Quinoa: Health Benefits and Nutritional Facts
Often used as a substitute for rice, quinoa is usually considered as a grain, but it is actually a pod with yellow seeds, which is the seed of Chenopodium album. It is native to Peru and related to sugar beet, sugar beet and spinach. When cooking, quinoa is soft, fluffy and slightly nutty. It can also be made into flour, flakes and various foods, such as pasta and bread, according to the Committee on Nutrition of Cereals and Beans.
Quinoa comes from Peru, Bolivia and Chile. It grows in the Andes and has been a staple food for local people for thousands of years. According to a field crop article by the University of Wisconsin and the University of Minnesota, quinoa means "mother's grain" in Inca.
Recently, according to the data of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the University of Minnesota, the surge in demand for quinoa has pushed production to more than 70 countries outside South America. Today, large quinoa crops are grown in China, North America, French and Indian. According to an assessment in Frontier of Plant Science (20 16), the output of quinoa in Africa and the Middle East is increasing.
According to Spiridakis, there are 1800 kinds of quinoa. Quinoa seeds can be black, red, white, purple, pink, yellow, gray, orange, green or yellow. In the United States, white (traditional) and red (Inca) quinoa are common. Kelly Toops, a registered nutritionist with the Whole Grains Association, said that although white varieties are more delicious, red contains more nutrients.
Nutrients "Quinoa is rich in protein, fiber, iron, copper, thiamine and vitamin B6. It is also an excellent source of magnesium, phosphorus, manganese and folic acid. Tupos emphasized that "a good source" means that a food can provide at least 10% of the daily nutritional value, while "a good source" means that a food can provide at least 20% of the daily nutritional value. An article in the Journal of Food and Agricultural Sciences in 2009
It is pointed out that quinoa contains protein, oil, minerals, fatty acids and other "unusual ingredients and abnormal balance", antioxidants and vitamins, and it is a nutritious food. The article also points out that there are plant hormones in quinoa, which is different from many other plant foods. Plant hormones help to regulate plant growth. Some types of phytoestrogens are being studied as a method to treat menopausal symptoms because they sometimes behave like estrogen in the body.
20 17 A study published in the Journal of Nutrition and Food Science confirmed that quinoa contains more protein and more essential amino acids than other cereals on which people depend for survival all over the world. Nutritionally, it is more like milk protein than wheat, corn and barley. The contents of dietary fiber, lipids, calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus and vitamins B 1, B2, B6, C and E are also higher than those of cereals.
This is based on the nutritional components of quinoa stipulated by the US Food and Drug Administration, and it stipulates food labels through the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act:
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Dose %DV Dose %DV Total Fat 2g 3% Total Carbohydrate 2 1g Cholesterol 0mg 0% Dietary Fiber 3g 1 1% Sodium 7mg 0% Sugar 0.9g 7% Potassium 172mg 5% protein 4g Vitamin A 0% Vitamin C 0% Calcium/kloc-0.
The health welfare of quinoa is a complete protein.
Quinoa is one of the only plant foods in the world. It provides a complete protein and all essential amino acids for a healthy balance. The human body cannot produce essential amino acids, but a complete protein contains roughly the same amount of amino acids. There are 9 kinds of essential amino acids, which are listed as histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, tryptophan and valine by the National Institutes of Health. According to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, unlike other cereals, quinoa is a particularly good source of lysine. According to Toups, the protein content of quinoa and other whole grains is also 25% higher than that of flour and rice.
anti-inflammatory action
Scientists are still trying to understand all the effects of chronic inflammation on human health. Mayo Clinic lists autoimmune diseases such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn's disease as the problems in which chronic inflammation plays a role. Diseases less affected by chronic inflammation may include cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
Toops says quinoa and other whole grains may help reduce the risk of this dangerous inflammation. They "help to promote healthy intestinal microorganisms (friendly bacteria in the intestine), which is very important for preventing obesity, inflammation and diseases." According to The Healthiest Food in the World, quinoa contains a variety of anti-inflammatory nutrients, including phenolic acid, cell wall polysaccharide and vitamin E family nutrients, such as γ tocopherol.
Quinoa, the vegetable chowder displayed here, is a nutritious "naD photo Shutterstock" gluten-free.
For people with severe gluten intolerance, gluten-free diet is recommended. Although the scientific community is still debating the benefits of gluten-free diet for people without celiac disease, many Americans have become popular. Medical News Today estimates that about 654.38 million+600,000 people follow a gluten-free diet, but have not been diagnosed with this disease. "KDSP" and "KDSP" people can hardly get all the necessary nutrition if they don't eat gluten-free diet. Mayo Clinic lists iron, calcium, fiber, thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid and folic acid as nutrients, especially the lack of gluten-free diet.
"Because quinoa is naturally gluten-free, this nutritious grain is the best choice for a gluten-free diet," Toops said. She pointed out that in a study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Nutrition, researchers from the Center for Abdominal Diseases of Columbia University found that "adding oats or quinoa to meals and snacks can improve the nutritional status of gluten-free meals. The most significant increases are protein (20.6 g 1 1 g), iron (18.4 mg10.4 mg), calcium (182 mg/0 mg) and fiber (12).
"Similarly," Toops continued, "in a food chemistry study, researchers suggested that adding quinoa or buckwheat to gluten-free products would significantly increase their polyphenol content compared with typical gluten-free products made of rice, corn and potato flour. Quinoa or buckwheat products contain more antioxidants than wheat products and gluten-free foods. " Polyphenols are chemicals that protect cells and the body from free radical damage. They are active atoms, which can cause damage to body tissues.
Lower cholesterol
Toops said that quinoa is rich in fiber, which helps to lower cholesterol levels. Fiber helps digestion, which requires bile acid, which is partly composed of cholesterol. With the improvement of digestive ability, the liver extracts cholesterol from blood and produces more bile acids, thus reducing the content of low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol). A study published in the journal Human Nutrition Plant Food found that mice with chronic prostatitis were at risk of quinoa.
Eating quinoa has some health risks. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, quinoa seeds are covered with saponins, which are chemical substances used to protect plants from diseases caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses. Saponins may taste like bitter soap, so quinoa should be thoroughly washed in cold water before cooking.
According to the Department of Horticulture at Purdue University, for some people, the role of saponins is not just to leave an unpleasant smell in the mouth: they can cause stomach problems and may damage the small intestine. According to Livestrong, the high fiber content in quinoa may also cause stomach upset.
The cooking speed of quinoa in daily diet is faster than most whole grains. According to Toups, it only takes 12 to 15 minutes. This makes quinoa "a simple food that busy families and individuals rotate every week", she said. In addition, "unlike some grains that are easy to dry up after cooling, quinoa can maintain a pleasant and chewy taste at warm, cold or room temperature." This means that quinoa can be integrated into your diet in many ways, from being prepared as breakfast porridge to adding salad or preparing like paella. "Quinoa can also be used for thick soup or stew, and quinoa powder can also be used for gluten-free baking," Toups said.
In recent years, quinoa production has become more and more popular. According to the Straits Times, the price of quinoa increased by 202% from 20 1 1 to 20 15. From 20 12 to 20 17, the export of quinoa in Peru tripled from $34.5 million to $654.38+24 million. The surge in demand has brought unpredictable consequences to the environment. Usually, farmers rotate crops, but according to the data of the World Policy Institute, planting quinoa year after year will lead to soil erosion, water depletion and land degradation.
Extreme weather will bring problems to the large-scale production of quinoa. 20 17 El Nino destroyed farms in Peru and destroyed quinoa and other crops. Therefore, researchers from Peru National Plateau University have developed a new quinoa variety, which can resist bad weather, drought and plague. With the impact of climate change on quinoa planting areas, these new developments will become more and more important, such as the highlands of Bolivia, which suffered from severe drought and the once precious quinoa crops were destroyed. Compared with other large-scale crops, quinoa is relatively stable, so with the escalation of climate change, quinoa may help feed the world. According to a review in Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 20 17, quinoa has strong adaptability and can grow in areas with humidity of 40% to 88% and temperature of 25 to 100 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 4 to 38 degrees Celsius). The author of this review believes that the adaptability of quinoa may help to curb mass hunger, especially in India, the most populous country in the world.