Eating Buckwheat May Help Us Live Longer

Eating buckwheat can help improve SIRT1 protein production, which can increase your life span. Researchers, writing in the Journal of Cereal Science, showed that buckwheat in the diet stimulates the production of SIRT1 which reduces chronic inflammation and protects body cells. Both are key steps to extending the human lifespan by preventing chronic diseases such as heart conditions and cancer.

Eating Buckwheat as a Healthy Alternative to Wheat

Buckwheat is a gluten-free alternative to wheat that is safe for people with gluten intolerance. Besides lacking gluten, buckwheat flour has a low glycemic index, which means the body absorbs it more slowly and with greater benefit.

Buckwheat—A Hardy, Fast-Growing Plant

Although the name sounds like “wheat,” buckwheat it is not a grass (like wheat), but comes from the knotweed family, which includes sorrel and rhubarb. Buckwheat is a fast-growing, soil-building cover crop. This hardy upright plant grows to one meter tall (three feet) in just three weeks. Its small white flowers provide plentiful nectar that supports bees and other pollinating insects.

Buckwheat Groats

Buckwheat plants produce large seeds. After removing the hulls, millers grind the triangular seed kernels, called groats, into flour. Buckwheat is central to the cuisines of many cultures. The Japanese mix wheat and buckwheat flours to produce soba noodles, for soups or to eat chilled with a dipping sauce. Eastern Europeans roast whole buckwheat groats to make a popular porridge called kasha.

Buckwheat Nutrition

In addition to being gluten-free, buckwheat contains all the essential amino acids your body needs from the diet. Buckwheat weighs in at just 155 calories per cup, while providing six grams of protein and 33 grams of carbohydrates. The flour is high in trace minerals, and in soluble fibre which lowers blood cholesterol levels.

Cultures throughout the world have long prized buckwheat for its flavour, versatility and its robust nutritional profile. Now, scientists are showing how buckwheat can reduce chronic inflammation and quite probably extend our lives.

 

 
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