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What’s inside amaranth seeds?
Natural amaranth seeds should not be discard after removing the seeds because they are highly nutritious and can be consumed after being roasted or boiled. Inset is a snack made out of dodo seeds. PHOTO BY PATRICK SSERUYANGE
At first, a few people strolled to their stall, during the Full Woman Health Camp on February 5. With time, the numbers grew at Nutreal Limited stall as people dashed to this stall that was offering free samples of their products. It was the stall that showcased different foodstuffs made out of the amaranth seeds locally known as dodo.
When Justus, 25 was offered some hot porridge among the products, he just could not believe that he was taking pure amaranth porridge. “It tastes a little bit like soya and has a smooth feel in the mouth,” he said.
The whole idea about someone making foof stuffs out of dodo seeds was intriguing for many who attended the second Full Woman Health Camp at the Kampala Serena Hotel.
When amaranth is harvested, many people concentrate on consuming the leaves and discard the tiny seeds. Food scientists say however that the amaranth seeds are more nutritious than the leaves since they have additional nutrients which other cereals and legumes do not have.
“Most people eat dodo leaves only but the best part of the vegetable is the grain itself which has high proteins and minerals that are inadequate in other legumes,” Mr Rodney Byamugisha, a Medical Nutritional Therapist at St Catherine’s Clinic on Buganda Road says.
Byamugisha also says that amaranth seeds have nutrients that are not made by the body but found in a particular food sources.
“Most cereals have lysine, a protein which is good for growth but they are inadequate in it. Amaranth contains more protein which is well balanced with amino acids, essential vitamins and minerals that are lacking in other legumes,” Byamugisha explains.
Natural amaranth seeds
The natural can either be roasted or boiled. Boiling is a better way of preparing them because in the process starches are broken down which eases digestion
Mr Jonathan Byasi, the Quality Chemical Controller at Nutreal Limited, a brain child of the Food Science and Technology Department at Makerere University says the products which their company has made out of dodo, include flours like nutreal bean based composite flour, nutreal amaranth based composite flour, amaranth healthy bars and cookies.
Nutreal Cookies
The crunchy cookies made out of ground nuts and simsim facilitate growth and overall maintenance of health in children and adults. Byasi explains that the peanut they contain is a source of resveratrol, a chemical that prevents you from aging quickly in addition to reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases.
They also reduce colon cancer since they are made with whole grain that promotes digestion.
Byamugisha explains that they have Gama lynoleic acid which is responsible for lowering the cholesterol level
The flour
Compared to maize flour which is purely carbohydrate, amaranth flour has a number of other nutrients. It has twice as much fibre as corn and oats and three times as much as wheat. Fibre helps to ease digestion.
Amaranth healthy bar
This bar which is made out of milled dodo seeds and honey is an energy booster. Byasi explains that since it contains carbohydrates and natural sugar from honey, it can boost one’s performance and reduce muscle fatigue especially among sports people.
How beneficial is amaranth?
Byasi says that amaranth has twice the level of calcium found in milk, five times the level of iron in wheat with more sodium and potassium. It is rich in vitamins A, E, C which are responsible for replenishing your skin.
He adds that the seeds have amino acids that other vegetarian diets miss which prevent malnutrition especially in children. “It has essential fatty acid linoleic which makes it suitable for consumption by children since they need essential fatty acids for proper growth and development,” he says.
If you supplement your diet with grains like amaranth seeds, its oil improves glucose and metabolism levels in your body.
But it is also known that too much of anything is not good. In the same way, consuming too much of the amaranth seeds is harmful to your health. Byamugisha cautions against taking too many amaranth seeds because they can become harmful to you.
“When you eat these seeds, the liver has to first metabolise them before they are delivered to the kidney. But if they are too many, they intoxicate your blood making it harmful to body organs,” he explains. The seeds contain nitrates which are poisonous to your blood if over taken and this makes you prone to comas, blindness and cancer. Ideally, one should take between 100-200 grammes.
Prices
The flour costs Shs3,500, the health bars cost Shs1,800 and the cookies cost Shs5,000 at supermarkets such as Tuskys, Capital Shoppers and Super Supermarket.
