Try adding chia seeds to your diet and track your gut health

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Recruiting

What is this trial?

This research study is exploring how everyday lifestyle choices—specifically dietary fiber from chia seeds and stress levels—affect the bacteria living in your gut. Researchers want to understand whether adding chia seeds to your diet changes your gut bacteria composition, and whether stress plays a role. This is basic science research designed to help us better understand gut health, not to test a medication.

Scientists know that gut bacteria affect our overall health, but we don't fully understand how diet and stress work together to shape these bacteria. This study will help researchers learn whether simple dietary changes like adding chia seeds could be a practical way to improve gut health for everyone.

Do you qualify?

You likely qualify if…

you are at least 18 years old and no older than 50
you are generally healthy and willing to eat chia seeds daily
you can collect at least 3 stool samples per week for 16 weeks (either at home or at a study site)
you have a smartphone and can complete daily stress surveys online
you are able to read and understand English and sign a consent form

You likely don't qualify if…

you are under 18 or over 50 years old
you have a digestive or intestinal condition that would make eating chia seeds unsafe for you
you cannot commit to providing at least 3 stool samples per week
you are currently a donor for a commercial product or have previously made a finished product as part of your work
you do not have regular access to a smartphone

What participation looks like

You'll visit a study site to receive chia seeds, sampling tools, and instructions. Then you'll spend 16 weeks either adding 2.5 tablespoons of chia seeds to your diet for the first 8 weeks (then stopping) or keeping your normal diet for 8 weeks (then adding chia seeds). Throughout the study, you'll collect stool samples at least 3 times per week, complete a daily stress survey on your phone, and track what you eat through photos and surveys. If you live with other adults, they can also join the study—the researchers will assign you and your household members to different groups to see if the changes spread between people sharing a home.

How Chia Seeds and Stress Affect Your Gut Health

What is this trial?

Do you qualify?

What participation looks like

Trial locations(2 sites)