While it’s important to watch your cholesterol levels, another important measure is your triglycerides. Triglycerides are fats stored in fat cells that are released when your body needs some energy. Like cholesterol, a high level of triglycerides in your body could narrow your arteries and lead to heart disease or stroke.
Lowering your triglyceride levels requires the same methods as lowering your cholesterol, such as engaging in regular exercise, avoiding refined carbs and sugar, and choosing healthy fats. Replacing your refined grains with whole grains like quinoa could improve your blood lipid profile. A cup of cooked quinoa has 8 grams of protein, but it’s the 5 grams of fiber that might help you manage your cholesterol profile.
A 2022 review in the Journal of Herbal Medicine did not find that adding quinoa to your diet significantly improves your HDL cholesterol or lowers your LDL or total cholesterol. However, it did find that eating quinoa every day can improve your cholesterol profile by lowering your triglyceride levels.
Quinoa’s nutrients can improve your metabolic health
Metabolic syndrome is a combination of health conditions such as abdominal obesity, high triglycerides, and high blood sugar that increase your risk of chronic health problems. A 2017 article in Current Developments in Nutrition studied the effects of quinoa on body composition and blood lipids in people who were obese or overweight. For 12 weeks, one group ate 25 grams of quinoa a day, another ate 50 grams of quinoa, and a third group served as a control. Although quinoa didn’t alter body composition or cholesterol levels, the 50-gram quinoa group saw their triglyceride levels drop by 7.5 points. Eating quinoa for 12 weeks (in both groups) also reduced the prevalence of metabolic syndrome.
Quinoa showed significant improvements on cholesterol in a 2019 article in Food Chemistry. The researchers fed quinoa to obese lab mice with diabetes and found that this high-protein carb lowered total and LDL cholesterol to levels in healthy mice. Quinoa also reduced markers of inflammation and liver fat.
Quinoa has potential for other health benefits
Quinoa is a good source of iron, magnesium, zinc, and B vitamins. You might be impressed with quinoa’s essential amino acid profile, providing 20% or more of your daily value for histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, threonine, and tryptophan. Athletes will appreciate the 629 milligrams of arginine to improve blood flow and enhance exercise performance.
Quinoa has some unexpected health benefits, according to a 2021 review in Food Frontiers. Quinoa has lunasin, which is a bioactive peptide that might prevent cancer, though research hasn’t yet shown an anticancer effect of quinoa in humans. Peptides and flavonols in quinoa have antioxidant properties that fight free radicals that often lead to conditions like heart disease and Alzheimer’s. Quinoa’s polysaccharides, phenolic compounds, and peptides can reduce inflammation that often compromises the immune system. The nutrients in quinoa can control blood sugar levels by slowing the enzymes that break down carbohydrates. The fiber and protein also slow digestion to prevent blood sugar spikes.
Quinoa might also be an important food if you want to lose weight. Its polysaccharides and protein support muscle growth while reducing the absorption of fat in your food. One bioactive peptide might have more ACE-inhibiting potential than captopril, which is a medication used for controlling blood pressure. However, quinoa and its peptide haven’t shown the ability to reduce blood pressure in human studies.