Well today, I’ve got a mouthful for you from research I’ve done on Quinoa and Millet.
It’s funny. With my background, everyone assumes I know everything about everything. But that’s actually the reason I started this blog 4 or 5 years ago. In my earlier years, I was a Radio Broadcaster. A Newscaster. Those were the days of Walter Cronkite, when you didn’t judge, you just gave the facts. And one of the things I did as a newscaster was to research. I took all of those skills and brought it to my blog.
So when someone says they think quinoa (pronounced keen-shah) is a fruit, another says it’s a rice, and yet another tells me it’s a legume…. then it’s time to dig in and figure this one out. A little later in the blog, I am going to tell you an interesting ‘not known’ fact about millet. But for now, let’s stay on the topic on quinoa.
Amy Myers, MD says: It’s a pseudograin. “Pseudograins are the seeds of broadleaf plants (non-grasses) that are used in the same way as grains. They are often promoted as gluten-free alternatives, and examples include quinoa, buckwheat, amaranth, and chia seeds”.
According to Amy (and I might say I was very happy to hear this) tomatoes, peppers, and potatoes don’t break down when you cook them. Unfortunately she also goes on to say they are very high in lectin, which can damage the gut lining for people with auto immune disease. But for the average joe, the good news is when cooked, you are not cooking away the valuable nutrients.
WebMD is calling quinoa a grain. They say the reasons to eat it are: it’s gluten free, it’s a complete protein, higher in protein than other grains, gives you good iron and fiber, plus it’s an antioxident.
But if we go back to Dr. Amy, she’ll tell you to eat it only in moderation because of that ‘could cause damage to your stomach lining’ issue.
While I was researching, I wanted to find out the difference nutritionally between brown rice and quinoa. So I went to Prevention Magazine and here’s what I noticed (and of course I am paraphrasing here):
- Quinoa has double the fat of brown rice (but they’re both pretty low on fat)
- Quinoa has 3g more protein and fiber than rice
- They both have ‘bone building’ calcium and potassium, but quinoa has more
- Rice has more niacin (vitamin B3) and that will help you lower your cholesterol
- Quinoa has zinc, great for fighting colds
Well, if quinoa is so great for you, what’s the fuss all about?
Outside of the farmers in Bolivia eating more potatoes, because they are selling what they used to eat, The Daily Mail in the UK has this to say:
Foods such as Gillian McKeith’s favourite goji berries, quinoa and kale can cause a host of problems from thyroid malfunction to arthritis flare-ups (they’re quoting Nutrition expert Petronella Ravenshear).
Writing in this month’s Vogue, she says: ‘My only comment about these foods is that they should be avoided’.
She goes on to explain that kale – a favourite among celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow – and increasingly used in ‘green smoothies’ can ‘interfere with thyroid function’ when eaten raw.
Eating too many grains such as quinoa, regardless of how healthy they are – can cause an overload of potentially gut-irritating compounds.
Another celebrity Nutritionist (Samantha F Grant) explains it this way:
Quinoa has a protective coat that contains Saponins.
Saponins are soapy like molecules that literally “punch holes” in the gastric mucosal lining. Then you get “leaky gut” (contents of the gut leak into the blood stream) and this causes an autoimmune response and systemic inflammation. Systemic inflammation manifests in numerous ways: headaches, skin rashes, achy joints, stomach pain, weight gain, fatigue, etc.
So here’s the deal: Eat some quinoa. See how your body reacts. If you’re good, eat it every so often. This way you get the benefits, without the worries.
Since you have gotten this far down in the blog, I will give you the info on Millet, like I promised. This last piece of info comes from the healthy home economist who says: While millet may not contain gluten, it does contain goitrogens. Goitrogens are those substances in food that suppress thyroid activity and can lead to goiter, an enlargement of this very important gland which resides in the throat. Low iodine intake can also lead to goiter.
So that’s the research. And remember: every ‘body’ is different. You are your own best judge on what works for you and what doesn’t.
Happy Healthy Eating,
