Nuts, seeds and grains
Chia seeds on a GLP-1: protein, portions and how to actually eat it
About 17 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), dry seeds, for around 490 calories. Two tablespoons, about 20 g (0.7 oz), give roughly 3 g of protein for 98 calories.
To reach 30 g of protein from chia seeds alone you would need about 176 g (6.2 oz). On a small appetite that is often more than one sitting allows, which is why we pair it rather than chase the whole target from one food.
How chia seeds sits on a GLP-1
Chia seeds are about 17 g of protein per 100 g (3.5 oz), which sounds useful until you see that a serve is two tablespoons, 20 g (0.7 oz), and gives 3 g. What chia does that matters on a GLP-1 is form a gel. Soaked in liquid it swells to many times its size, and that gel is filling and slow, which is the opposite of what a stomach that is already slow needs. Small amounts in a pudding made on milk and protein powder are fine; large amounts in water are a way to feel full on almost no protein.
When your appetite is small
Never eat it dry, and keep the serve to a tablespoon or two. The useful version is a chia pudding built on protein: 200 ml (7 fl oz) of milk, a scoop of whey or a spoon of milk powder, and one tablespoon of chia, left in the fridge overnight. That is a cold, soft, spoonable breakfast of about 30 g where the chia is the texture, not the protein.
Three ways to prepare it
Overnight chia pudding on fortified milk
Milk, milk powder or whey, a tablespoon of chia, a little vanilla. Stir once after ten minutes so it does not clump, then leave it overnight.
A teaspoon stirred into yoghurt
A teaspoon of chia through a protein pot thickens it slightly and adds fibre without making it heavy.
Ground into a smoothie
A tablespoon blended into a milk and whey smoothie thickens it a little and disappears. Drink it soon after blending, before it sets.
What to eat it with
Milk, whey, Greek yoghurt, berries, vanilla, cinnamon. Chia is the texture in a protein pudding, so the milk protein has to be there first.
How it compares
| Food | Protein per 100 g | Energy per 100 g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chia seeds | about 17 g | 490 kcal | this page |
| Hemp seeds | about 31 g | 550 kcal | See the page |
| Pumpkin seeds | about 30 g | 560 kcal | See the page |
| Oats | about 13 g | 375 kcal | See the page |
All figures are typical values for the food as eaten, dry seeds, not laboratory figures for a particular brand.
Australian, US and UK names
Chia seeds in all three countries, black or white, sold in the health food aisle and in most supermarkets. A good deal of the world's chia is grown in Australia's Kimberley region. Chia bran and ground chia are the same seed in different forms.
Questions people ask
Are chia seeds a good source of protein?
Not per serve. Two tablespoons, about 20 g (0.7 oz), gives 3 g of protein and a lot of fibre. Chia is worth having for texture and fibre in a pudding made on milk and whey, where the milk and the whey are the protein.
Your number comes first
Knowing what is in a food only helps once you know how much you are aiming for. The target is 1.2 to 1.6 g of protein per kg of your goal weight, not your current weight, which for most people is 90 to 140 g a day.
Work out your protein targetMore on eating well when your appetite is small: high protein foods for a small appetite, how much protein on a GLP-1, and every food we have written up. The whole system in five documents is the Keep Muscle Kit, A$47 / US$29 / £23.
EverStrong provides nutrition and strength coaching and education. It is not medical advice and does not replace your prescribing doctor.