Quinoa is an ancient high-nutrient pseudo-grain that is gaining wide recognition. This food has a balanced and adequately proportioned nutrient structure featuring complete proteins, complex carbohydrates with a low glycemic index, dietary fiber, macro-minerals, trace minerals, vitamins and antioxidants. Quinoa can be considered a carbohydrate of choice for the low-carb diet because of its nutritional attributes.
Fat Burning
The underlying principle of the low-carb diet is to accelerate fat burning. The enzyme systems and mechanisms that support fat burning are activated by the consumption of few carbohydrates. The key player in this dietary strategy is insulin, the principle hormone that manages the body's energy. A low-carb diet keeps plasma insulin at low levels because plasma glucose, the activator of insulin release, is maintained at low levels. Body fat and consumed fats are then selectively burned via aerobic respiration.
Quality Protein
Quinoa provides you a better source of quality protein, compared to protein from animal sources. Animal sources of proteins are often accompanied by saturated fats, hormones, antibiotics and numerous other chemical contaminants. Quality proteins contain all of the eight essential amino acids. In adequate amounts, quality proteins assure that the body has the necessary building blocks for enzymes, muscles and other tissues.
Minerals
One point of concern with a low-carb diet is the diminished availability of minerals in the diet, particularly trace minerals. This is often remedied by meat consumption -- but minerals and trace minerals can be obtained from quinoa, without the other undesired nutrients and contaminants from animal sources. Quinoa is rich in such macro-minerals as potassium, magnesium and calcium, and trace minerals such as manganese, copper, selenium, zinc and chromium.
Dietary Fiber and Complex Carbs
Dietary fiber is present in quinoa, but is practically absent from animal sources. Dietary fiber helps prevent hunger by adding bulk to food and slowing down stomach emptying. Dietary fiber also helps control the rate of nutrient absorption from the small intestine. This helps stabilize plasma glucose and curb appetite. By curbing the appetite, dietary fiber helps reduce your daily caloric intake.
The glycemic index of 38 for quinoa is very low compared to values for other carbohydrates, such as white rice at 70 and french fries at 75. Consequently, you can eat more quinoa without interfering with the biochemical mechanisms that support the low-carb diet. High-glycemic-index foods rapidly raise the plasma glucose level, which in turn raises the plasma insulin level. Elevation of plasma insulin facilitates body fat synthesis and storage.
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