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Just when you thought the most annoyingly persistent jingle in commercial history had finally vanished from memory, there's a new reason to cry Ch-ch-ch-chia!

Canadian researchers have discovered that the same variety of grain that sprouts so verdantly from heads of clay rams, turtles, frogs and other assorted characters in the Chia Pet menagerie also bears a host of health benefits for diabetes patients.

A University of Toronto study to be published later this month in the U.S. journal Diabetes Care reveals that Salba, a variant of the tiny chia grain, decreases blood pressure, reduces inflammation and thins blood.

"You simply don't see many other ingredients that can do what Salba can," said Vladimir Vuksan, lead researcher on the study and associate director of the Clinical Nutrition and Risk Factor Modification Centre at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. "You add this to any food, even bad food, and it will improve your health."

The study focused on 20 Type-2 diabetes patients who ate up to four teaspoons of Salba every day for three months. Researchers found that clotting factors dropped 20 per cent and levels of C-reactive protein, a key marker of inflammation, fell 30 per cent.

Levels of EPA, an essential omega-3 fatty acid found mainly in fish, increased 80 per cent in the patients who took part in the trial.

Most astonishing of all, however, was a six-unit drop in systolic blood pressure (the peak pressure in the arteries).

"That's better than a lot medication," Dr. Vuksan said.

High blood pressure is one of the most common health problems among people with diabetes and tends to amplify all of the disease's potential complications. A six-unit blood pressure reduction "would likely translate into less chance of cardiovascular events or kidney disease" for diabetes sufferers, said University of Toronto professor Amir Hanna, who also worked on the study.

While the study results surprised researchers, they affirmed some ancient beliefs. Several centuries ago, runners were the chief means of communication for the Aztec civilization, and legend has it that they subsisted on chia grains for days at a time.

"It's now no wonder the Aztecs could run so long on this," Dr. Vuksan said. "Their circulation was better, their blood was thinner and their inflammation was less."

Salba is a white variant of that ancient food, which was mainly black, and is slightly smaller than a sesame seed. Part of its appeal is versatility. Almost tasteless, it can be sprinkled on cereal and salad or baked into bread without altering the flavour.

Researchers say it's unclear which of Salba's nutritional components make it so beneficial to diabetics, but the tiny grain had been building buzz in dietitian circles for its long list of advantages even before the study results became clear.

One hundred grams of Salba contains as much omega-3 fatty acid as a 32-ounce Atlantic salmon steak, as much magnesium as 10 stalks of broccoli, as much calcium as 2½ cups of milk and as much iron as half a cup of kidney beans.

Because it's high in insoluble fibre, dietitians are also recommending it as an appetite suppressant.

"I'm hearing about it everywhere right now," Toronto dietitian Cara Rosenbloom said. "Dietitians like to treat patients with food first rather than recommending a lot of supplements, so this makes a lot of sense."

Chia first piqued Dr. Vuksan's attention several years ago when he saw how quickly the grains sprouted from the clay domes of Chia Pets. "I thought, there must be some incredible nutritional properties in this grain."

But when he analyzed common chia grains, he found that their nutritional profiles were inconsistent. One grain could be loaded with vitamins, minerals and omega-3 oils while the next could show virtually none. Only when the Canadian-based Salba Nutritional Solutions - which sponsored the study - finally started growing the more consistently nutrient-rich white variety under controlled conditions in Peru did Dr. Vuksan start studying the grain more seriously.

At first he tested himself. He found that the more Salba he added to his diet, the lower his glucose levels would go.

When he embarked on the clinical diabetes study, he had expected to see the same result among his research subjects. Although their blood-sugar levels showed only a small change, Dr. Vuksan suspects the other nutritional benefits of Salba could still make it worthwhile for diabetics.

"It perfectly fits into our battle to beat diabetes," he said.

Source Salba, a Toronto-based company, has already rolled out a line of Salba-enriched crackers and bars. Several large food corporations are looking at doing the same.

Dr. Vuksan is already getting his fill. Before moving on to clinical studies, he adopted a new dinner table accoutrement. At home, he has a salt shaker, a pepper shaker and a Salba shaker. It's something he likes to call "stealth health."

"This is what I like about Salba," he said. "You don't even have give up your bad habits."