The Food of Immortality: Amaranth
A Bite-Size Read for Your Health and Your Waistline
It’s a modern day miracle! A plant based food with more nutrition than almost any other grain. Well…maybe not so modern. The Aztecs (yeah, hundreds of years ago) referred to it as “the food of immortality.” No, it’s not quinoa. It’s amaranth! I know you’re probably thinking “Isn’t that banned in other countries?” Don’t be fooled, that amaranth is actually a red food coloring that takes its name from the plant.
What makes it so healthy? Amaranth is absolutely packed with nutrition, offering 14 grams of protein and 5.2 grams of fiber in a 100g serving! While this pseudocereal is not technically a grain, like wheat or oats, it has similar sets of nutrients and is used in similar ways to those grains. Another “healthier” grain with rising acclaim over the last few years is quinoa but let’s compare this superfood to amaranth. Quinoa has about 4.4 grams of protein and 2.8 grams of fiber for every 100 grams. Hmmmm, better than wheat but maybe amaranth is our new answer.
But being macro-rich isn’t enough to give immortality. For that we need micros too. Macros, micros, what are those? Macronutrients are the nutrients your body needs in large amounts (proteins, carbs, and fats); micronutrients are nutrients your body needs in smaller amounts (vitamins and minerals). Along with protein and fiber, amaranth is a great source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, calcium, zinc, copper, B vitamins, and selenium. Now we hear about these a lot, but let’s quickly go over a few of them to show how important they are for our bodies. Manganese is important for brain function, and can even protect against certain neurological conditions. Magnesium can also be useful for head discomfort, as well as help with muscle relaxation, muscle contraction, and DNA synthesis. Iron helps produce blood which, fun fact, is kind of important for us to have.
With all the science out of the way, we can get to the part you’ve been waiting for: how to eat amaranth. Cooking it is super simple and only takes about 15–20 minutes. Just boil some water, add in the amaranth, and let it sit. Like other grains, processing it can impact its antioxidant properties, so you might want to let it sprout before cooking by soaking it in water for a few days. Once cooked, think of amaranth as a healthier option to replace pasta, rice, quinoa and couscous. Or better yet, throw it in some milk in the morning as a cereal replacement. It is called a pseudocereal after all.
Key takeaways: the amaranth banned in other countries is not the food, but actually a food dye named after the plant. Amaranth is actually a great source of micro and macro nutrients, giving us about two ounces of protein per 100 grams (about half a cup). I would venture to say it’s a superior choice to quinoa, and certainly better than wheat and corn. Will it make you immortal? Probably not, but it’s a great way to change up your routine by adding in a healthy new food!
