May is the month when Mexico’s cool evenings and nights of April give way to longer days and higher temperatures at night. Small rain and warm rays of the sun create ideal conditions for the germination of small grains of amaranth, which then begin their journey to the blue sky. May is also a month when special attention is paid to raising awareness about gluten intolerance and highlighting the importance and benefits of a gluten-free diet. So it’s time to learn about tasty and healthy amaranth!
The name amaranth comes from the Greek language and means “the one that never dries”. This is the most accurate term, because amaranth flowers do not lose their bright colors even after collecting and drying. However, amaranth gained fame and recognition not because of the beautiful appearance of the flowers, but through its nutritional properties. Amaranth has been known for 6-8 thousand years and was one of the main Aztec crops. The Aztecs not only cultivated and ate amaranth. For this population, amaranth was an important element of religious rites. Amaranth combined with honey was used to create images of deities used during religious ceremonies. After the ceremonial formation of carvings, they were worshiped, and then the Aztecs broke the carvings, distributed pieces among themselves and ate them. However, the Spaniards who came to the New World did their best to stop all pagan rituals. So amaranth has become a forbidden plant. Fortunately, complete liquidation of this culturally important and fast-growing pseudo-grain proved impossible.
To date, a small amount of scientific research has been conducted into the health benefits of amaranth, but three undeniable features have been described in detail.
The first very important feature of amaranth
is the high content of wholesome protein. 13-14% of amaranth is a protein, this percentage easily breaks through the amount in popular cereals. In addition, it is a wholesome protein, because amaranth contains lysine, which is lacking in most other cereals. What’s more, Mexican scientists in 2008 discovered the presence of a bioactive protein, a lunasin-like protein, which had already been found in soybeans. Lunasin-like protein has amazing properties for preventing cancer, reducing inflammation associated with diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and heart attack. This bioactive amaranth protein has proved to be more effective than lunasin-like soy protein, because to achieve the same effect smaller amounts of this protein are needed from amaranth than from soybeans.
The second health-promoting feature of amaranth
is the fact that it positively affects heart and cardiovascular health. Many studies conducted over the past 14 years show that amaranth lowers blood cholesterol. Canadian scientists have found that it is the richness of amaranth phytosterols that causes the reduction of LDL-cholesterol, which is this bad form. Then, Russian researchers wanted to check the effect of amaranth on the results of people with already developed diseases of the circulatory system. It turned out that this pseudo-grain not only lowers LDL-cholesterol, but also total cholesterol, blood triglycerides and reduces hypertension.
Another very important feature of amaranth:
it does not contain gluten. Gluten is contained in most cereals commonly used for baking. Thanks to the presence of gluten, the bread is elastic and risen. However, more and more people are allergic or intolerant to gluten. Celiac disease is a disease that causes a severe gluten-induced autoimmune reaction. The result is the destruction of intestinal villi and disruption of digestion and absorption of nutrients. As I said, May is a month when there is a lot of talk about celiac disease. Amaranth fits perfectly in the diet for people affected by celiac disease. In addition, more and more people notice an improvement in well-being when reducing or eliminating gluten.
