Decoding Quinoa

We asked our in-house Nutrition Consultant, Vijayalakshmi Iyengar to shed light on the health benefits of the Super Duper food-Quinoa. Here’s what she has to say:

Kee-nwah!! — The trendiest grain today but funnily enough even 5–6 yrs ago most of us had not even heard of this grain, leave alone taste it. Even the name was mispronounced till a couple of years till it started gaining more and more popularity with different cuisines. Today what originally was the choice of a select few and available only in gourmet stores, has now trickled down to pretty much every health conscious household even in India.

The question is why and how did Quinoa get its popularity rating?

Well, the quest to bring in healthy food to combat the epidemic proportions of life style diseases led Nutritionists and Food Scientists to look into food habits of healthier societies. Today it is almost a fashion statement if you say you looooove ‘Quinoa’ and people can`t seem to get enough of it.

Historically it’s a very sacred grain cultivated over 3000–4000 years in South America in Peru, Bolivia and the like and mostly consumed by the tribal. The Inca`s call it `ChisayaMama’ or the mother of all grains.

Cooked Quinoa
Not surprisingly, quinoa today is synonymous with healthy food. It’s a protein packed pseudo cereal and said to have adequate sources of all essential amino acids (including `lysine and isoleucine’ which are missing in cereals and dals, respectively). This is truly unusual and therefore biologically very rich vegetarian source of protein compared to eggs and fish.

The highlight of the whole thing is that it is now considered a SUPER FOOD and The FAO (food and Agricultural Organization) and the UN (United Nations) declared it in 2013 as the `International Year of Quinoa”. Whoa!!

Now to understand the health benefits of Quinoa we can look at their nutrition and antioxidant profile

1. Compared to all veg grains, we get more than double the amount of protein

• ¼ cup cooked rice — 1.10 gms protein
• ¼ cup cooked quinoa — 5.57 gms
• 1 serving roti — around 2.7 gms
• 1 slice of brown bread is 2.7 gms

It has triple the amount of calories than rice as it has a little fat and double that of bread and wheat flour and also maximum fiber of 2.5g, whereas bread & roti has 2g and rice is 0.2 gms, makes it a lot wholesome!

1. Compared to most cereal grains, it has not only higher fat content but provides valuable amounts of heart-healthy fats like monounsaturated fat (in the form of oleic acid). Quinoa can also provide small amounts of the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA).
2. They benefit cardiovascular health due to good amounts of Magnesium, Potassium, iron & Folate. They are good for muscle growth and muscle activity and also prevent muscle cramps (sports people can therefore benefit from it too). Quinoa is a very good source of manganese, phosphorus, copper, and zinc. We can safely say that 3 servings of quinoa can yield anywhere from 20–60% of the daily need for the above nutrients.
3. It has excellent anti –inflammatory benefits as it is phytonutrient-rich and can provide excellent amounts of antioxidants like ferulic, coumaric, hydroxybenzoic, and vanillic acid.
4. The antioxidant flavonoids quercetin and kaempferol are also plenty in quinoa and much more than high flavonoid berries.
5. Anti-inflammatory polysaccharides in quinoa include arabinans and rhamnogalacturonans. Also many types of vitamin E tocopherol esp gamma-tocopherol
6. It is a very good grain for fighting Obesity and promoting weight loss
7. Its profile is indicative of how beneficial it is for Diabetics and Cancer both preventive and maintenance

How to eat Quinoa?
Quinoa is always eaten cooked after cooking it in 2–3 times its volume in water. It is very light and has a very nice and nutty flavor.

• Combine cooked chilled quinoa with many vegetables in differently flavored salads
• Sprouted quinoa can be used in salads and sandwiches just like alfalfa sprouts.
• Add quinoa to your favorite vegetable soups.
• As a breakfast porridge with added nuts and fruits
• Quinoa flour (Gluten free ) can be used to make pasta
• Ground quinoa flour can be added to cookie or muffin recipes.
• Quinoa is great to use in tabouli a Middle Eastern dish as a substitute for the bulgur wheat

Well, if you are too lazy to cook, we have it on our menu today. Try it out, Quinoa Super Bowl