Superfood Series: Is Quinoa All its cracked up to be?

The term ‘superfood’ has become a common concept in our everyday conversations. What makes a super food so super, and do we have to eat these magical foods to stay healthy? Can we eat a variety of ‘normal’ foods and get similar health benefits? Let s take a closer look to see what superfoods are all about.  All types of food provide our bodies with a variety of nutrients. We classify the nutrients in two groups namely macro and micro nutrients.

Macronutrients are nutrients that contribute to the energy value or content of the food and appear in large quantities in foods. There are 3 macronutrients: carbohydrates, proteins and fats. Micronutrients do not contribute to the energy content of the food and appear in small quantities in foods and are known as vitamins and minerals.

Sufficient quantities of macro and micronutrients are vital for good health. Superfoods become super when the food contains  an abundance of micronutrients in large quantities that are deemed good for our health. Let’s compare the popular health claims made for some superfoods and then check how each of these superfoods compares to a ‘normal’ counterpart in relation to their macro and micronutrient composition.

Quinoa:

Health claim
• Contains more protein than any other grain
• Good source of magnesium and fibre (more so than other grains) 2

Quinoa vs Oats (per 100g uncooked) 

Conclusion: Per 100g uncooked product, oats beats quinoa in terms of protein and fibre. Oats also contains all 9 essential amino acids in amounts slightly higher than that of quinoa. Quinoa does contain higher amounts of magnesium, but at that price one could rather opt to eat more oats or find an alternative magnesium food source!