The Paleolithic Diet, also known as the Caveman or Paleo Diet, proposes that mankind's healthiest eating habits ended more than 10,000 years ago. Proponents of the Paleo Diet believe the advent of crops and cattle ushered in an era of eating food that conflicts with our genetic makeup. But where does that leave some of the foods many people revere as "ancient," such as the Incan grain quinoa?
Theory
Proponents of the Paleo Diet theorize that the foods humans ate more than 10,000 years ago were not only unprocessed, but free from the breeding practices which sometimes de-emphasize complex nutrients in favor of easier, mass-produced processing. Once humans began farming foods rather than gathering them from the wild, the DNA structure of many foods began to change -- while the needs of human beings didn't. Paleo Diet followers believe that "eating like cavemen" may help to lower the risk of serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and obesity.
Quinoa's Place in the Paleo Diet
The 2002 book "Paleo Diet," by Loren Cordain, explicitly puts quinoa and other grains on the "foods to avoid" list. Grains weren't an important part of the hunter-gatherer's diet because cereal plants have to be processed in order to render the food edible. The Paleo Diet, therefore, de-emphasizes both conventional cereal grains such as barley, wheat and rice, as well as grains derived from seeds, including amaranth, quinoa and buckwheat. Meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds form the bulk of the Paleo Diet.
Potential Drawbacks of Paleo Diet
As with the popular Atkins Diet, which also focuses on high-protein, low-carbohydrate meal plans, people who try the Paleo Diet must decide if the de-emphasis of the complex carbohydrates found in "forbidden" grains and legumes might prove to be a health detriment. The dietary fiber content of legumes and grains such as quinoa have been linked to healthy digestion and a lower incidence of diabetes and heart disease, according to MayoClinic.com.
Nutritional Benefits of Quinoa
If you ultimately decide that the Paleo Diet is too limiting, consider incorporating quinoa into your meal plan. The grain supplies about 10 percent of the recommended daily allowance, or RDA, of protein, complex carbohydrates and dietary fiber. It supplies all of the essential amino acids, a trait usually found only in animal proteins, notes the nonprofit nutritional web site World's Healthiest Foods. A serving of quinoa grains contains only 160 calories, 8.9 mg sodium and 2.5 g fat. Most of the grain's fat content comes from "good" omega-3, monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats, rather than saturated fat. Cooked quinoa grains provide about half of your daily manganese needs, and at least 10 percent of the RDA of riboflavin, vitamin E, copper, iron, magnesium, phosphorous and zinc.
Quinoa as Vegetable
People who grow quinoa for its seeds also have access to the spinach-like leaves provided by the young plant. The leaves are richer in protein, including amino acids such as lyseine, than many other vegetables, and are also a source of minerals, according to a United Nations report.
References
- Journal of the American Nutraceutical Association; "The Nutritional Characteristics of a Contemporary Diet Based Upon Paleolithic Food Groups; Summer, 2002
- Creighton University Medical Center: The Paleolithic Diet: Paleodiet Foodlist
- The World's Healthiest Foods: Quinoa
- MayoClinic.com: High-Fiber Foods
- United Nations University: A Lesser-Known Grain, Chenopodium Quinoa: Review of the Chemical Composition of its Edible Parts
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