3 Ways Chia Seeds May Interact with Your Medications
Despite their tiny size, chia seeds pack a powerful, nutrient-rich punch. They provide a boost of vitamins, minerals, healthy fat and fiber to whatever food they're paired with—whether in a smoothie bowl, pancakes or oatmeal bars.
That's because chia provides a good plant source of polyunsaturated fatty acids, including omega-3 fatty acids, which may help reduce blood pressure, improve cholesterol levels and quash inflammation, among many other benefits. Chia seeds are also a good source of antioxidants, which protect against cellular damage linked to chronic disease.
Chia seeds are also high in soluble fiber and form a gel-like substance when they come in contact with liquid—that's why chia seed pudding is so creamy. Due to their fiber content—1 ounce contains 10 grams of fiber—chia seeds may help increase satiety, lower LDL cholesterol and improve regularity.
But these tiny seeds have a bit of a sinister secret: Despite being as good-for-you as they are, chia seeds may also interact with certain medications, affecting their potency and effectiveness. Learn about which medications to have on your radar and must-know precautions to keep you safe while eating this mighty seed.
Chia Seeds & Medication Interactions
Blood Pressure Medication
The antioxidants and peptides found in chia seeds may help act like a natural ACE inhibitor (a common class of blood-pressure-lowering drugs) to decrease blood pressure and promote heart health. That's a perk on its own, but eating chia seeds while taking antihypertensive medications could decrease your blood pressure more than expected.
Anticoagulant and Antiplatelet Medications
Chia seeds may have antiplatelet properties, which prevent clots from entering the bloodstream. Good news for reducing your risk for heart attack and stroke, but this can be too much if you're also being treated with blood thinners, which may increase the risk for bleeding. 'If you are taking an anticoagulant or an antiplatelet, use caution,' says pharmacist Ronald Smith, Pharm.D., RPh.
Diabetes Medications
Chia seeds are a smart choice if you're managing your blood sugar, as their fiber helps slow down digestion. There's evidence that chia may help reduce the rise in blood sugar that occurs after eating, and they may also have the potential to be used in diabetes treatment due to their antioxidant and antiinflammatory properties.
However, if you're taking medication to treat diabetes, such as insulin, watch how your blood sugar responds to meals and snacks containing chia, since chia could lower your blood sugar too much. 'If you're new to chia seeds and are on insulin, consult your physician, as you may need to adjust your dosage,' says Robert Graham, M.D., M.P.H. a board-certified internal and integrative medicine physician and founder of Fresh Medicine.
Effects of Chia Seeds on Medication Absorption
Overall, because chia seeds have potential blood-pressure-lowering, antiplatelet and blood-sugar-reducing properties, there may be additive effects between chia and the medications that treat these conditions. In other words, your blood pressure or blood sugar may dip too low when you combine the two.
In terms of medication absorption, it's important to remember that chia is notably high in fiber. In some instances, you may get more fiber from eating chia than from taking a serving of a fiber supplement, depending on how much chia you're eating. And fiber can slow down the absorption of certain medications. If you routinely eat a lot of chia, ask your provider if you should space out the time between eating chia and taking your medications.
Precautions and Recommendations
If you are taking any of the above medications and want to incorporate chia seeds into your diet, there are a few things to consider.
First and foremost, consult with your health care professional when making any significant dietary changes, including taking supplements. You can also talk to your local pharmacist about any food-medication interactions you might run into on your current prescriptions, over-the-counter medications or supplements. Don't be shy about asking if chia seeds are safe for you.
If you have never eaten chia seeds before or haven't eaten them since starting any of the above medications, Graham recommends 'starting low and going slow.' Consume a small amount of chia seed and gradually increase your intake to a level you can tolerate with no issues.
Our Expert Take
Chia seeds are a nutrient-packed food rich in omega-3s, fiber and antioxidants. They also may interact with some medications, specifically those prescribed for high blood pressure, other cardiovascular conditions (antiplatelets and anticoagulants) and diabetes. If you are being treated for those health conditions, it doesn't necessarily mean you should avoid chia seeds. But talk to a health care professional about making chia seeds part of your diet; they may want to monitor you for any interactions or side effects.
Read the original article on EATINGWELL
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
31 minutes ago
- Yahoo
U.S. News Announces 2025-2026 Best Hospitals
Latest edition features 504 Best Regional Hospitals across the U.S. WASHINGTON, July 29, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. News & World Report, the global authority in health care rankings and ratings, today released the 2025-2026 edition of Best Hospitals, the 36th year of this annual study. The 2025-2026 edition of Best Hospitals includes the regional evaluation of hospitals at both a state and metro level. This year, U.S. News recognizes 504 Best Regional Hospitals across 49 states and 95 metro areas that have demonstrated superior outcomes. "For most Americans, health care decisions are made close to home. The Best Regional Hospitals rankings underscore the difference high-performing local medical centers make," said Ben Harder, chief of health analysis and managing editor at U.S. News. Harder added, "These local hospital rankings, entirely performance-driven, equip individuals and their families, in consultation with their medical providers, to choose the highest quality care available in their own communities." 2025-2026 Best Regional Hospitals, Metro Highlights The Best Regional Hospitals for 25 of the most-populous U.S. metropolitan areas are shown below. These hospitals are recognized as No. 1 or tied for No. 1 and are listed alphabetically by metropolitan area. Atlanta: Emory University Hospital, No. 1 out of 10 Best Hospitals near Atlanta Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Hospital, No. 1 out of 4 Best Hospitals near Baltimore Boston: Brigham and Women's Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, No. 1 (tied) out of 10 Best Hospitals near Boston Chicago: Northwestern Medicine-Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Rush University Medical Center, No. 1 (tied) out of 21 Best Hospitals near Chicago Cleveland: Cleveland Clinic, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Cleveland Dallas-Fort Worth: UT Southwestern Medical Center, No. 1 out of 9 Best Hospitals near Dallas-Fort Worth Denver: UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, No. 1 out of 5 Best Hospitals near Denver Detroit: University of Michigan Health-Ann Arbor, No. 1 out of 11 Best Hospitals near Detroit Houston: Houston Methodist Hospital, No. 1 out of 12 Best Hospitals near Houston Los Angeles: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA Medical Center, No. 1 (tied) out of 24 Best Hospitals near Los Angeles Miami-Fort Lauderdale: Cleveland Clinic Weston, No. 1 out of 10 Best Hospitals near Miami-Fort Lauderdale Minneapolis-St. Paul: M Health Fairview University of Minnesota Medical Center, No. 1 out of 9 Best Hospitals near Minneapolis-St. Paul New York: Hackensack University Medical Center at Hackensack Meridian Health, Mount Sinai Hospital, New York-Presbyterian Hospital-Columbia and Cornell and NYU Langone Hospitals, No. 1 (tied) out of 25 Best Hospitals near New York Orlando: AdventHealth Orlando, No. 1 out of 3 Best Hospitals near Orlando Philadelphia: Hospitals of the University of Pennsylvania-Penn Presbyterian, No. 1 out of 12 Best Hospitals near Philadelphia Phoenix: Mayo Clinic-Arizona, No. 1 out of 5 Best Hospitals near Phoenix Raleigh-Durham: Duke University Hospital, No. 1 out of 6 Best Hospitals near Raleigh-Durham Riverside-San Bernardino: Loma Linda University Medical Center, No. 1 out of 3 Best Hospitals near Riverside-San Bernardino Sacramento: UC Davis Medical Center, No. 1 out of 7 Best Hospitals near Sacramento San Antonio: Methodist Hospital-San Antonio, No. 1 out of 3 Best Hospitals near San Antonio San Diego: UC San Diego Health-La Jolla, Hillcrest, and East Campus Medical Centers, No. 1 out of 8 Best Hospitals near San Diego San Francisco: UCSF Health-UCSF Medical Center, No. 1 out of 9 Best Hospitals near San Francisco Seattle: Virginia Mason Medical Center, No. 1 out of 10 Best Hospitals near Seattle Tampa-St. Petersburg: Tampa General Hospital, No. 1 out of 7 Best Hospitals near Tampa-St. Petersburg Washington, D.C.: Inova Fairfax Hospital, No. 1 out of 9 Best Hospitals near Washington, D.C. The top-ranked hospitals in each state and major metropolitan area are listed at Twenty hospitals across 13 states are represented on this year's Honor Roll. To determine the Best Hospitals, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,400 hospitals' performance on objective measures such as risk-adjusted mortality rates, preventable complications and level of nursing care. The Best Hospitals Specialty rankings methodology and Procedures & Conditions ratings methodology measure patient outcomes using data from over 800 million records of patient care. This year, among other methodology refinements, U.S. News added ratings in two new cohorts, Heart Arrhythmia and Pacemaker Implantation, to the existing Procedures & Conditions ratings, for a new total of 22 ratings. For those seeking medical care, a hospital recognized by U.S. News with a "Best" designation may be worth considering in consultation with their medical provider. This year's rankings will be published in the U.S. News & World Report's "Best Hospitals 2026 Guidebook" (ISBN 979-8-9864591-5-8), available to order from the U.S. News Online Store. For more information, visit Best Hospitals and use #BestHospitals on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X. About U.S. News & World ReportU.S. News & World Report is the global leader for journalism that empowers consumers, citizens, business leaders and policy officials to make confident decisions in all aspects of their lives and communities. A multifaceted media company, U.S. News provides unbiased rankings, independent reporting and analysis, and consumer advice to millions of people on each month. A pillar in Washington for more than 90 years, U.S. News is the trusted home for in-depth and exclusive insights on education, health, politics, the economy, personal finance, travel, automobiles, real estate, careers and consumer products and services. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE U.S. News & World Report, L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
CBS News
34 minutes ago
- CBS News
How should we clean produce?
It's a healthy habit most do right before snacking on some fruit or cooking vegetables. We do it without thinking, often taught by our parents. But there's some science to keep in mind. How should we clean produce? And what common mistakes do people make? From farmland to store shelves and soon your kitchen, produce is a healthy choice that sometimes needs a healthy rinse. "If it's blueberries, I put them in a strainer and run water over them," said one shopper at Kowalski's in Minneapolis. "Maybe for things like potatoes, I'll wash them and wash the skin with a brush," added another shopper. Pesticides were one reason they try to clean produce. "Some items aren't being thoroughly washed by farmers before they go to sale," said Amy Johnston, a food safety expert with the University of Minnesota Extension. Dirt is the first reason that comes to mind, but Johnston said certain bacteria and pesticides could also be on fruits and vegetables. Many pesticides farmers use are water-soluble, meaning rinsing produce with water can get rid of the chemicals. It depends on the type. For food with thin skin, like peppers and tomatoes, Johnston said to use cold running water and your hands. "Hot water can actually cause something called thermal shock," she said. Produce with thin skin is most susceptible to thermal shock. Because the skin is porous, hot water can cause elements on the food's surface (bacteria) to permeate the skin and seep into the food. For firm foods with thick skin, like carrots, Johnston says to keep the water cool but add a scrub brush for deeper cleaning. "That scrub brush is going to really help us get into those nooks and crannies that we might not be able to rinse away," she said. Also, make sure the brush you use is just for produce and not for dishes. Salad spinners work well at cleaning leafy greens, berries and herbs. You should not use dish soap or any chemical cleaner. There's the risk of it consuming it, and Johnston said they haven't been shown to actually clean the food in the way users are hoping. There are, however, several products marketed for cleaning fruits and veggies. They come in the form of sprays, powder mixtures or even specialized vinegar with the goal of cleaning off pesticides or bacteria beyond using just water. "There's not much research that shows that household solutions are more effective," said Johnston. "(They're) not going to do any harm, so if it gives you that extra layer of comfort to use it, by all means, just make sure that it's safe for food." "First one is not starting with a clean and sanitized kitchen sink," Johnston said. A sink, including the faucet components, as well as the workspace, must be clean and sanitized. Another mistake is using a kitchen towel for drying. Doing so could add contaminants to the food that was just cleaned. Instead, use a paper towel, salad spinner or just air dry. Hot water is good for cleaning your hands, but some people apply that rule to produce. Stick with a cold water rinse to ensure thermal shock doesn't occur. Another tip is to wait to clean produce until right before you eat or cook with it. Doing so can make it ripen faster, even if it's put in the fridge. Some people might think they don't need to clean fruits or veggies in which you don't eat the skin, like watermelon. Johnston, however, said that kind of produce still needs to be cleaned. For example, a knife cutting through a watermelon that wasn't cleaned will drag bacteria or pesticides with it into the fleshy part of the fruit. For more advice from Johnston and the UMN Extension, click here.
Yahoo
34 minutes ago
- Yahoo
How to Maximize the Health Benefits of Walking
Credit - Ruslan Dashinsky—Getty Images Walking has many demonstrated health benefits: improving heart health, lowering blood sugar, burning calories for weight loss, and improving muscle tone. But most of the research on walking has focused on how long people walk, not how quickly. Recent studies have hinted that altering your walking pace—which has become popular as Japanese walking (also known as interval walking)—might have additional benefits. In a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers led by Dr. Wei Zheng, professor and director of the Vanderbilt University Epidemiology Center, studied whether walking pace made a difference in people's health. They studied 86,000 people who reported how much they walked each day, as well as other health-related activities such as their diet and whether they smoked or drank alcohol. Over 17 years, the researchers tracked their death rates and correlated mortality to their walking pattern. They found that people who walked at a faster pace for at least 15 minutes a day had a lower risk of dying during the study period than those who walked more slowly. Both groups lowered their risk of death during that time, but the reduction was more impressive among those who regularly walked at a brisker pace. Read More: Why Walking Isn't Enough When It Comes to Exercise While those findings may not be entirely surprising, Zheng says the trial focused on a group of people who aren't typically part of exercise studies. About half of the people in the trial made less than $15,000 a year, and two-thirds of the participants were Black. Studies have documented that these groups 'are at high risk of many diseases including diabetes and hypertension,' says Zheng—so the lower mortality rate is especially reassuring, since it represents a relatively low impact and low cost way to improve health. Current government health recommendations advise moderate exercise for at least 30 minutes most days of the week, and Zheng says that his study shows that even 15 minutes a day can provide benefits. That's good news for people who may currently be sedentary and for whom starting an exercise program can be challenging. 'If you walk just 15 minutes a day, which is below the recommended level [of exercise], you still benefit,' he says. And while the results showed that people who walked the fastest had the greatest reduction in mortality, Zheng says it's important to remember that even people walking at a slower pace showed some benefit. That suggests that if people continue walking, even at a slower pace, and add a few minutes of faster paced walking into their regimen, they could increase their health benefits. Such interval training has long been popular in exercise regimens, but the latest data suggest it applies to walking as well. Contact us at letters@
