Chia seeds

Last Updated: September 28 2022

Salvia hispanica (Chia) are seeds commonly used to supplement dietary fiber and are claimed to have other health promoting properties. Its mechanical properties may provide use during baking and the fiber content good for bowel health with health promoting effects not yet demonstrated.

Chia seeds is most often used for

Summary

Chia seeds (grain product, surprisingly) are seeds from the plant Salvia hispanica that are ground and used for supplemental purposes to supply dietary fiber and fatty acids. The fiber component is mostly insoluble and absorbs a large amount of water (similar to psyllium husk, comparisons between the two not conducted) while the fatty acid component tends to be mostly omega-3 fatty acids (60% overall and as alpha-linoleic acid) and some omega-6 fatty acids (20% overall and as linolenic acid). There are some phenolics in chia as well, with Myricetin being the most plentiful one.

For all intents and purposes, currently chia supplementation is only really supported for the fiber aspect and even this is not overly well supported. Dietary inclusion of chia (assuming calories are kept the same) has mixed evidence for some health parameters and null evidence for other parameters and currently no human evidence for weight loss. A reduction in appetite has been noted once (common to dietary fiber) but this does not appear to reduce weight over longer trials where diet is not controlled.

What else is Chia seeds known as?
Note that Chia seeds is also known as:
  • Chia Seeds
  • Mexican Chia
  • Salba
  • Salvia Hispanica
Chia seeds should not be confused with:
Dosage information

25g of chia tends to be used once daily with a meal for the purposes of general health and intestinal motility. There is no evidence to suggest if this is the optimal dose.

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References
1.^Nieman DC, Cayea EJ, Austin MD, Henson DA, McAnulty SR, Jin FChia seed does not promote weight loss or alter disease risk factors in overweight adultsNutr Res.(2009 Jun)
3.^Mohd Ali N, Yeap SK, Ho WY, Beh BK, Tan SW, Tan SGThe promising future of chia, Salvia hispanica LJ Biomed Biotechnol.(2012)
5.^Sandoval-Oliveros MR, Paredes-López OIsolation and characterization of proteins from chia seeds (Salvia hispanica L.)J Agric Food Chem.(2013 Jan 9)
15.^Young AW Jr, Sweeney EW, David DS, Cheigh J, Hochgelerenl EL, Sakai S, Stenzel KH, Rubin ALDermatologic evaluation of pruritus in patients on hemodialysisN Y State J Med.(1973 Nov 15)
17.^Janicsák G, Zupkó I, Nikolovac MT, Forgo P, Vasas A, Mathé I, Blunden G, Hohmann JBioactivity-guided study of antiproliferative activities of Salvia extractsNat Prod Commun.(2011 May)