Mountain Views News, Combined Edition Saturday, September 17, 2022

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Mountain Views-News Saturday, September 17, 2022 

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges 



THE GOLDEN CHIA SEE OF THE AMERICAN SOUTHWEST. 
WILL THE REAL GOLDEN CHIA PLEASE STAND UP? 

[Nyerges is an educator, and author of 22 books, several of which have chapters on the native chia plant. 
More information can be found at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com] 

The use of chia seeds in the diet has grown in popularity in the last few decades. It’s an 
excellent and nutritious seed which can be added to coffee, drinks, puddings, desserts, and 
lots of other foods. 
Inez Ainge wrote in an article, “Native Chia” (1967), that “chia has 
been proclaimed a high energy food not only because it contains 
a high percentage of protein (30 percent), but because it also contains 
a natural enzyme which acts as a catalyst for the protein.” A 
nutritional analysis done in 1964 shows 20.2 percent protein, 34.4 
percent oil, and 5.6 percent ash, as well as significant amounts of 
iron, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and traces of 
other minerals common to most seeds. 
This golden chia is a native to Southern California and the Southwest 
generally, and it is not the chia commonly sold in all health 
food stores, so let’s try to clear up that confusion. 

Golden chia -- Salvia columbariae-- received significant public attention 
in the 1950s and ‘60s, due to the writing of Harrison Doyle, 
mostly in Desert magazine. He authored the self-published book, 
“Golden Chia: Ancient Indian Energy Food.” He also cultivated 
the seed for sale, and encouraged others to do so. Doyle writes, “As 
a boy in Needles, California, I played with the Mohave Indians my 
own age. I ate their foods, ran long distance races with them, rode 
their colorful Indian ponies bareback, whacked a tin can around 
the yellow silt flats in the ancient game of shinny. I remember some 
of the Indian boys telling me (I was interested in long distance running 
at the time) that Indian runners sometimes ran all the way 
in to the coast on trading expeditions with the Coast Tribes, carrying 
gourd shells containing water and a handful of chia seeds to 
sustain them.” 

Harrison also frequently mentioned the writing of Dr. J. T. Rothrock, 
botanist and surgeon of the Wheeler United States Geographical 
Survey of 1875. Rothrock wrote that the chia was cultivated 
as regularly as corn by the Nahua races of ancient Mexico. Of 
the seed, Dr. Rothrock writes, “An atole, or gruel, of this was one 
of the peace offerings to the first visiting sailors. One tablespoon 
of these seeds was sufficient to sustain for 24 hours an Indian on 
a forced march.” Harrison points out that this was most likely 
referring to Indian runners and traders in the desert Southwest. 

As a result of the writings of Doyle, health food stores wanted 
to provide the seeds to their customers. Though there had been 
some attempts to cultivate the native chia, a related plant, Sal-
via hispanica -- had already been in production in Mexico, and 
so this was the readily-available seed that met the demand from 
health food stores. To this day, Salvia hispanica is the overwhelming 
majority of the “chia” that is sold in markets. Salvia hispánica 
seed resembles a tiny mottled pinto bean, usually dark gray or 
black but occasionally gray or nearly white. The native golden 
chia – S. columbariae --has a brownish or goldish-tan seed that 
is almost pyramidal in shape. Both seeds will form a gelatinous 
outer layer when soaked in water. nearly white. 
Most objective studies indicate that whether you’re using the commercial chia (Salvia hispanica), or whether 
you’re one of the rare ones who either grows or collects their own native chia (S. columbariae), you’ll be getting 
a top quality nutritional seed either way. 


Harrison Doyle reports in his book that he conducted several tests on himself of the native vs. the non-native 
commercial chia seeds, and in general, he reported that the golden chia seed produced a pronounced feeling 
of excess physical energy that he didn’t experience from the non-native seeds. 

USING THE CHIA SEEDS (native or non-native) 

Indigenous people of the Southwestern collected the seeds by bending the stems of the mature plants and 
shaking them into a finely woven basket. In a solid stand of the plant, a surprisingly large amount can be gathered 
in a short time. When I locate such a place, I usually just shake the heads into a small plastic collecting 
bag. You can then shake the seeds through a fine mesh screen in order to remove all foreign particles. 

The seeds can be made into drinks by simply soaking for a few minutes in either hot or cold water or fruit juice 
and drinking as is. I add about a teaspoon to my daily coffee. 

More about chia in my books, or Daniel Moerman’s monumental “Native American Ethnobotany.” 


ARYA LOVES DOGS 

This loving 
girl started her 
life's adventure 
at only a week 
old by being 
hand-raised with 
a sweet pitbull and a 
pug, so she gets 
along wonder


fully with dogs. She was very lovingly 
spoiled as a tot, and thinks she's the "queen 
of everything," and that the world revolves around her--and she's right! She 
would best benefit by being an "only cat child," so she can soak up all your attention. 
. . OR be in a family with a nice doggy or two so she can get rough & tumble 
with someone as outgoing as she is. She LOVES people! She likes being held like 
a human baby, and if you wear something soft she'll make biscuits on you all day 
long. You can actually carry her around the house on your shoulder, like a baby! 
While nuzzling your neck, she'll even groom you! Arya is fittingly named after 
Arya Stark, the little girl warrior from Game of Thrones. She’s age 1, spayed, 
chipped, vetted, and ready to go! See more pic-tures of her and the adoption application 
at www.lifelineforpets.org. 

Pet of the Week

 Drake is as handsome as he is nonstop fun! This energetic guy is sureto be the life of the party, especially a pool party! He absolutely adoresplaying in his kiddie pool, so get ready get wet!

 Drake has made a lot of human and dog friends at the shelter andout in the community with our Wiggle Waggle Wagon. He’s been 
a certified lover boy while meeting other dogs, going for jogs and 
getting lots of love from his adoring public.

 While Drake may be fully grown at 2 years old, he is still a big(almost 70 pound) puppy at heart. Are you ready for this lovable guy? 
Yes indeed! 
Pasadena Humane is having a free adoption day on Saturday,
September 24 from 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM. Adoption fees are waived 
for all dogs, cats and critters. No appointment is needed.

 
New adopters will receive a complimentary health-and-wellness exam from VCA AnimalHospitals, as well as a goody bag filled with information about how to care for your pet.

 View photos of adoptable pets and schedule an adoption appointment at 
pasadenahumane.org. Adoptions are by appointment only, and new adoption 
appointments are available every Sunday and Wednesday at 10:00 a.m.

 Pets may not be available for adoption and cannot be held for potential adopters by phone callsor email. 

177 East Colorado Boulevard, Suite 550, Pasadena, California 91105 
(626) 792-2228 | cliffordswan.com 
Providing Objective and Experienced 
Investment Counsel to Financially 
Successful Families since 1915 
FAMILY MATTERS

 By Marc Garlett 

PROTECT YOUR AGING LOVED ONES FROM UNDUE INFLUENCE 


As people get older and face cogni


tive decline, they become suscep


tible to bad actors who want to take 

advantage of them. With the growing 
number of seniors, the prevalence of diminished capacity 
associated with aging, and the concentration of wealth 
among elderly Baby Boomers, we’re seeing a serious surge in 
the number of cases involving this situation. 

Close family members are sometimes surprised to learn an 
elderly loved one was taken advantage of by someone who 
manipulated him or her into cutting ties with family members 
and giving assets to the bad actor. 

This is not only unethical, but also illegal and considered a 
form of elder abuse. It’s called “undue influence” and it can 
have a disastrous effect on your aging parents and other senior 
relatives’ well-being. As such, I encourage you and your 
family to be aware, educated, and empowered in knowing the 
risks for your elderly loved ones—and how to protect them. 

Undue Influence Basics 
Undue influence occurs when one individual uses their position 
of authority or advantage to coerce another individual 
into making decisions or performing an act that they otherwise 
would not. This often involves the leveraging of emotional 
ties or power dynamics, and it can take the form of 
deception, threats, harassment, isolation, or several other actions. 
The perpetrator is most often a family member, but it 
could also be a close friend, caregiver, professional advisor, 
business partner, or even someone the person just met. 

In estate planning, undue influence typically occurs during 
the creation or revision of wills, trusts, or other estate planning 
documents. For example, a son may use threats and lies 
to pressure his elderly mother to change her will or trust to 
grant him more inheritance, while reducing his siblings share 
of the estate. 

Identifying Undue InfluenceUndue influence can be difficult to identify because it often 
takes place behind closed doors. And unless you are in frequent 
communication with a loved one, you may not have 
any clues as to what is transpiring. This can be especially 
challenging if you have elderly loved ones who live far away, 
leaving you unable to regularly visit them and with little 
knowledge of their daily lives and interactions with others. 

To complicate matters further, not all influence is undue, and 
some influence is perfectly fine—for example, the mere fact 

that someone was influenced by another individual to give 
them money now or to change their estate plan isn’t necessarily 
enough to create undue influence. Additionally, adults 
have the legal right to make their own decisions (even bad 
decisions), and they can spend or give away their money in 
whatever manner they choose, provided they haven’t been 
deemed incapacitated. 

Undue influence isn’t just about one person influencing another 
or merely expressing their opinion; it’s about a person 
in power manipulating someone who is vulnerable to the 
extent that they are unable to exercise their own free will. 
Although undue influence can be difficult to spot, there are 
some common warning signs. 

Red Flags for Undue InfluenceSome of the most common actions which are red flags that 
someone may be attempting to unduly influence your parents 
or other elderly loved ones include the following: 

Preventing communication between the victim and 

family members.
Isolating the victim from family and friends.
Withholding documents from family members.
Encouraging the victim to make financial gifts or 
offer other benefits to people he or she only recently 
met. 
Naming recently met connections as attorney-in-fact 
under a financial power of attorney or agent onmedical power of attorney, or as a joint owner on 
financial accounts, real estate, and other assets.
Giving financial or estate planning advice that is not 
in the victim’s best interests, but rather in the 
interests of the advisor. 
Excessive involvement of a recently met connection 
with the victim’s estate planning efforts, such as 
help with creating or updating key estate planning 
documents. 
Significant inconsistencies between previous versions

 of the victim's estate plan and the latest versions. This 
is especially true if the estate plan suddenly includes 
new beneficiaries or excludes previous ones. 

Should you notice any of these behaviors or other signs that 
a loved one may be a victim of undue influence, it’s critical 
that you immediately take steps to investigate the situation, 
whether that means getting the proper authorities involved 
or confronting the abuser directly. Time is of the essence in 
such cases, so the earlier you step in the better. 

There have been far too many cases where family members 
waited too long to act, and by the time they did, the damage 
was already done— savings were depleted, family homes 
were sold, and in the worst cases, senior victims were placed 
in substandard nursing homes and assisted living facilities 
against their wishes. 

Given these risks, it’s vital to get in front of the situation as 
early as possible, not only to prevent financial mismanagement 
and exploitation, but also to ensure your loved ones’ 
overall health and safety. 

Prevent Undue Influence with Proactive Communication & 
PlanningOne of the most effective ways to prevent the possibility of 
undue influence is to be proactive when it comes to communicating 
with your parents and other elderly relatives about 
their financial goals and desires. And though many people 
think it’s a taboo subject, don’t be afraid to talk to them about 
their estate plan. By talking with your loved ones early and 
often about how they want their affairs handled, you can help 
reduce the chance for surprises down the road. 

Additionally, your loved ones should always work with an experienced 
lawyer to create their estate plan or update revocable 
living trusts and power of attorney documents, which can 
be drafted to allow you or another trusted family member to 
intervene and help them in a time of crisis, without the need 
for court intervention. 

Because age-related dementia and other forms of cognitive 
decline are a serious risk, make sure your parents and other 
senior relatives know they can use estate planning to have 
control over how their lives and assets will be managed if it 
does occur. 

All my best, 

Marc Garlett, Esq.
Cali Law Family Legacy 
Matters 
www.caliLaw.com 
626.355.4000 


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 
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