Buckwheat

[helwen]

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.

Comments

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

Prince_Hring taught me a lot about buckwheat that I did not know. Neat stuff.
Do you need me to send you Vietnamese rice paper sheets to use for wrappers?

[fosveny.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing this. I bruise like a peach, I'm going to look into this.

[gardengirl6.livejournal.com]

Please just recall that Wikipedia is an unmoderated forum, and that anyone can add any "information" at any time. Just... cross-check your sources before trusting that data, please? It'd stink to take action to improve health that proved detrimental....

[freya46.livejournal.com]

That sounds very interesting. :-)

[helwen.livejournal.com]

But of course

[helwen.livejournal.com]

That could be interesting, thanks!

[helwen.livejournal.com]

If I may ask, do you take alleve or other anti-inflammatories regularly? Everyone has different reasons for reactions, but since I stopped taking Alleve, my bruises heal more quickly (bruises are inevitable with self-defense classes)

[loosecanon.livejournal.com]

It looks like we won't make Crestfallen ( and I am ) but I'll get a parcel up to you soon.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

ooo, she's being clever with the words :D

Thanks for the upcoming parcel; sorry you won't be able to come up though :(

Oh, and not at Yule either, I guess, since you'll be flying. *sigh*

Although since we still don't have a fully operational bathroom upstairs, it's probably just as well... still. We're going to try to make it to Concordia's de/in-vestiture - don't know if you were planning on going to that or not.

[helwen.livejournal.com]

Which has arrived! The Roasted Chana are Nom! Thank you *hugs*

I'll have to experiment with the chickpea flour.... the wraps look like they are stiff -- do I soak them or steam them? Thx!