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The World’s Healthiest Food and Why You Should Eat More of It
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8. Low Glycemic Index
When people talk about the glycemic index of foods, they are referring to how quickly a food will raise blood sugar levels in the body. Foods that are high on the glycemic index are known to stimulate the appetite and even be a contributing factor towards obesity. In fact, high glycemic foods have been linked to many chronic diseases such as heart disease and diabetes. Quinoa is low of the glycemic index with a rating of 53. Quinoa is still fairly high in carbohydrates, so you do need to consume this food in moderation.
SEE ALSO: 15 Reasons Why You Need to Eat More Chia Seeds (Number 8 is Amazing)
9. Gluten Free
According to a recent survey, about 35 percent of the people in the US are trying to avoid or minimize their gluten intake. A gluten free diet can be healthy, as long as it is based on foods that are naturally gluten free, rather than the consumption of processed foods that use fillers, such as refined starches, as a substitute for gluten. This only makes them junk food and it doesn’t matter if it’s regular junk food or gluten free junk food, it’s still, well, let’s be honest, crap. Quinoa is the perfect ingredient for those looking for a gluten free diet. Using quinoa instead of refined potato, corn, or rice flour can dramatically increase the nutritional value of the foods you eat, while avoiding gluten at the same time.
10. Improves Overall Metabolic Health
Since quinoa has so many beneficial nutrients, consuming quinoa could lead to improvements in your metabolic health. One study found that consuming quinoa rather than the typical gluten free pastas and breads significantly reduced blood sugar, triglyceride levels, and insulin levels in humans. Another study involved rats and it found that when quinoa was added to their normal high fructose diet, that the quinoa seemed to completely inhibit the negative health effects of the fructose.
One of the great things about quinoa is that it tastes so good, goes well with many foods, and is super easy to add to any diet.
Always rinse or soak your quinoa with fresh water to get rid of the saponins which can add a bitter flavor to your quinoa. Quinoa is as easy to make as rice and you can use it in place of rice in almost any dish.
What are you waiting for?? Get some quinoa and start adding some to your diet today!
References:
Ed Jackson
Aug 5, 2015 at 1:38 pm
Quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat and flax seeds can be cooked easily in a rice cooker, and steaming broccoli, cauliflower, red cabbage in the top with some crushed garlic, hot red peppers and mushrooms added 2-3 minutes before the finish. Oboy !!!
Gabe
Aug 7, 2015 at 4:21 pm
Great recipe, Ed. I might add a little coconut oil and curry.
Ed Jackson
Aug 7, 2015 at 6:37 pm
I forgot to addthe sea salt, and the rosemary and parsley, and a little curry is good as well as coconut oil. I’ve recently added some hemp seeds to the quinoa, etc., which gives it a great flavor also. Good, healthy and easy with the cooker/steamer.
Gabe
Aug 7, 2015 at 7:24 pm
Thank you, Ed. The best of health.
Ed Jackson
Aug 8, 2015 at 5:03 pm
I forgot the purple potatoes that I cut into quarters and drop in the cooker first. They start cooking while I cut up the broc, caul. and red cabbage. I add those about 6-8 min. in, then chop up the peppers, mushrooms and garlic/onion. Those go into the steamer with about 5 minutes to go. Sea salt, rosemary, parsley and curry to taste. Stay healthy, my friend.
Gabe
Aug 8, 2015 at 7:53 pm
Yum yum! You’d be a good neighbor, Ed.