Quinoa - The Super Food!

Quinoa(Keen-Wah) is coming to be known as a Super Food. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations compares the nutritional quality to dried whole milk. It’s not really a grain like we think of, that grows on grassy plants, but a broadleaf non-legume somewhat like buckwheat and amaranth. Quinoa is native to the Andes Mountains of Bolivia, Chile and Peru and is somewhat temperamental outside of those areas. Growers have worked with it in Canada and Colorado with some success, but there is not enough market demand yet for them to devote large areas to this crop. There is work being done on developing varieties that are more tolerant of conditions outside of its native growing location in South America.

Quinoa, as a whole grain, can be substituted for rice or pilaf in recipes. Ground into a flour, it can be combined with other flours and used in baked goods. My favorite form of Quinoa is as a ‘rolled’ grain. It looks like miniature rolled oats and I add it to my morning oatmeal every morning. In this form, it can also be used as an addition where oatmeal is used. Because of its tiny size, I wouldn’t eliminate the oatmeal in recipes, but substitute some of the oatmeal with rolled Quinoa. This will keep the texture of the product similar to the original intention of the recipe. Locally, the only place that I’ve been able to find rolled Quinoa is at Oliver’s Market in Cotati, and it is organic. Our local Whole Foods Market does not carry it at this time.

Here is an excerpt from the Quinoa Corporation on the nutritional aspects of Quinoa:

Quinoa contains more protein than any other grain; an average of 16.2 percent, compared with 7.5 percent for rice, 9.9 percent for millet, and 14 percent for wheat. Some varieties of quinoa are more than 20 percent protein.

Quinoa's protein is of an unusually high quality. It is a complete protein, with an essential amino acid balance close to the ideal ... similar to milk!

Quinoa's protein is high in lysine, methionine and cystine. This makes it an excellent food to combine with, and boost the protein value of, other grains (which are low in lysine), or soy (which is low in methionine and cystine).
Quinoa Corporation

Here’s another link to the nutrition facts on Quinoa:
Quinoa Nutrition Facts

More on Fats and Oils

The comment on the Coconut Oil post inspired me to do a little research into oils and fats. The University of Illinois, McKinley Health Center has a short summary of why some fat is essential for our diets, and in what foods they are found. Recognizing that some fat is necessary for health, I went to Dr. John McDougall’s website and read what he has to say on the subject. I was impressed by his description of what he calls “free oils”, which are the oils that we buy in the store for cooking, salad dressing, etc. These are oils taken out of their natural environment, or “whole food” source. Rather than a “food”, he refers to them as “medications”, as they are extracted and concentrated unnaturally. The difference between fat and oil is whether they are a solid or a liquid at room temperature.

The amount of fat that our bodies need to function at its best is very small. When we use fats in such a concentrated form, such as oils and other solid-type fats, we risk weight gain and the complications that arise from obesity. Research is also showing that too much fat can be toxic to our bodies, promote some cancers and suppress our immune systems.

We can easily get the necessary fats from a whole food diet that includes modest amounts of oil-rich foods such as nuts, avocados, seeds and olives. Fat is also found in the foods that our common oils are derived from – corn, soy, olive, etc. Ideas for cooking without oil can be found in the August 2007 McDougall Newsletter. Also see the link to Fat Free Vegan in the 'Links' section to the right.

McKinley Health Center

Dr. McDougall on Oil

Cooking Without Oils

Coconut Oil

For several years now, I have been hearing a buzz about a new ‘health food’ product, Coconut Oil. My brother, who had been diagnosed with cancer, was advised by his nutritionist to use only this particular oil for its health benefits. For those of you who don’t know, Coconut Oil is a solid, white, ‘Crisco-looking’ substance. When I first saw a jar of Coconut Oil, I couldn’t help but wonder how a human body could benefit from something that was that solid at room temperature. It turns out, my hunch was right. This is not a ‘health’ food!

Back in February, I took a nutrition seminar put on by The McDougall Program, called the McDougall Advanced Study Weekend. Dr. John McDougall promotes a plant-based diet primarily for health reasons. There, I was introduced to a highly educated and very entertaining speaker, Jeff Novick. Jeff has lots of degrees and titles next to his name: MS, RD, LD, and LN, and he’s a stand up comedian too!

One of the topics that Jeff discussed was the nutritional advantages and disadvantages of oils in the diet. Here are the conclusions he presented in regards to Coconut Oil. This excerpt is taken from his newsletter dated April 10, 2008:

1) Coconut oil has virtually NO nutritional value. It has not protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, or fiber.
2) Like all oils, coconut oil is pure fat. Of the fat in coconut oil, over 90% is saturated fat.
3) All oils, including coconut oil, are the most calorie dense food on the planet.
4) While there may be a rare example of some healthy and fit native population that managed to be healthy in spite of their consumption of coconut, this does not make coconut oil into a health food, or a food that Americans should consume with complete abandon as part of their already unhealthy American lifestyles. The coconuts may have been the only risk factor in the otherwise healthy lifestyle of these native populations. However, recent studies have shown the harmful effects of even one high fat meal when the fat comes from coconut oil.
5) While it is true that coconut oil may have some antimicrobial properties, this is not why we consume food, especially one that has so many other negative aspects to it. Remember, our main nutritional and health problems are not bacteria, microbes and infections, but being overfed and undernourished with too many calories and too few nutrients and the resulting weight and lifestyle related diseases. Coconut oil, which is extremely high in calories and void of any nutrients, only makes this already unhealthy situation worse.
6) You are welcome to add all the coconut and/or coconut oil you would like to you diet, on one condition; you keep the total amount of saturated fat in your diet below 7% of your total calories (with below 5% being optimal). :)
Bottom line?
Don't Go Cuckoo Over Coconut Oil!

Check out Jeff Novick’s article for the complete story:
Coconut Oil