Bella Adams
Buckwheat is native to India and Nepal (their mountainous regions), where it originated 4,000 years ago. The Greeks brought this culture, the buckwheat family, to our countries.
In practice, buckwheat is used in different ways, but most often it is used in cooking. Its role in the diet is invaluable.
But it is not only its rich composition that makes this cereal so popular. Its uniqueness lies in its unpretentiousness and endurance because a buckwheat stalk planted even on poor soil can grow up to 1.5 m in height and still yield a rich harvest!
Buckwheat groats are made from buckwheat grains, which are not actually cereals. Buckwheat is a distant relative of sorrel (if you look closely at the stems of sorrel, you can see small seeds that are similar in shape to buckwheat). The grains resemble beech tree nuts in shape, so in some European countries it is called “beech wheat”.
The fragrant pink flowers of buckwheat attract many bees, which produce dark, aromatic, slightly bitter buckwheat, honey.
China is the main exporter of buckwheat to the world market, and Japan is the main world importer.
Buckwheat contains 3-5 times more trace elements than other cereals, and it is especially rich in iron and calcium. At the same time, buckwheat does not contain gluten.
Buckwheat is sold in peeled, polished, and roasted forms.
If the seeds are whole, they are called kernels, and if they are split, they are called chaff.
Chemical composition and calorie content of buckwheat
The caloric content per 100 grams of dry buckwheat is 330 kcal, boiled in water – 110 kcal, and boiled in milk – 142-160 kcal.
Nutritional value: proteins (raw – 12.6 g, boiled buckwheat – 4.2 g), fats (3.3 / 1.1 g), slow or complex carbohydrates (64 / 21.3 g), cellulose (1.1 / 0.3 g).
Buckwheat is enriched with slow (complex) carbohydrates – they take a long time to break down in the body, creating a feeling of satiety.
The buckwheat porridge protein contains amino acids such as methionine and lysine (they are absorbed very quickly by the body).
It also contains dietary fiber, starch, mono- and disaccharides, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, and ash.
Vitamins: A (PE), beta-carotene (0.002 mg), B1 (0.43 mg), B2 (0.2 mg), B6 (0.4 mg), B9 (0.032), E (6.65 mg), PP (4.2 mg), PP (Niacin equivalent – 7.2 mg).
Buckwheat porridge is enriched with water-soluble B vitamins. They are needed by the body on a daily basis and are not retained in it.
Buckwheat also contains a small amount of fat-soluble vitamin A (PE) – 0.002 mg. The liver is able to accumulate this vitamin in the body. The daily requirement of A (PE) is 1 mg. The lack of this vitamin in the human body causes skin rashes, premature skin aging, slow skin regeneration and wound healing, weakened immunity, and reduced vision.
Vitamin PP (niacin equivalent) consists of nicotinic acid and nicotinamide. The daily allowance of this substance is 15-25 mg (women need less of it than men). The vitamin promotes vasodilation, improves metabolism, and has a positive effect on the respiratory system. Signs of vitamin deficiency: weakness, dizziness, heartburn, nausea, insomnia, pale complexion, and apathy.
Buckwheat contains many minerals: potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, sulfur, silicon, chlorine, calcium, sodium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, boron, titanium, selenium, chromium, iodine, cobalt, fluorine, molybdenum, nickel.
100 g of buckwheat porridge contains almost half of the daily iron requirement (6.7 mg – 47.66%). It is a leader among other cereals (and not only) in terms of the content of this trace element. It should be noted that Fe obtained from plant products takes longer to absorb than from animals.
The fats contained in buckwheat are equivalent to animal fats, which is why this cereal is often called a meat substitute in various diets.
Useful properties of buckwheat:
Helps to normalize metabolism.
It has a beneficial effect on the gastrointestinal tract and has a beneficial effect on the liver. Porridge can be consumed in case of gastritis, both with high and low acidity, as well as in case of pancreatitis. In this case, you should be especially careful about various additives during cooking.
Flavonoids contained in their composition prevent thrombosis and reduce the risk of cancer. They preserve cells by preventing oxidative processes, which helps prevent cancer.
Due to the content of organic sugar, buckwheat normalizes blood sugar, which is useful for diabetics.
Folic acid strengthens the heart and blood vessels and promotes blood formation. It helps in the treatment of leukemia, anemia, and leukemia.
The fiber contained in buckwheat removes toxins from the body.
It prevents edema and helps with hypertension.
Special therapeutic pillows with buckwheat filling are made to promote sound sleep.
Medicinal products made from buckwheat flowers and leaves heal wounds, treat upper respiratory tract diseases, and help with scarlet fever, and radiation sickness.
It helps in the treatment of rheumatism, and arthritis.
Buckwheat flour is good for various skin diseases. For children, it is an excellent hypoallergenic, soothing, and disinfectant if used as a powder (the flour must be sifted beforehand).
Buckwheat honey is considered very useful. Eating it helps strengthen the heart muscle, and blood vessel walls, and purifies the blood.
Buckwheat is also useful for pregnant women, namely: it helps to cope with pressure drops; it is a prevention of anemia; iron contained in buckwheat enriches the fetus with oxygen; folic acid is important for the normal development of the unborn child, and prevents the development of congenital heart disease; lysine is a building block of muscle tissue; it helps with heartburn, normalizes digestion, and helps with constipation.
Harm and contraindications for buckwheat consumption
Individual intolerance is a contraindication to the use of buckwheat. For everyone else, the porridge is very useful. But everything is good in moderation, so you should not abuse buckwheat. This is especially true for people with chronic heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, and diabetes.
Buckwheat is a very healthy and pleasant-tasting product. Everyone has known it since childhood. For many people, it remains one of their favorite cereals even today. But it’s important to remember that it is only useful in small quantities. Despite the abundance of vitamins and minerals, prolonged consumption can cause a loss of strength.
How to cook buckwheat groats
Do not think that porridge made from cereal and chaff is the only way to cook buckwheat. Since ancient times, buckwheat flour has been milled, but due to the lack of gluten, it was unsuitable for baking bread (“buckwheat bread”, which is now sold in stores, is baked from a mixture of wheat and buckwheat flour), and was used to make pancakes, pancakes, cakes, and dumplings. Buckwheat makes delicious soups and casseroles.
Light, unprocessed kernels are boiled for 30-40 minutes, but nowadays there are mostly steamed kernels on sale – they are dark in color and can be cooked in 15-20 minutes. Porridge for babies has long been cooked from bran.
In addition to the Slavic countries and France, where thin buckwheat pancakes are traditionally baked in Brittany, there is at least one other country where buckwheat in the form of flour is a traditional and very characteristic element of national cuisine. This country is Japan. It produces thin, long, and surprisingly tender buckwheat noodles called soba. It is aerobatics for a chef to be able to make noodles only from buckwheat flour, without adding wheat flour. Japanese chefs have been learning to knead, roll, and cut such noodle dough for years. Soba is served cold or hot with various fillings: vegetables, mushrooms, meat, seafood, or just soy sauce.
Another place where buckwheat pasta is produced is in the Swiss and Italian Alps. This pasta is called “pizzoccheri” in Italian, though it has nothing to do with pizza.
However, it is not only the grains of this plant that are edible: people in many Southeast Asian countries eat buckwheat leaves and shoots – they are fried, put in soups, salads, and marinades, and used as a seasoning for meat dishes.
How to store buckwheat properly
Unlike many other cereals and flours, buckwheat can be stored for a long time without spoiling, because the fats in its composition are resistant to oxidation. The main thing you need to provide for its storage is a dark and cool place.
Buckwheat use in folk medicine and cosmetology
Buckwheat became known to the population hundreds of years ago. It was used both for cooking and medicinal purposes. With the help of cereals, you can relieve inflammation around damaged skin areas. In crushed form, it can draw the pus out of cuts and heal wounds. Folk recipes based on buckwheat can cure diseases such as anemia and anemia.
Not only do the kernels of the product have medicinal properties, but also its leaves. They are used to treat diseases such as radiation sickness, measles, scarlet fever, and cardiovascular diseases.
Buckwheat can help neutralize the negative effects of food poisoning. It is incredibly useful for people with heavy physical activity. It helps to restore strength and fills the body with energy. This is especially true for athletes. With the consumption of cereals, they receive not only vital energy but also trace elements that contribute to muscle gain and increase the body’s endurance.
Buckwheat can have not only a brown color but also a green color. This means that the kernels are not yet fully ripe, but are ready to eat. Green buckwheat also has beneficial properties. It contains all the same nutrients as ripe buckwheat, but its coefficient of usefulness is much higher. This cereal is used to treat diseases such as coronary heart disease, hypertension, anemia, diabetes mellitus, chronic stress, sore throat, and bronchitis. Eating this groat helps to strengthen the walls of blood vessels and significantly reduces the fragility of capillaries.
The cereal has not only a pleasant taste and beneficial properties for the body, but can also benefit human skin. It is often used in the cosmetics industry. It is used to make homemade lotions that help restore skin elasticity. This product is great for oily skin because it removes oily sheen. Face masks are also made on the basis of buckwheat. The mixture perfectly moisturizes and smoothes the skin from fine wrinkles.
The pharmacological world has not ignored buckwheat either. It is used to make baby food for children under one year of age. This baby formula is not only perfectly digested by the baby but also satisfies hunger.
Now you are convinced that the benefits of buckwheat are invaluable for the human body. Eat this cereal regularly and be healthy!
