Long life with amaranth

Every expectant mother would like to eat wholesome food because it will have a long term positive effect on the baby and herself. Rebecca Njoki sought Ruth Njeri, a co-director of Incas Health International, on the benefits of amaranth just the right food for every family.

Amaranth is a Greek word meaning ‘everlasting’ or ‘living forever’. There are two groups of Amaranth: plant amaranth and grain amaranth. The plant amaranth is what is locally known as mchicha or terere, the side dish that often accompanies a main meal. The plant amaranth produces black seeds which cannot be milled.

As for the grain amaranth, when planted, it looks like the plant amaranth except that it yields a lot of grains which are either red or golden green. The red grain produces a creamy seed preferable for milling flour.

Nutrition value
The amaranth flour is whole grain, with the germ and the bran. This means when the flour is not processed, it contains the germ which provides vitamins, folic acid, fibre and proteins. It also has the bran which detoxifies, cleans the colon, absorbs cholesterol and prevents cancer.

Fibre is also loaded with antioxidants that protect your cells from disease. Then it contains the starch part that is the energy-giving part.

Amaranth contains the eight essential amino acids, same as in animal products. The amino acids rebuild blood cells. They are essential because the body does not store them, so they need to be reloaded daily.

Vitamins
It also contains vitamins A, C, and E. Vitamin A is important for good eyesight, C is an immune booster and Vitamin E prevents ageing and damage of the skin in form of acne and warts.

Mineral salts
As a whole the grain has calcium that is important for teeth strength, prevention of hair fall-off, prevention of tooth cavities and backaches: problems commonly associated with pregnancy. It also helps in bone and excellent brain development for the foetus. Amaranth has calcium, phosphorous and magnesium. This means calcium is transported by magnesium and it works better with phosphorous. So if the three minerals are combined in one meal, then the food is a must-have for an expectant mother.

Amaranth is also very high in iron. When a mother is expectant, her iron levels tend to drop because she shares her blood with the growing baby. Taking food rich in iron helps prevent dizziness, nausea, fatigue and headaches.
Amaranth contains folic acid as well, which is vital for production and maintenance of new cells as well as reducing the risk of having a baby with spinal cord problems.

The grain has high zinc levels-e-an immune booster. So an expectant mother is able to fight diseases for both herself and her forthcoming baby. The lactating mother is also able to pass the vital nutrients to the baby through breast milk. For men, zinc does not only boost their immunity, but it also enhances the quality of their sperm and prevents impotence.

The plant helps prevent obesity because the carbohydrate in it is not stored as fat in the body.

Taking amaranth
The amaranth flour is suitable for several types of food. It can be used to make chapatis, for thickening or adding to the stew and making porridge.

The seeds can be popped and added to rice or have the seeds boiled and eaten as rice. Moreover, mixing the amaranth flour with other processed ingredients does not reduce the flour’s wholeness.

Taking a cup of amaranth porridge a day, or having a meal which contains amaranth flour helps you capture all your dietary needs in one instance.

‘The grain has high zinc levels-an immune booster. So an expectant mother is able to fight diseases for both herself and her forthcoming baby.’

END: PG20/44-45