Archive for July, 2011
Is Quinoa Healthy to Eat?
Commonly held beliefs about quinoa are that it is not a grain, is easy to digest, has lots of nutrients, and is healthier for you than cereal grains. I used to believe this too, especially when I was doing the vegetarian thing. Recent science, however, tells us a different story about the effect of grains and grain-like foods on the human body.
As Robb Wolf puts it in the sixth chapter of his book:
You’ve likely heard the expression, “If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…” Quinoa is botanically not a grain, but because it has evolved in a similar biological niche [1], Quinoa has similar properties to grains, including chemical defense systems that irritate the gut. In the case of Quinoa, it contains soap-like molecules called saponins. Unlike gluten, which attaches to a carrier molecule in the intestines, saponins simply punch holes in the membranes of the microvilli cells. Yes, that’s bad. Saponins are so irritating to the immune system that they are used in vaccine research to help the body mount a powerful immune response. The bottom line is if you think grains or grain-like items like Quinoa are healthy or benign, you are not considering the full picture.”
It’s definitely not as bad as wheat, but it does make holes in your intestines through which pathogens can leak into your body, causing an immune response, raising systemic inflammation. Higher levels of inflammation put you at higher risk for a wide range of diseases and other problems. Health food indeed!
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