BUCKWHEAT, KING OF THE HEALING GRAINS
Buckwheat
has nutritional value as a possible prebiotic (a carbohydrate that prompts the
growth of “friendly” bacteria in the digestive tract). That we knew. Now a new
study shows that buckwheat may also help diabetics lower blood glucose
levels. And when you consider that buckwheat is also rich in omega-3 fatty
acids, B vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids, then you’ve got a food
product that’s primed and ready to become the next health-food superstar. But
there’s one last thing. IT IS A GRAIN WITHOUT GLUTEN, which is very harmful to
the body, which is in most kinds of wheat. (Read how MOST GLUTEN GRAINS are
going to glue up the works, so you can’t get vitamins out of what’s in your
intestines so you’ll understand how most grain flour ages us.)
Buckwheat
is not a type of wheat or even a grain.
In fact, technically it’s a fruit. And because previous studies have shown
that buckwheat may help increase insulin sensitivity, researchers at the
Department of Human Nutritional Sciences at the University of Manitoba (UM) in
Canada devised a study to examine the effects of buckwheat on elevated blood
glucose levels.
The UM
scientists chemically induced type 1 diabetes in about 40 laboratory rats. The
rats were fed either buckwheat extract or a placebo. When their blood glucose
concentrations were measured, the rats given the buckwheat had glucose levels
that were reduced 12 to 19 percent. There was no reduction of glucose
concentration in any of the rats that received only placebo.
The
next step for the UM team will be to duplicate the test in rats induced with
type 2 diabetes. The researchers predict that buckwheat will also lower glucose
concentrations in the type 2 test. This prediction is based in part on previous
studies that have shown how a component of buckwheat called chiro-inositol may
prompt cells to become more insulin-sensitive.
In a
news release issued by the American Chemical Society, the lead author of the
study, Carla G. Taylor, said their research demonstrates that buckwheat may
provide diabetics with a “safe, easy and inexpensive way to lower glucose
levels and reduce the risk of complications.” But until research can be done
with human subjects, the researchers can’t yet estimate just how much buckwheat
would need to be eaten to create a beneficial effect on glucose levels.
RECIPE COLLECTIONS:
LIVE FOOD WEBSITE: http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/buckwheat.html
NATURE LIST RECIPES:
http://gfrecipes.com/buckwheat.txt
REBECCA
WOOD’s KASHA http://www.rwood.com/Recipes/Steamed_Buckwheat.htm
SARABETH’s PANCAKES http://www.sarabeth.com/recipes/recipe.asp?recipe=5
VEGE PARADISE CASSAROLE: http://www.vegparadise.com/highestperch2.html
Whether
you eat buckwheat products to help with glucose concentrations or to reap the
benefits of B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids, there is another potential
health benefit to eating buckwheat. As I said in the June e-Alert, researchers
in Madrid, Spain, used a trial with rats to demonstrate that buckwheat may act
as a prebiotic, encouraging the growth of probiotics - or friendly bacteria -
in the digestive tract.
At
HSI we’ve written many times about the necessity of probiotic organisms. In a
healthy individual, these beneficial bacteria inhabit the digestive tract in
massive numbers, crowding out harmful bacteria, aiding digestion, and
supporting immune function. This healthy “gut flora” produces valuable
nutrients (including certain B vitamins and omega-3 fatty acids), digestive
enzymes like lactase, and immune chemicals that fight harmful bacteria and even
cancer cells.
But
this critical ecosystem is fragile and can be easily disturbed by any number of
factors, including poor nutrition, stress, surgery, parasitic infestation, and
synthetic drugs. When the number or activity level of your good bacteria drops
too low, it opens the door for harmful bacteria to proliferate, allowing the
opportunity for diseases to develop.
Sufficient
amounts of intestinal flora can be maintained through dietary sources such as
cultured products like yogurt and kefir, and lignans such as flaxseed, carrots,
spinach, cauliflower, broccoli, millet, and...
buckwheat!
Allan
Spreen, M.D., asked for his opinion on buckwheat, reminded us of the acronym “BROW,” which can help us remember
which grains pose potential problems for diabetics. Dr. Spreen said: “Barley,
rye, oat, and wheat (BROW) are the high-gluten grains, so buckwheat would be
fine in their stead, as it is not a gluten-containing product. Buckwheat is a
good flour to use for lots of purposes because it is difficult to refine, so to
my knowledge they don’t bother.
“As
an aside, for those who are trying to go ‘gluten-free,’ oat seems to not bother
gluten-sensitive people that much, though it’s in the BROW group. Personally,
I’ve seen lots of people allergic to wheat but able to tolerate both barley and
oat. Unprocessed forms are better, of course.”
A
search on the Internet will quickly turn up several sources that sell
buckwheat. And many of those web sites also provide buckwheat recipes that go beyond
pancakes, waffles, and noodles; the three food items that buckwheat is most
well known for. But if you do whip up some buckwheat waffles, you might try
sweetening them with buckwheat honey, which happens to have much higher
antioxidant levels than typical lighter honeys.
It
seems you just can’t go wrong when you go with the buckwheat! BUT MAPLE syrup
is also not a diabetic sweetner!
SERVE YOUR BUCKWHEAT UP WITH CINNAMON!
If
you want to spice up your holidays, here’s some healthy spice advice. A US Department
of Agriculture study of 60 type 2 diabetics revealed that one gram of cinnamon
taken daily, over a course of 40 days, improved management of blood sugar
levels, as well as triglyceride and cholesterol levels. Some of the subjects
took three grams of cinnamon per day, and others took six grams per day, but
none of the subjects in these two groups showed an increased benefit over the
group that took one gram per day. One gram of cinnamon is less than half a
teaspoon.
Researchers
continued to monitor the study participants after the 40-day trial, and found
that the subjects’ overall blood sugar levels began rising when the cinnamon
intake was discontinued.
Based
on these promising results, the USDA team called for longer-term studies of
cinnamon, which would also include an examination of any potential health
problems that might arise from regular ingestion of cinnamon.
As
for increasing the cinnamon in your diet right now, lead researcher Richard
Anderson cautioned against eating more cinnamon buns or apple pies. “The key is
to add cinnamon to what you would eat normally,” he told New Scientist.com.
In
other words, cinnamon SUGAR won’t provide any benefit to blood sugar levels, in
case you thought you found a loophole.
THE ORIENTAL NOODLE, SOBA! PURE BUCKWHEAT
The
classic recipe is fish soup. Simmere fish two minutes, low heat so it’s clear
broth. Simmer veggies of choice in clarified chicken broth, a few small pieces
cut up ginger there, too. My favorites would be broccoli, chard, carrot,
cabbage, onion, seaweed.
Simmer
soba noodles, 2 oz per person, they fluff up in water. I make it for myself so
it’s a single serving of dry noodles. I buy them on sale at oriental
supermarkets, 3 lbs, keep in bag in fridge. Drain noodles and set in the fish
broth. Add shredded black shitake mushroom, the dried kind. That I keep in a
bag in freezer. Add sesame oil, soy sauce, now throw in the simmered vegetables
with their broth. (Rent the Japanese
movie TAMPOPO which is about ramen soup.) SOBA NOODLES are bought on sale, 3lbs
for $4.99 at a Korean/ Japanese or Chinese grocery. They’re in about twenty
bundles, inside, in a big packg. And I keep them in the fridge in a plastic
bag, tightly wrapped. That pckg will last a few months. Avoid getting a single
bundle as you will fall in love with this soup. I toast sesame seeds once a
month, keep in a box in fridge. Garnish soup with them and use sesame oil and
soy sauce in the finished soup, squeeze of lime juice also. SEE BENT CAN SOUP article. And
the SOUP MIX SECRETS! RECIPE
COLLECTION
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