I've had bloating issues [1] ever since I was in my teens, experiencing uncomfortable symptoms such as constipation, a distended belly (I've been asked serval times if I was pregnant when I wasn't!), terrible pains, and the most common symptom: embarrassing gas. What helps the most is eating a plant-based diet and avoiding certain foods like sugar and fat, but that's so hard, especially when I love to bake [2].
Many of the registered dietitians I follow on Instagram including gut expert Jessie Wong [3], RD, who specialises in FODMAP diets and helping people with IBS, often talk about how eating fibre-rich foods like chia seeds can prevent bloating and improve digestion [4]. So I thought I'd see if their "magical" powers could help me.
Wong told POPSUGAR that eating chia seeds could help with some types of bloating. "The most common type of bloat is from constipation, and adding more fibre in your diet can help stool move faster." Chia seeds swell when they're soaked, and they're a good source of insoluble fibre [5] which she explained adds bulk to your stool. This can help prevent constipation, and in turn prevent the bloating that goes along with it. You just need to make sure you drink enough water when you increase your fibre intake, Wong said. So I decided to do a two-week personal experiment. Keep reading to find out what happened.
How Much Chia Seeds Did I Eat and How?
I didn't want to upset my gut by overdoing it on the chia seeds, so I ate just one teaspoon of chia seeds a day. This offers about 20 calories [6], 1.3 grams of fat, carbs, and fibre, and 0.7 grams of protein. Adding chia seeds to oatmeal was the main way I got in my daily chia seeds, because I liked how I'd hardly even notice I was eating them. I tried both soaking my oats and chia seeds in overnight oats [7], and I also cooked my oats and chia seeds in water on the stove, just to see if there was a difference in how my stomach felt.
Over the two weeks, occasionally I'd add chia seeds to smoothie bowls (letting them soak in the smoothie), or to baked oatmeal [8], pancakes, or added to the batter in baked goods like muffins [9].
How Did I Remember to Eat Chia Seeds Every Day?
I used my homemade habit tracker [10] to track my chia seed consumption (see the last column), and that helped me remember not to skip a day. I happen to see habit trackers when I was researching bullet journaling, and since I'm big into making lists and love art, I thought this would be a colourful, inspiring way to track this daily habit. I didn't decide to try chia seeds until the middle of the month when my bloating was getting particularly bad from eating sweets (hello, birthday month!), which is why only the bottom half of the column is coloured in.
Did Eating Chia Seeds Prevent Bloating and Improve Digestion?
When I started eating chia seeds in my morning oatmeal, one of the biggest things I noticed is how satiating my breakfast was. I was full well until lunchtime, at least two and a half to three hours without needed a midmorning snack. This helped with digestion because I find when I eat too often or too much, I always get bloated.
As far as my overall digestion, I didn't feel like eating chia seeds had a huge impact. I already eat a high-fibre diet rich in veggies, legumes, whole grains, and fruit, and the extra 1.3 grams of fibre a day wasn't adding a ton more. I will say that my mother started adding chia seeds to her oatmeal after she heard I was doing it, and she said it greatly improved her regularity — everyone is different!
Will I Continue Eating Chia Seeds Every Day?
Whether the chia seeds were soaked, cooked, or baked didn't matter — they had the same effect, which like I mentioned before, wasn't huge. I didn't feel instantly cured from bloating just because I was eating them, but I did like how adding healthy fats (omega-3s) to my diet helped with satiety.
I think I'll continue to add chia seeds to my diet a few times a week, but for now I won't be aiming to eat them every day.