Chia seeds in a small dish

Jubair Bin Iqbal · CC BY-SA 4.0

Chia seeds

Chia seeds lower blood pressure by a few mmHg and CRP in meta-analyses, and curb the blood sugar spike of a meal; nothing on weight, cholesterol or fasting blood glucose.

Benefits

• Lowers blood pressure: −5.61 mmHg systolic and −7.49 mmHg diastolic in a meta-analysis of 8 trials (372 participants), −7.19 and −6.04 mmHg in another.
• The effect is dose-dependent: each extra 10 g per day lowers systolic blood pressure by 2.20 mmHg in a dose-response meta-analysis of 10 publications.
• In hypertensive individuals, 35 g of chia flour per day for 12 weeks brought average blood pressure down from 111.5 to 102.7 mmHg, including in those already treated.
• In type 2 diabetics, about 37 g per day for 12 weeks lowered systolic blood pressure by 6.3 mmHg and CRP by 40% compared to wheat bran; 40 g per day for 12 weeks also lowered systolic blood pressure in another trial.
• Slightly lowers CRP, a marker of inflammation: −0.64 mg/dl in a meta-analysis of 4 trials (210 participants), with no effect on IL-6 or TNF-α.
• Blunts the blood sugar spike from a meal: up to 24 g baked in bread raises blood glucose less, all the more so as the dose is higher; chia performed better than flaxseed in another trial.
• Slightly satiating in the moment: 7 or 14 g in a mid-morning yogurt reduced hunger and what 24 people ate at lunch.
• When ground, they provide omega-3s: 25 g per day for 7 weeks increased blood ALA by 138% and EPA by 30% in 10 postmenopausal women.