QUINOA SUPERFOOD

QUINOA SUPERFOOD

Description

Because quinoa is typically consumed in the same way as the cereal grasses (wheat, oats, barley, and rye), we group it together with those foods on our website. However, quinoa is not a cereal grass at all, but rather a member of the same food family that contains spinach, Swiss chard, and beets. Many researchers refer to quinoa as a "pseudocereal." This term is typically used to describe foods that are not grasses but can still be easily ground into flour. The scientific name for quinoa is Chenopodium quinoa.

History

The history of quinoa is clearly rooted in South America, in the Andes region that is currently divided up between the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Along with maize, quinoa was one of the two mainstay foods for the Inca Empire that had its start around 1200 AD. As previously mentioned in the Description section, quinoa was a food that could survive in a wide variety of growing conditions. Along with its unusual nutrient richness, its adaptability helped it gain popularity among the Incas for hundreds and hundreds of years.

How to Select and Store

Quinoa is generally available in prepackaged containers as well as bulk bins. Just as with any other food that you may purchase in the bulk section, make sure that the bins containing the quinoa are covered and that the store has a good product turnover so as to ensure its maximal freshness. Whether purchasing quinoa in bulk or in a packaged container, make sure that there is no evidence of moisture. When deciding upon the amount to purchase, remember that quinoa expands during the cooking process to several times its original size. If you cannot find it in your local supermarket, look for it at natural foods stores, which usually carry it.

Nutritional Profile

Quinoa is food of high protein quality and is typically regarded as an adequate source of all essential amino acids, including lysine and isoleucine. It provides a variety of antioxidant phytonutrients, including ferulic, coumaric, hydroxybenzoic, and vanillic acid. Antioxidant flavonoids including quercetin and kaempferol are also especially plentiful in quinoa. Anti-inflammatory polysaccharides in quinoa include arabinans and rhamnogalacturonans. Many members of the vitamin E tocopherol family are provided by quinoa, including important amounts of gamma-tocopherol. Quinoa is a very good source of manganese. It is also a good source of phosphorus, copper, magnesium, dietary fiber, folate, and zinc.

For an in-depth nutritional profile click here: Quinoa.

Health Benefits

Overall Nutrient Richness

Perhaps the most striking health benefit provided by quinoa is its overall nutrient richness. When the nutrient composition of this food is analyzed in depth, the results are unusual and striking. While quinoa can be eaten in the same way as a grain, or ground into flour like is so commonly done with grains, it lacks some important nutritional shortcomings of grains.

One of the shortcomings overcome by quinoa involves its protein content. Most grains are considered to be inadequate as total protein sources because they lack adequate amounts of the amino acids lysine and isoleucine. The relatively low level of both lysine and isoleucine in the protein of grains is what causes these amino acids to be considered as the limiting amino acids (LAAs) in grains. In other words, these LAAs prevent grains from serving as complete protein sources in our diet. By contrast, quinoa has significantly greater amounts of both lysine and isoleucine (especially lysine), and these greater amounts of lysine and isoleucine allow the protein in quinoa to serve as a complete protein source.

 

Anti-Inflammatory Benefits

Most of the quinoa studies that we've seen in this area have been animal studies. However, we believe that the preliminary indications for humans are very promising. Research has shown the ability of daily quinoa intake to lower levels of inflammation in fat (adipose) tissue in rats and in the linings of their intestine as well.

Gluten free

Gluten-free diets are recommended for people with Celiac disease, a severe gluten intolerance. Though the scientific community is still debating the benefits of gluten-free diets for people who do not have Celiac disease, plenty of Americans have jumped on the bandwagon. Medical News Today estimates that approximately 1.6 million follow a gluten-free diet without having been diagnosed with the disease.

 

Gluten free

Gluten-free diets are recommended for people with Celiac disease, a severe gluten intolerance. Though the scientific community is still debating the benefits of gluten-free diets for people who do not have Celiac disease, plenty of Americans have jumped on the bandwagon. Medical News Today estimates that approximately 1.6 million follow a gluten-free diet without having been diagnosed with the disease.

Lowering cholesterol 

Quinoa’s good fiber content can aid in lowering cholesterol levels, according to Toups. Fiber aids in digestion, which requires bile acids, which are made partly with cholesterol. As your digestion improves, the liver pulls cholesterol from the blood to create more bile acid, thereby reducing the amount of LDL, the bad cholesterol. A study published in the journal Plant Foods for Human Nutrition found that rats that had consumed a high level of fructose and were then fed a quinoa diet reduced their LDL cholesterol by 57 percent. 

Heart health

Lowering LDL cholesterol is good for your heart, but quinoa can benefit your ticker in other ways as well. A study published in the Journal of Food Lipids noted that quinoa seeds possess many of the dietary flavonoids "shown to inversely correlate with mortality from heart disease."

Diabetes and hypertension

"Quinoa has also been studied for its role in diabetes management and hypertension," said Toups. Commenting on a study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, she said, "Brazilian scientists researched 10 traditional Peruvian grains and legumes for their potential in managing the early stages of Type 2 diabetes. They found that quinoa was especially rich in an antioxidant called quercetin and that quinoa had the highest overall antioxidant activity (86 percent) of all 10 foods studied." She added that the study led researchers to conclude that quinoa, kañiwa (quinoa’s cousin) and other traditional crops from the Peruvian Andes have potential in helping researchers to develop effective dietary strategies for managing Type 2 diabetes and associated hypertension.

 Quinoa risks

There are a few health risks associated with eating quinoa. Quinoa seeds are coated with saponins, which are chemicals designed to protect plants from diseases caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.  Saponins can have a bitter, soapy taste, so quinoa should be rinsed thoroughly in cold water before it is cooked. 

Quinoa cooks faster than most whole grains, taking only 12 to 15 minutes, according to Toups. This makes quinoa "an easy grain for busy families and individuals to add to their weekly rotation," she said. Furthermore, "Unlike some grains that tend to dry out when cooled, quinoa maintains a pleasant, chewy texture when served warm, chilled or at room temperature."

Protein in Quinoa:

One of the best reasons to enjoy quinoa is because it has a high-protein content, which makes it a great cholesterol-free and low-fat source of protein for vegetarians and vegans. According to the USDA nutrient database, 1 cup of cooked quinoa (185 g) contains 8.14 grams of protein.