I advise you to eat buckwheat as your staple food more often. One reason is enough!

When it comes to healthy staple foods, buckwheat is definitely on the list! Buckwheat originated in my country and has a 4,000-year history of cultivation.

As a "star staple food", buckwheat has been favored by more and more people in recent years. Using it to make buckwheat rice, buckwheat porridge, and buckwheat noodles are good choices whether during the fat loss period or in daily diet.

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So what are the benefits of eating buckwheat for our health? Compared with other staple foods, what is the difference between buckwheat and other staple foods? Let's learn about it today!

What are the benefits of eating buckwheat regularly?

Buckwheat is a herbaceous plant of the Polygonaceae family, also known as black wheat and buckwheat. The edible part is the seeds, and it is usually eaten as a grain. If buckwheat is taken as part of the staple food, it can not only provide us with richer nutrition, but also has many health benefits.

1. Maintain intestinal health

Buckwheat's dietary fiber content ranks among the top among staple foods, more than 10 times that of rice, and higher than corn, black rice, rhubarb rice, millet, sorghum rice, etc. It can be called a "laxative staple food."

Buckwheat is also rich in resistant starch, which is also a kind of dietary fiber and has prebiotic function. Resistant starch cannot be absorbed and utilized in the small intestine, but will be fermented by microbial flora in the colon, increasing the level of short-chain fatty acids and lowering intestinal pH, inhibiting the growth and reproduction of pathogenic bacteria, while promoting the growth of intestinal probiotics, which is beneficial for preventing colon diseases and maintaining intestinal health.

2. Stabilize blood sugar

Buckwheat has a GI value of 54 (GI value is an effective indicator of the blood sugar response caused by food after a meal. The higher the value, the less conducive it is to blood sugar control). It is a low GI food and is beneficial to blood sugar control. The flavonoids in buckwheat also have the effect of stabilizing blood sugar. In particular, bitter buckwheat has a higher content of flavonoids and contains sugar alcohol molecules, which play an important role in insulin signal transduction.

Some researchers took patients with type 2 diabetes as research subjects and divided them into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group ate buckwheat as a staple food for breakfast, while the control group ate wheat as a staple food for breakfast. They all ate a standardized lunch 4 hours after breakfast, and their blood sugar was tested after both meals. The results showed that the postprandial blood sugar of the experimental group was more stable. Other studies have mentioned that buckwheat dietary intervention can help improve blood sugar levels. It is recommended to eat at least 40 grams a day and persist for at least 12 weeks for better results.

Additionally, improving blood sugar levels can help with weight loss and weight management.

3. Helps control blood pressure

Buckwheat dietary intervention can reduce systolic blood pressure. Buckwheat is rich in potassium, 401 mg/100 g, nearly four times that of rice, which is beneficial for controlling blood pressure. In addition, buckwheat also contains flavonoids such as rutin, γ-aminobutyric acid, buckwheat protein and its peptides generated by enzymatic hydrolysis, which are helpful for improving blood pressure levels.

4. Regulate blood lipids

Buckwheat flavonoids can reduce the total cholesterol content in the blood and regulate lipid metabolism. Animal experiments have also shown that buckwheat quercetin can significantly regulate dyslipidemia in rats fed a high-fat diet, improve lipid accumulation, and improve physiological indicators related to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.

5. Anti-oxidant and Anti-inflammatory

The phenolic compounds and flavonoids in buckwheat have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. They help the body remove excess free radicals and reduce the body's inflammatory response. In addition, the flavonoid content of buckwheat increases after baking. The total flavonoid content of cooked sweet buckwheat increases by 73.53%, and the total flavonoid content of cooked black buckwheat increases by 95.05%.

In terms of buckwheat intake, when we usually cook rice, we can just grab a handful and replace part of the rice. A handful of buckwheat for a female friend is about 25 grams.

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In addition, buckwheat is also very friendly to people who are allergic to gluten, because buckwheat does not contain gluten, and people who are allergic to gluten can eat it with confidence.

How is buckwheat better than rice?

According to the data in the "Chinese Food Composition Table", although the calories provided by buckwheat and the rice we often eat are not much different, buckwheat is richer than rice in protein, dietary fiber, B vitamins, vitamin E, and minerals such as calcium, iron, zinc, potassium, and magnesium.

Some nutritional comparisons between buckwheat and rice

In addition to the above nutrients we are familiar with, buckwheat is also rich in flavonoids, especially rutin, which is vitamin P (not a vitamin, but a bioflavonoid), which accounts for 50%~90% of the total flavonoids in buckwheat. This ingredient can reduce capillary fragility and improve microcirculation.

Which is better, sweet buckwheat or bitter buckwheat?

Some people may ask, which buckwheat variety is better?

The buckwheat on the market now usually includes sweet buckwheat (common buckwheat) and bitter buckwheat (Tatar buckwheat). The sweet buckwheat fruits are larger, with obvious triangular edges, and a smooth and shiny surface and edges; the bitter buckwheat fruits are smaller, with unclear triangular edges, a rough and dull surface, wavy edges, and a deep concave line in the center.

Picture: Taken by myself

According to the literature, there is little difference in the nutritional content of carbohydrates, protein, fat, etc. between the two. The crude starch content is about 70%, the crude protein content is about 15%, and the crude fat content is about 2.4%.

There are obvious differences in the content of flavonoids and polyphenols between the two. The total flavonoids content of sweet buckwheat is 8.23 ​​mg/100g, while that of bitter buckwheat is as high as 125.33 mg/100g, nearly 15 times that of sweet buckwheat; the total polyphenol content of sweet buckwheat is 40.07 mg/g, while that of bitter buckwheat is 107.24 mg/g, 2.68 times that of sweet buckwheat.

Compared with the two, buckwheat has higher nutritional value, but because of its high content of flavonoids, it also has a bit bitter taste. If you can accept the taste of buckwheat, it is recommended to eat more buckwheat.

Summarize:

Buckwheat is a very good staple food. When you cook rice every day, just grab a handful of it to replace part of the rice. It can help you regulate blood sugar, blood pressure, and blood lipids, and can also help you lose weight and prevent constipation. It's really "considerate". Do you like sweet buckwheat or bitter buckwheat?

References

[1] Wang Shixia, Liu Shan, Li Xiaorui, Liu Sancai, Yao Yang, Ren Guixing, Yun Tingting, Qi Wentao. Comparative analysis of nutritional and functional active ingredients of sweet buckwheat and bitter buckwheat[J]. Food Industry Science and Technology, 2015, 36(21): 78-82

[2] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[3] Jin Hong. Effect of buckwheat pretreatment methods on the extraction of bioflavonoids[J]. China Food Industry, 2021(16):120-125

[4] Harold Mackey, Food and Cooking: Vegetables, Fruits, Spices, and Grains. Translated by Cai Chengzhi. Beijing Fine Arts Photography Publishing House. August 2013.

[5] Yang Qin, Gong Laijin, Li He. Research on the mechanism of action of bitter buckwheat hypoglycemic active molecules[J]. China Food Industry, 2023(21):108-110

[6] Li Jingshu, He Dongliang. Research progress on the main physiological functions and applications of buckwheat[J]. Agriculture and Technology, 2022, 42(19): 32-34

[7] Wang Yan, Cao Yan, Zhu Ruifang, Feng Yaoqing, Han Shifan, Kou Lihong. A systematic review of the effects of buckwheat dietary intervention on blood glucose, blood lipids and blood pressure[J]. General Nursing, 2023, 21(1): 57-65

[8] Zhou Xiaoli, Chen Yingjiao, Zhou Yiming, Li Zongjie. Structure, function and mechanism of action of buckwheat antihypertensive peptide[J]. Shanghai Journal of Agriculture, 2014, 30(6): 120-122

[9] Wang Xiaoping, Wang Wenyan, Xing Xiaodong, et al. Research progress on the effective components and pharmacological effects of buckwheat [J/OL]. Journal of Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, 1-12 [2024-02-28]. https://doi.org/10.14066/j.cnki.cn21-1349/r.2023.0707.

Author: Xue Qingxin, registered nutritionist

Review丨Zhang Yu, Researcher, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Doctor of Medicine