Most people know chia seeds as a popular ingredient at their favorite smoothie shop. That’s because these little seeds are packed with nutrients like fiber, protein, the good kind of fat and calcium all in a low-calorie package.
But chia seeds can do more than nourish your body from the inside. They can also nourish your skin from the outside. Read on to learn more about this super seed as we bring you stories about quality ingredients and traceability measures from our farms.
The presence of all those nutrients found in tiny little chia seeds is why Nutrilite researchers at our certified organic farm in El Petacal, Mexico, started studying the little seeds with laser focus.
“Our U.S.-patented, organic, non-GMO white chia took nine years to develop,” said Ana Chavez, who handles communications for Nutrilite Rancho El Petacal. “We analyzed 7,824 different varieties to develop our white chia to yield the most nutrients while using the least amount of resources.”
What is white chia?
Chia is an ancient black or white grain that is native to central Mexico, so our plants feel right at home at our El Petacal farm.
The white chia variety developed by Nutrilite researchers is resistant to pests and disease and has larger seeds that produce up to double the yield. Plus, the ideal growing environment allows two harvests a season.
Each plant is traceable
Just like all the botanicals grown on Nutrilite farms used to make ingredients for Nutrilite and Artistry products, our farm team takes great care at every step.
“No products leave our farm without going through our traceability process,” Ana said, “which tracks every single step of planting, growing and harvesting to ensure 99.9 percent purity of this superpowered white chia seeds.”
Our traceability practices mean we can trace key product ingredients right back to the seeds we used to grow the original botanical on the farm.
Nurtured from seed
At El Petacal, we plant the white chia seeds in pristine soil, nourished with clean water pumped from 230 meters below ground and encouraged to grow with the use of natural fertilizers. Our teams pull weeds by hand and deter pests with sprays made from cinnamon and chili peppers—no harsh chemicals used here!
Sometimes we plant seeds directly into the field, sometimes we nurture them in a nursery until they’re strong enough to be planted in the field. Once they’re in the ground, it’s about 100 days until they’re ready to harvest.
“This chia plant features beautiful, lavender-colored blooms, but what we want are the seeds that come after these blooms,” Ana said. “We harvest by hand without the seeds ever touching the ground.”
The seeds then go through a cleaning process right on the farm to ensure no contaminates made it through the harvest.
White chia at work
After that, they begin their journey to becoming a key ingredient in Artistry skin care products, specifically, the Artistry Skin Nutrition™ line, which works like supplements for the skin.
Our skin care teams love these superpowered little seeds from Nutrilite because they have the highest concentration of omega-3s, which are fatty acids essential for healthy looking skin. They use it to make our white chia seed gel, which provides vital support to your skin’s microbiome for added strength, stability and balance.
To learn more about our farms visit nutrilitetraceability.com.
