Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Quinoa: What the hell is it?



Quinoa is member of a species of perennial, herbaceous flowering plants known as goosefoot. Harvested for its seeds, it is classed as a pseudocereal due to the fact that it is not a true grass, or grain, as with wheat.The plant itself is more closely related to beet, spinach, and tumbleweed.


The Incas held Chisaya Mama (mother of all grains) to be a sacred crop until the Spanish Conquistadors landed and forced them to grow wheat. The Christian invaders claimed that the tiny seeds were suitable only as fodder for animals and savages, and worked to suppress the religious harvest ceremonies associated with it.


Today, quinoa has seen a renaissance in the world of healthy eating as a "super grain." Quinoa is gluten free and  is an excellent source of protein, folate, vitamin B6, and arganine, all of which have been shown in studies to be essential to mental health and proper nutrition in children. Individuals with attention deficit disorder have also been shown to benefit from increased intake of B complex vitamins and L-arganine.

In my next post I'll be showing how to cook and serve this "wonder grain," so check back often!

4 comments:

  1. Hmmm, does that mean it could possibly also have some benefit to people afflicted with Alzheimer's?? Or prevention? This was fascinating.

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    1. As far as I know, they haven't yet isolated the causes of Alzheimer's disease; however, malnutrition, especially in the early stages of childhood development, has been proven to be among the major factors contributing to some forms of intellectual and behavioral disorders common in the autism spectrum. In my personal opinion, the highly processed foods that have become standard fare in the American diet during the last half century or so are much to blame for the rising rates of birth defect, cancer, and mental illness. For a very long time the industrial agricultural practices of the US have focused on quantity over quality and I think it's time for that to change. HIGHER QUALITY FOOD MAKES HIGHER QUALITY HUMANS! And there is a dearth of higher quality humans these days.

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  2. Last night I declared (to an audience of two) that while not becoming a vegetarian, I cannot continue to eat commercially-raised animals. Just too disturbing how they're treated, both internally and out.

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    1. I don't eat a lot of meat these days, and to be honest I don't really miss it. I could write an entire separate blog about how cruel and disturbing our treatment of food animals has become. On top of that, the products of companies that DO promote organic foods and humane treatment of food animals are so expensive that the average person can't afford to buy them. http://www.thezeitgeistmovement.com/

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