Buckwheat

In cutting way back on wheat/gluten, I'm checking out buckwheat. A new online acquaintance corrected me when I said it was a berry and therefore not a grain. Whole wheat is called a berry too, you see. But I did a bit more research -- not much yet, just googled and found info on Wikipedia -- and find that it is in fact _not_ a grain.

Buckwheat Info at Wikipedia

Interesting excerpt from the Wikipedia article:

Buckwheat contains a glucoside named rutin, a medicinal chemical that strengthens capillary walls, reducing hemorrhaging in people with high blood pressure and increasing microcirculation in people with chronic venous insufficiency.[31] Dried buckwheat leaves for tea were manufactured in Europe under the brand name "Fagorutin."

Buckwheat contains D-chiro-inositol, a component of the secondary messenger pathway for insulin signal transduction found to be deficient in Type II diabetes and Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). It is being studied for use in treating Type II diabetes.[32] Research on D-chiro-inositol and PCOS has shown promising results.[33][34]

A buckwheat protein has been found to bind cholesterol tightly. It is being studied for reducing plasma cholesterol in people with hyperlipidemia.[35]

So now I'm interested in including buckwheat not just because it doesn't have gluten in it, but because of the possibilities for blood pressure, diabetes, and binding cholesterol. I don't have the first two concerns but other folks I know do. It seems like a useful foodstuff.

On the cholesterol front, I do have to work on lowering my LDL, so this seems like a good addition to the diet.

[EDIT]: Another tidbit from the wiki article is that the leaves are used as a tea. So I think I'll harvest some leaves from the buckwheat we're growing, and try drying them for use as tea.