{"id":2828,"date":"2025-02-19T07:25:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-18T20:25:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/exploring-the-health-advantages-of-quinoa.html"},"modified":"2025-02-19T07:25:31","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T20:25:31","slug":"exploring-the-health-advantages-of-quinoa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/exploring-the-health-advantages-of-quinoa.html","title":{"rendered":"Exploring the Health Advantages of Quinoa"},"content":{"rendered":"

A few centuries ago, when the Incas were expanding their territory from Ecuador to Chile, their warriors relied on \u201cwar balls\u201d \u2014 a rolled-up blend of\u00a0quinoa and animal fat\u00a0\u2014 to keep their energy up during long marches. (Building an empire isn\u2019t easy.)<\/p>\n

Because quinoa was easy to grow and packed with nutrients, the Incas called it\u00a0chisaya mama, or \u201cmother of grains,\u201d and they depended heavily on it for survival.<\/p>\n

They were wrong about the \u201cgrain\u201d part \u2014 quinoa isn\u2019t a type of grass, so it\u2019s technically a\u00a0pseudocereal, not a grain \u2014 but they were right about the nutritional benefits.<\/p>\n

(Fun fact:<\/strong> Quinoa is an ingredient in Shakeology!)<\/p>\n

And the Incas weren\u2019t the only ones ahead of the game on quinoa. In 1993, NASA researchers \u2014 who were looking for\u00a0ways to keep astronauts healthy on long journeys\u00a0\u2014 suggested quinoa as sustenance\u00a0for long-term space missions\u00a0because it\u2019s rich in protein, versatile enough to mix with other foods, and easy to grow in controlled environments.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Quinoa Nutrition Facts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Okay, so quinoa is popular among ancient warriors and astronauts, but why should\u00a0you\u00a0add quinoa to your diet?<\/p>\n

Well, if you\u2019ve ever turned on a computer, you\u2019ve probably seen countless articles about the incredible health benefits of \u201csuperfoods.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the thing: There\u2019s no official designation or criteria for superfoods; they\u2019re really just healthy, nutrient-dense foods, like salmon, kale, nuts, and, of course, quinoa.<\/p>\n

Here are four\u00a0reasons to make this superfood\u00a0a staple in your\u00a0meal plan:<\/p>\n

1. It\u2019s a complete protein<\/h3>\n

\"Plate<\/p>\n

One\u00a0cup of cooked quinoa\u00a0contains eight\u00a0grams of protein, which is nearly double the amount found in rice and other grain-like foods.<\/p>\n

And there\u2019s even better news for vegetarians \u2014 quinoa is a\u00a0complete protein source.<\/p>\n

So\u2026 what\u2019s a \u201ccomplete\u201d protein?<\/p>\n

There are nine\u00a0essential amino acids\u00a0your body can\u2019t produce, which means you need to get those amino acids from your diet. Complete proteins contain all nine of those essential amino acids.<\/p>\n

Meat and eggs are complete proteins, but it can be a bit trickier to find meatless sources \u2014 so if you\u2019ve been stuck in a tofu-and-tempeh rut, quinoa can help you switch it up.<\/p>\n

2. It\u2019s rich in lysine<\/h3>\n

One of those essential\u00a0amino acids in quinoa is lysine, which may help your\u00a0muscles recover more quickly after a workout. So how much lysine should you be eating? Whip out your calculator:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • First, you\u2019ll need to divide your weight in pounds by 2.2 to find your weight in kilograms. If you weigh 150 pounds, that\u2019s approximately 68 kilograms.<\/li>\n
  • You need at least\u00a00.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight\u00a0\u2014 and even more, if you\u2019re active.\u00a0(But for the sake of keeping it simple, we\u2019ll do the math based on that baseline of 0.8 grams.) If you weigh 68 kilograms, that means you need around 55 grams of protein.<\/li>\n
  • The Institute of Medicine recommends getting about\u00a051 milligrams of lysine\u00a0per gram of protein you eat. So if you\u2019re eating 55 grams of protein, you need around 2,800 milligrams of lysine.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    A cup of quinoa contains just under\u00a0500 milligrams. So does that mean you should scarf down six cups of quinoa in a day?<\/p>\n

    Well, no \u2014 at 222 calories per cup of quinoa, that would add up to more than 1,300 calories.<\/p>\n

    But it\u00a0does\u00a0give you one more meatless option for getting extra lysine into your diet.<\/p>\n

    3. It\u2019s a great source of fiber<\/h3>\n

    \"Variety<\/p>\n

    Fiber is an important part of any weight-loss plan \u2014 it can boost digestive health and\u00a0help you feel fuller. A cup of quinoa contains five grams of fiber, giving it a serious edge over starches like\u00a0white rice\u00a0(0.6 grams per cup) and\u00a0whole wheat bread\u00a0(1.9 grams per slice).<\/p>\n

    4. It\u2019s practically a multivitamin<\/h3>\n

    Okay, that\u2019s an exaggeration. But for something that tastes a lot like carbo-licious pasta, quinoa is a great source of a few key vitamins and minerals:<\/p>\n

    One more vitamin-y perk: Quinoa contains 3.5 grams of fat, and most of it is the\u00a0healthy, unsaturated fats\u00a0that\u00a0help your body absorb fat-soluble vitamins.<\/p>\n

    (Pro tip:<\/strong> Need ideas on how to\u00a0eat right\u00a0and get fit? Download our free \u201c100 Ways to Lose Weight<\/strong>\u201d guide\u00a0here.)<\/p>\n

    How to Cook Quinoa<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    \"Woman<\/p>\n

    Ready to make quinoa a staple in your diet? Here\u2019s\u00a0how to make perfect, fluffy quinoa\u00a0every time:<\/p>\n

    1.<\/strong> Use a fine mesh strainer to rinse.<\/p>\n

    2.<\/strong> Put one cup of water and two cups of quinoa in a pot.<\/p>\n

    3.<\/strong> Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to bring it down to a simmer; cover for 15\u201320 minutes.<\/p>\n

    4.<\/strong> DON\u2019T lift up the cover to see what\u2019s going on \u2014 let your quinoa cook in peace.<\/p>\n

    5.<\/strong> Remove from heat and fluff with a fork.<\/p>\n

    Quinoa Recipes<\/h2>\n

    Now that you\u2019ve mastered how to cook quinoa, here are a few recipes to get you started:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A few centuries ago, when the Incas were expanding their territory from Ecuador to Chile, their warriors relied on \u201cwar balls\u201d \u2014 a rolled-up blend of\u00a0quinoa and animal fat\u00a0\u2014 to keep their energy up during long marches. (Building an empire isn\u2019t easy.) Because quinoa was easy to grow and packed with nutrients, the Incas called […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2829,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fitness"],"blocksy_meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2828"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2830,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2828\/revisions\/2830"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2829"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}