Anticancer Foods: Quinoa Uses & Benefits

Bowl of cooked red quinoa on wooden table

Are you seeking a healthy diet, or even a high-protein diet, in this world of manufactured food? You should certainly look into the health advantages of quinoa, which is considered to be one of the world’s most nutritious fruits.

What Is Quinoa?

Quinoa comes from the Chenopodium quinoa plant’s seed. It’s not a grain, according to botany. It’s referred to as a pseudo-grain since it’s nutritionally comparable to cereal grains and may be consumed in the same way. White quinoa is the most popular type of quinoa, and it’s what you’ll generally find at the grocery store. Surprisingly, the vitamin content of the various varieties varies as well. It is both a gluten-free, whole-grain carbohydrate and a complete protein.

What Are The Uses Of Quinoa?

Quinoa is a highly overlooked and centuries-old South American grain. Surprisingly, the rest of the world just lately found it and acclaimed it as a Superfood due to its high nutritional content. Foodies and health-conscious people increasingly consider it a specialist cuisine. Quinoa was initially farmed for sustenance in the Andes 7,000 years ago. It was known as the mother grain by the Incas, who considered it sacred. Quinoa can help treat excessive blood fat levels, such as triglycerides and cholesterol, as well as discomfort, urinary tract infections, and weight reduction. Quinoa produces flour, soups, and beer, among other things. It is also used to replace grains such as wheat in diets for persons who must avoid gluten, such as those who have celiac disease.

What Are The Health Benefits Of Quinoa?

Quinoa is high in vitamins and minerals, as well as protein, fiber, and healthy fats. Complete proteins have considerable levels of all nine amino acids. While all animal protein sources are complete, most plant proteins are not. Quinoa is an exception as a full-plant protein. This is one of its most distinguishing characteristics, and it makes it a highly useful source of protein, particularly for someone who eats a primarily plant-based diet.

Quinoa is particularly high in lysine, methionine, and cysteine, which are amino acids that are often lacking in plant meals. Whole-grain consumption has been related in several studies to a lower incidence of type 2 diabetes and better blood sugar management. It also appears to include chemicals that block alpha-glycosidase, a carbohydrate-digesting enzyme. This might cause a delay in carbohydrate digestion, resulting in a delayed release of glucose into the bloodstream.

What Makes Quinoa An Anti-cancer Food?

Quinoa is high in polyphenols, which helps to lower the risk of heart disease and cancer. Several phenolic chemicals found in quinoa have shown anti-cancer efficacy in preclinical trials, according to new research. Saponins, another quinoa component, can help in therapeutic settings to improve the efficacy of chemotherapy.

Many of the phenolic compounds found in quinoa have anti-antigenic effects, or the capacity to prevent the formation of new blood vessels, as well as limit cancer cell proliferation. Saponins are bitter-tasting compounds found in many plants, and are another intriguing component of quinoa. Saponins are somewhat poisonous, but they also have anti-tumor and anti-antigenic properties, and they may act as a chemotherapy adjuvant.

References

Health Benefits

  1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25053071/
  2. https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/24912714/Quinoa_seeds_leach_phytoecdysteroids_and_other_compounds_with_anti_diabetic_properties_
  3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21104320/

Anticancer

  1. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/236089035_Antioxidant_and_anticancer_activities_of_Chenopodium_quinoa_leaves_extracts_-_In_vitro_study
  2. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20550961/
  3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31930826/

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