How do the nutritional and health effects of quinoa compare to other whole grains?
“Approximately 90% of the world’s calories are provided In less than one per cent of the 250,000 known edible plant species. The big three are wheat, maize and rice, and our reliance on them may be unsustainable, given the current climate crisis. This has spurred new interest in “underutilised crops” such as quinoa, which might be better adapted to drought and heat.
Quinoa has recently been used inserted in the northern hemisphere, but humans have been eating Quinoa for over 7,000 years. Is Is there any truth to its “superfood” designation, or is it all just hype?
Quinoa is a “pseudocereal,” since the plant it comes from is not a type of grass. “Botanically speaking, quinoa is an achene, a seed-like fruit with a hard covering,” and has It contains many vitamins and minerals, like all whole grains. has lots of protein. As you can see below and in a series of graphics starting at minute 1:05 of my video Benefits of quinoa to reduce triglyceridesquinoa has Quinoa contains more protein than other grains, but since when do we need more protein? What we lack most is fiber, and its fiber content is relatively modest, compared to barley or rye. However, quinoa is quite rich in folate and vitamin E, and it is a leader in magnesium, iron and zinc. So it is nutritious, but when I think about superfoodI think of something that has some kind of special clinical benefit. Broccoli is a superfood, strawberries are a superfood and so is garlic, but quinoa? Consumer demand is Consumption of this substance has increased, partly due to “perceived health benefits,” and it has all sorts of supposed benefits in laboratory animals, but there have been very few studies in humans.
The first test was A before and after study of quinoa granola bars that showed drops in triglycerides and cholesterol, as you can see below and at 1:53 in my videobut he didn’t do it have a control group, so we don’t know how much of that would have happened without quinoa. The kind of study I want to see is a randomized controlled trial. When researchers gave Participants who consumed one cup of cooked quinoa every day for 12 weeks experienced a 36 percent reduction in their triglycerides, comparable to what is achieved with triglyceride-lowering drugs or high-dose fish oil supplements.
Which is better, regular quinoa or red quinoa? As you can see in the graph below and at minute 2:22 of my videothe red variety has approximately twice the antioxidant power, leading researchers to conclude that red quinoa “could… contribute significantly to the management and/or prevention of degenerative diseases associated with free radical damage,” but this has never been tested.
What about black quinoa? Both red and black quinoa appear to be equally rich in antioxidants, both outperforming the more conventional white variety, as you can see in the graph below and at 2:46 in my video.
The only warning I could find is to tell your doctor before your next colonoscopy or else they could… mistake Quinoa for parasites. As reported in one article, a “colonoscopy revealed numerous tan-yellow, egg-shaped, ovoid objects, 2 to 3 mm in diameter, of unknown cause,” but they were simply undigested quinoa.
For more information on the superfoods I mentioned, check out the related posts below.
Isn’t fish oil important for heart health? Find out in my video Is fish oil just snake oil?.
