Chia seeds

I couldn't get on with them because of the smell. They smelled fishy to me.

Chia seeds from the view of a year old taste disgusting. I only have them if they’re in an Asian milky drink which idk what it’s called in English. I’ll put a recipe on soon. Personally every time my family have chia seeds in plain water I look at them like what the hell are ya doing how are you doing it with a straight face? (Laugh and heart emoji)

Hoodiegirl3 said:

Chia seeds from the view of a

year old taste disgusting. I only have them if they’re in an Asian milky drink which idk what it’s called in English. I’ll put a recipe on soon. Personally every time my family have chia seeds in plain water I look at them like what the hell are ya doing how are you doing it with a straight face? (Laugh and heart emoji)

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I understand your reaction, @Hoodiegirl3, for seeing Chia seeds soaking in water. To me that looks like frogspawn.

I use chia seeds because of the high level of omega-3. I eat them in my morning porridge. I mix half a portion of oats (20g) with a desert-spoonful of chia seeds, soak them overnight, then microwave the porridge in the morning. I add frozen blueberries.

M.A.R. said:

Try adding them to the yogurt?

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Will do, I think…(if I remember)

Better yet, add them to coconut milk or almond milk, like overnight oats, add cream, much better tasting.

M.A.R. said:

Well, here is the article about the benefits of chia seeds.

Nutritional and therapeutic perspectives of Chia (Salvia hispanica L.): a review - PMC

The ancient grain is becoming enormously popular in modern food regimen in many countries; the higher proportion of α-linolenic acid makes chia the superb source of omega-3 fatty (about 65 % of the oil content). Omega-3 fatty acid has been ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Take note—it's good; I know what I'm talking about. Cheers!

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I do include them in my diet. For the fibre, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. Particularly calcium.

However, there are some cautions to be aware of.
Some inflammatory bowel conditions, such as crohns, can be exacerbated. Also, eating them dry can cause them to get stuck in throat, with risk of choking as they expand. I always soak them for at least half an hour , but preferably overnight, before eating them.

Health Benefits of Chia Seeds​

Written by Kristin Mitchell, WebMD Editorial Contributor
Medically Reviewed by Kathleen M. Zelman, RD, LD, MPH on May 11, 2026
7 min read


* Edit to include quote from link, (which ought now to be correct)

============================​

Things to Look Out For​

Although chia seeds offer a variety of health benefits, eating too many may lead to complications:

Digestive issues. Because of their high fiber content, eating too many chia seeds may cause constipation, diarrhea, bloating, and gas. Chia seeds may also cause flare-ups with inflammatory bowel conditions such as Crohn’s disease.
Choking hazard. Dry chia seeds absorb water, which causes them to swell up and become gooey. Dry chia seeds can get stuck in your throat, which poses a choking hazard. To avoid this risk, soak the seeds 5 to 10 minutes before use.

Interactions with medication. Chia seeds help reduce blood sugar and high blood pressure. If you’re already taking medications for diabetes or hypertension, eating too many chia seeds can cause severe dips in blood sugar levels and blood pressure, which may lead to other health complications.

Allergies. Although rare, chia seed allergies do happen in some people. Symptoms to watch out for include vomiting, diarrhea, and itching of the tongue or lips. Severe allergies can lead to anaphylaxis – a severe allergic reaction that can lead to death if not treated quickly.”

Lakeslover said:

Hi @Pipp I think you meant to link a different report here. Could you edit the link please.

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Yes it has been corrected. Thanks.

Edit;
It is clearly a fault with the link to the article in the website. Apologies. I will delete the link, but quote the source instead.

I make my overnight oats with 1/4 cup (60 ml) oatmeal and 1/2 tbs chia seeds (or milled flax seeds, but I prefer chia seeds), and oat milk (taste, not virtue - if I'm out of it, i'll use water), then add fruit and yoghurt. Also you can - but I've not ironed out the kinks yet - make pancakes/oatcakes with oatmeal and chia seeds which you soak for at least 20 minutes.

I used to put a mixture of milled seeds in bread and it worked far too well as it was delicious, so I switched to a sponge pudding dessert made in the microwave in small portions.

My blender has two containers, one for liquids and the other for solids such as nuts and seeds, and I often use both in the preparation of a dish - chia seeds always get blended either in the first one after soaking or the second one if being used straight from the packet as my insides get most uncomfortable with whole ones, even if well chewed.

I do a weekly batch of porridge in the slow cooker that uses steel cut oats, water, chia seeds and milled flax, Divvied up (using scales because I somewhat anal), I keep two single serve containers in the fridge and the rest goes in the freezer. Take one out of the freezer when one is removed from the fridge means easy fuss free breakfast blasted in the microwave every morning

SepticTank said:

I do a weekly batch of porridge in the slow cooker that uses steel cut oats, water, chia seeds and milled flax, Divvied up (using scales because I somewhat anal), I keep two single serve containers in the fridge and the rest goes in the freezer. Take one out of the freezer when one is removed from the fridge means easy fuss free breakfast blasted in the microwave every morning

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Have you checked your blood glucose levels after eating oats?
Although it is claimed that they are slow release I think my gut just sees them as a challenge and my after meal levels are way too high.

Resurgam said:

Have you checked your blood glucose levels after eating oats?
Although it is claimed that they are slow release I think my gut just sees them as a challenge and my after meal levels are way too high.

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Huh, I'll check how high my BG is immediately after eating but I haven't seen a spike at the 2/3 hour mark.Yesterday my fasting reading was 6.1 and then 7.2 two hours after eating. I didn't even check because it was the first thing I found on Google as a suitable breakfast for T2 - rookie mistake not digging deeper!

The steel cut oats have a lower GI than rolled or quick oats - anywhere between 42-55, and are a complete pain in the backside to prepare, which is why I rustle up 7 day supply at a time.
I don't use milk to prepare them, just water, ratio of 1.5 cups of oats to 7 cups of water (sorry, nasty US measurement that I have fully adopted), which means that I'm getting 7 portions for the same volume of oats that they say make six, the flax and chia bulk that up a bit but I'm not overly heavy handed with them, each serving is reheated with about 100ml of lactose free low fat milk and I throw about 8 almonds in the bowl, 4 walnuts, mebbe a dozen raisins and a chopped date.

Not sure what they are called in the UK but they look totally different from the rolled oats that I've used in the past that have a higher GI index rating. Hmm, Google says they're called pinhead oats or coarse oatmeal in the UK and the can I have says that they are 100% Irish oatmeal. If you cook them in a saucepan you need eyes in the back of your head because they will blow out the top of the saucepan if you take your eyes off them and the microwave was even worse and they still took forever. Slow cooker works best on low heat setting for about 7 hours with the occasional stir.

@SepticTank you might find that a pressure cooker deals with the cooking far faster. Just put a large bowl into water in the cooker, or stand it on a trivet if it tries to float.
You can obviously cope with the oats - my BG would be far higher.

I swapped to US cups some time ago, but from English cups - my grandma had instructions such as 'as much syrup as can be wound round a knife' in her recipe book, which my father wrote out for her when teaching her to read.