and antioxidants. If you had to pick just one desert island food, you couldn’t do much better than chia … after a few months on the chia diet, you could probably swim home.
“Chia was once so treasured, the Aztecs used to deliver it to their king in homage. Aztec runners used to chomp chia seeds as they went into battle, and the Hopi fueled themselves on chia during their epics runs from Arizona to the Pacific Ocean. The Mexican state of Chiapas is actually named for the seed.”
As very few of us here are likely to sprint across state lines for the nearest ocean, what’s the connection? So glad you asked…
Creative Work Demands More Than Time
Chia seeds (middle). Nature’s way of saying, “Red Bull? We don’t need no stinking Red Bull.”
Of course you’re busy. I know, because I’m busy. We’re all busy. I know only one person who isn’t busy, and wouldn’t have his life for anything. Even when your art is your primary occupation, unless you’re a total hermit, the world is not your friend when it comes to accommodating your need for time devoted to creating. Often, this is time you have to fight for, like your life depends on it … because in one sense, it does.
Yet doing the work is a factor of more than effective time management. It’s at least as much a factor of effective energy management. One more time, with feeling:
Doing your creative work, and living the life you want around it, is at least as much a factor of effective energy management.
Balance can be a tricky thing to achieve; trickier still to maintain for very long. It’s sooo easy for one thing or another — family, job, art, name your own — to suffer a deficit of quality attention. Something’s always at the end of the line, getting the scrappy leftovers.
So anything I can find to give myself more of an edge in that area, without a downside, is worth exploring.
- Sugar? Downsides.
- Coffee by the gallon? Downsides.
- Methamphetamine? Major downsides.
- Chia seeds? No downsides.
To the contrary, only more upsides. Here are some additional benefits of chia that McDougal lists: “building muscle, lowering cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease.”
Okay, maybe one tiny downside. Dry, chia seeds are crunchy, with a nutty taste. But left submerged for a while, they absorb 7 — 10 times their mass in liquid, so they get to looking a bit like frog eggs, and the concoction turns gelatinous.
For a medically-approved crash course, here’s Dr. Mehmet Oz endorsing chia for energy.
And here’s Dr. Nicholas Perricone succinctly explaining why it works so well for long-term results.
Energy For Your Life = Energy For Your Art
I first began putting chia seeds to the test with the Saturday morning conditioning classes that supplement my practice of Krav Maga. It’s a grueling hour of circuit training that usually involves some combination of aerobics; running; strength, cardio, and plyometrics stations; and heavy bag work.
A chia fresca. No worries, it only looks like pond water.
Two tablespoons in a bit of oatmeal makes a noticeable difference … and not just with the energy level during class, but for the rest of the day, as well. Recovery time is cut down to almost nothing, and I’ll graduate to the rest of the day feeling little or no drain.
The same quantity in a chia fresca prior to two hours of Krav training — which routinely uses exhaustion drills — is the best fuel I’ve found.
And if your energy demands aren’t quite this aggro? Chia could well have you covered anyway.
I find that on my more sedentary days, one or two tablespoons in a midday smoothie pretty much eliminates afternoon slumps.
Ashley Kumpula, an editor I sometimes work with, balances office life with distance running. Here’s her workday experience with chia seeds:
“I learned about them about a month ago, and I absolutely love them. I’ve been throwing them into Greek yogurt for breakfast every day. It keeps me full for hours. I can’t believe how nutritious they are.”
Everything takes time. Everything takes energy. We all get the same 24 hours, but we don’t all have the same energy reserves. Fortunately, that’s something you can tweak. And deeper reserves means more for everything that matters … including your art, regardless of whether it’s one of the main focuses of your life or has to wait for other things that come first.
Life is rarely a literal 2000-foot climb at the end of a long, hot day. It only feels that way sometimes.
And if a handful of seeds can help you ascend your heights, who cares if other people abuse them for the sake of green afros?
(1) Carl Lumholz, Unknown Mexico: A Record of Five Years’ Exploration Among the Tribes of the Western Sierra Madre
[Top photo by John Fowler]
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Wonderful tip. Thanks for sharing.
Dear Mr Hodge,
How about a post explaining what you do between your first draft of a story and your last? I would find it helpful, and I think a lot of other writers would, too.
@turenn: I gladly take requests, and it’s an excellent idea. I’ll make that the very next one.
@Reb: Why, it’s more than a tip … it’s a way of life!
And happy Thanksgiving. Or if you’re not from around these parts, then happy most recent Thursday!
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