Quinoa is the seed of a plant identified scientifically as Chenopodium quinoa.
It’s greater in vitamins than most grains and sometimes marketed as a “superfood” (1, 2).
Though quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is ready and consumed like a cereal grain, it’s categorized as a pseudocereal, because it doesn’t develop on grass like wheat, oats, and rice.
Quinoa has a crunchy texture and nutty taste. It’s additionally gluten-free and may thus be loved by people who find themselves delicate to gluten or wheat.
Quinoa seeds are flat, oval, and often pale yellow, although the colour can vary from pink to black. Its style can differ from bitter to candy (2).
It’s often boiled and added to salads, used to thicken soups, or eaten as a facet dish or breakfast porridge.
The seeds can be sprouted, floor, and used as flour or popped like popcorn. Quinoa is a superb meals for infants (2, 3).
The United Nations declared 2013 “The International Year of Quinoa” because of the seeds’ potential to contribute to meals safety worldwide (4).
Although quinoa technically isn’t a grain, it’s nonetheless thought-about a whole-grain meals.
This text tells you all the things it’s good to find out about quinoa.
Diet info
Cooked quinoa consists of 71.6% water, 21.3% carbohydrates, 4.4% protein, and 1.92% fats.
One cup (185 grams) of cooked quinoa incorporates 222 energy.
The diet info for 3.5 ounces (100 grams) of cooked quinoa are (5):
Carbs
Carbs make up 21% of cooked quinoa, which is akin to barley and rice.
About 83% of the carbs are starches. The remainder consists largely of fiber, in addition to a small quantity of sugars (4%), equivalent to maltose, galactose, and ribose (5, 6).
Quinoa has a comparatively low glycemic index (GI) rating of 53, which implies that it mustn’t trigger a speedy spike in blood sugar (7).
The GI is a measure of how briskly blood sugar ranges rise after a meal. Excessive-glycemic meals are linked to weight problems and varied ailments (8, 9).
Fiber
Cooked quinoa is a comparatively good supply of fiber, beating each brown rice and yellow corn (10).
Fibers make up 10% of the dry weight of cooked quinoa, 80–90% of that are insoluble fibers like cellulose (10).
Insoluble fibers have been related to decreased diabetes danger (11, 12 , 13).
Plus, among the insoluble fiber could also be fermented in your intestine like soluble fibers, feeding your pleasant micro organism and selling higher general well being (14, 15).
Quinoa additionally gives some resistant starch, which feeds the helpful micro organism in your intestine, selling the formation of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs), bettering intestine well being, and slicing your danger of illness (16, 17).
Protein
Amino acids are the constructing blocks of proteins, and proteins are the constructing blocks of all tissues in your physique.
Some amino acids are thought-about important, as your physique is unable to provide them, making it obligatory to amass them out of your food plan.
By dry weight, quinoa gives 16% protein, which is greater than most cereal grains, equivalent to barley, rice, and corn (3, 5, 18).
Quinoa is taken into account a whole protein supply, which implies that it gives all 9 important amino acids (6, 18, 19).
It’s exceptionally excessive within the amino acid lysine, which is often missing in vegetation. It’s additionally wealthy in methionine and histidine, making it a superb plant-based protein supply (1, 2, 3).
The protein high quality of quinoa is akin to casein, the high-quality protein in dairy merchandise (3, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23).
Quinoa is gluten-free and due to this fact appropriate for people who find themselves delicate or allergic to gluten.
Fats
A 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving of cooked quinoa gives about 2 grams of fats.
Much like different grains, quinoa fats is principally composed of palmitic acid, oleic acid, and linoleic acid (21, 24, 25).
Nutritional vitamins and minerals
Quinoa is an efficient supply of antioxidants and minerals, offering extra magnesium, iron, fiber, and zinc than many widespread grains (3, 26, 27).
Listed here are the primary nutritional vitamins and minerals in quinoa:
Different plant compounds
Quinoa incorporates many plant compounds that contribute to its taste and well being results. They embody:
Bitter quinoa varieties are richer in antioxidants than sweeter varieties, however each are good sources of antioxidants and minerals.
One research concluded that quinoa had the very best antioxidant content material of 10 widespread cereals, pseudocereals, and legumes (44).
Quinoa and associated crops have even been recognized as higher sources of flavonoid antioxidants than cranberries, that are thought-about very wealthy in flavonoids (45).
Remember the fact that the antioxidant ranges might lower with cooking (46, 47).
Well being advantages of quinoa
Nutritious and wealthy in lots of minerals and plant compounds, quinoa could be a wholesome addition to your food plan.
Some information exhibits that quinoa might enhance your general dietary consumption and assist scale back blood sugar and triglycerides.
Decrease blood sugar ranges
Folks with sort 2 diabetes are unable to make use of insulin successfully, inflicting excessive blood sugar ranges and varied issues.
Refined carbs are linked to an elevated danger of sort 2 diabetes and coronary heart illness, whereas entire grains like quinoa are related to a decreased danger (13, 48, 49, 50, 51).
A research in rats on a high-fructose food plan confirmed that consuming quinoa considerably lowered blood ldl cholesterol, triglycerides, and blood sugar, that are all linked to sort 2 diabetes (52).
One human research in contrast the results of quinoa with conventional gluten-free wheat merchandise.
Quinoa lowered each blood triglycerides and free fatty acids. It additionally affected blood sugar ranges to a lesser diploma than gluten-free pasta, gluten-free bread, and conventional bread (53).
Could assist weight reduction
Quinoa has many properties that make it a weight-loss-friendly meals.
It’s greater in protein than comparable meals, equivalent to rice, corn, and entire wheat (5).
Protein is taken into account a key issue for weight reduction, because it boosts metabolism and emotions of fullness. In doing so, it might assist stop weight problems and associated ailments (54, 55).
Fibers are additionally necessary for weight reduction, selling decreased calorie consumption by growing emotions of fullness and bettering intestine well being (56, 57).
Quinoa is greater in fiber than many whole-grain meals.
The GI worth of quinoa is comparatively low, and low-glycemic meals have been proven to stop overeating and reduce starvation (9, 58, 59).
Quinoa is gluten-free
As a gluten-free pseudocereal, quinoa is appropriate for people who find themselves illiberal or allergic to gluten, equivalent to these with celiac illness (3).
Analysis signifies that utilizing quinoa in a gluten-free food plan, as an alternative of different widespread gluten-free elements, dramatically will increase the nutrient and antioxidant worth of your food plan (60, 61, 62).
Quinoa-based merchandise are properly tolerated and will due to this fact be an appropriate various to wheat, each in its authentic kind and in merchandise like bread or pasta (63).
Opposed results – “protein quinoa”
Quinoa is often properly tolerated with no reported uncomfortable side effects.
Phytates
Much like most different cereals and grains, quinoa incorporates phytates.
These might scale back your absorption of minerals like iron and zinc (3).
Oxalates
Quinoa is a member of the Chenopodiaceae household and thus excessive in oxalates. Different species in the identical household are spinach and beetroot (43).
These meals might contribute to kidney stone formation in delicate people (64).
These results might be decreased by rinsing and soaking quinoa earlier than cooking.
The underside line
Quinoa packs extra vitamins than most different grains and is comparatively excessive in high quality protein.
It’s wealthy in nutritional vitamins, minerals, and plant compounds, in addition to antioxidants.
Quinoa is gluten-free, might assist decrease blood sugar ranges, and assist weight reduction.
If you wish to enhance the nutrient content material of your food plan, changing different grains like rice or wheat with quinoa could also be an excellent begin.
“protein quinoa”