The United Nations declared 2013 ‘The International Year of the Quinoa” and since then, the word ‘quinoa’ (pronounced ‘keen’-‘wa’) has popped up more and more as a high nutritional quality, gluten-free pseudo-cereal grain alternative. Quinoa’s quick rise in popularity is evident through a continued surge in new health food products that incorporate the ingredient, as well as the consumer sales of quinoa that continue to increase at an astonishingly fast rate. Quinoa’s unique ability to deliver a complete plant protein profile, as well as a high abundance of vitamins, minerals and macronutrients, earns it the title of ‘Superfood’.
So what exactly does the word superfood mean? By definition, superfoods are foods or plants that are high in a number of nutrients, considered to be very beneficial for your health. Often this can tie in with functional foods – considered to benefit your health beyond that of basic nutrition, possibly for the treatment of health conditions, or of benefit to disease states, etc.
So what nutrients in quinoa give it its superfood status? This series of blog posts will break down the key nutrients found in Quinta Quinoa, and more importantly, discuss how these nutrients act to benefit YOU!
Let’s start with some of the micro-nutrients in quinoa… Zinc first.
Zinc is an essential mineral that is found naturally in some foods, but is also added to foods, and is available as a supplement (like most nutrients). Zinc’s main function in the body is cellular metabolism. This includes, but is not limited to, immune function, wound healing, DNA synthesis and cell division. Particularly necessary during pregnancy, childhood and adolescence, zinc works to support normal growth and development.
Here’s something that’s not so commonly known… zinc is required for two of our five senses: taste and smell!
So how much zinc do we need a day? It depends greatly on your age and health status, and can be anywhere between 2-12mg. The best way to find out how much zinc you need is to consult a Recommended Dietary Allowance table, or talk to your local health care provider.
Now back to quinoa…
Imported quinoa, mainly from Peru and Bolivia, on average contains 20-30 ug/g of zinc. At Katan Kitchens, we’ve been growing and researching quinoa in Ontario for the past four years, and through nutrient analysis of our crop, we have discovered Quinta quinoa grown in Ontario has a noticeably higher nutrient profile than quinoa grown in South America. Our Quinta Quinoa is ‘High in Zinc’ – one 50 g serving of Quinta Quinoa gives you 23% of your daily requirement for Zinc!
We believe a combination of our climate in Ontario, the amazing nutrient-rich Ontario soils, as well as the unique, non-GMO, naturally-bred variety of quinoa seed we are growing have contributed to the superior zinc measures found in Quinta.
Sources:
http://www.fao.org/quinoa-2013/what-is-quinoa/nutritional-value/en/
