Quinoa
Quinoa is a nutritious grain-like food, and an excellent addition to the gluten-free diet.
Unlike a true grain, quinoa is not from the grass family. Quinoa is a chenopod, and is more closely related to beets, spinach and tumbleweeds.
Quinoa is most often eaten as a whole cooked seed, flakes, or quinoa flour used in gluten-free baking.
Quinoa greens are also eatable and nutritious, but are generally not commercially available.
Quinoa originated in the Andes, where it has been a staple for over 6,000 years. It grows well at altitudes up to 4,000 meters, and will grow at low altitudes as well.
Quinoa Allergies
Quinoa is generally well tolerated. A negative reaction to quinoa is the rare, so try quinoa with confidence!
There are exceptions. Read the comments below to see examples of problems people have had with quinoa.
Many if not most of these problems are probably caused by improper preparation of the quinoa. See cooking quinoa to learn the right way to make quinoa and avoid these problems. If you haven’t been preparing your quinoa correctly, then you may develop a sensitivity to it. Try cutting it out of your diet for a few weeks or months, then bring it back in, but be sure to wash it properly.
Keep in mind that people with a reaction to quinoa are likely to find this site and leave a comment, so if you have not tried quinoa before, do not let the tiny likelihood of a reaction put you off from trying it.
If you do have a reaction, then pay attention to it, and remove quinoa from your diet.
Amaranth is a good alternative if you can not tolerate quinoa.
NOTE: If you leave a comment explaining that you have a reaction to quinoa, please indicate if the quinoa is organic or not. I’d really like to find out why so many people have a problem with it. There are already 178 comments on this post so keep this in mind when reading comments in the context of this comment.
How to Cook Quinoa
Quinoa must be properly rinsed before cooking. This is very important. For complete details on why this is important, and how to cook quinoa, see cooking quinoa.
Quinoa Nutrition
Quinoa is the only plant food with a complete complement of proteins, making the quality of protein similar to meat. Other plant sources of protein must be combined to get a full complement.
| Nutrient | Units | 1.00 X 1 cup ——- 185g |
|---|---|---|
| Proximates | ||
| Water |
g
|
132.48
|
| Energy |
kcal
|
222
|
| Energy |
kJ
|
931
|
| Protein |
g
|
8.14
|
| Total lipid (fat) |
g
|
3.55
|
| Ash |
g
|
1.41
|
| Carbohydrate, by difference |
g
|
39.41
|
| Fibre, total dietary |
g
|
5.2
|
| Starch |
g
|
32.62
|
| Minerals | ||
| Calcium, Ca |
mg
|
31
|
| Iron, Fe |
mg
|
2.76
|
| Magnesium, Mg |
mg
|
118
|
| Phosphorus, P |
mg
|
281
|
| Potassium, K |
mg
|
318
|
| Sodium, Na |
mg
|
13
|
| Zinc, Zn |
mg
|
2.02
|
| Copper, Cu |
mg
|
0.355
|
| Manganese, Mn |
mg
|
1.167
|
| Selenium, Se |
mcg
|
5.2
|
| Vitamins | ||
| Vitamin C, total ascorbic acid |
mg
|
0.0
|
| Thiamin |
mg
|
0.198
|
| Riboflavin |
mg
|
0.204
|
| Niacin |
mg
|
0.762
|
| Vitamin B-6 |
mg
|
0.228
|
| Folate, total |
mcg
|
78
|
| Folic acid |
mcg
|
0
|
| Folate, food |
mcg
|
78
|
| Folate, DFE |
mcg_DFE
|
78
|
| Vitamin B-12 |
mcg
|
0.00
|
| Vitamin A, RAE |
mcg_RAE
|
0
|
| Retinol |
mcg
|
0
|
| Vitamin A, IU |
IU
|
9
|
| Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) |
mg
|
1.17
|
| Tocopherol, beta |
mg
|
0.06
|
| Tocopherol, gamma |
mg
|
2.20
|
| Tocopherol, delta |
mg
|
0.20
|
| Lipids | ||
| Cholesterol |
mg
|
0
|
| Amino acids | ||
| Tryptophan |
g
|
0.096
|
| Threonine |
g
|
0.242
|
| Isoleucine |
g
|
0.290
|
| Leucine |
g
|
0.483
|
| Lysine |
g
|
0.442
|
| Methionine |
g
|
0.178
|
| Cystine |
g
|
0.117
|
| Phenylalanine |
g
|
0.342
|
| Tyrosine |
g
|
0.154
|
| Valine |
g
|
0.342
|
| Arginine |
g
|
0.629
|
| Histidine |
g
|
0.235
|
| Alanine |
g
|
0.339
|
| Aspartic acid |
g
|
0.653
|
| Glutamic acid |
g
|
1.073
|
| Glycine |
g
|
0.400
|
| Proline |
g
|
0.444
|
| Serine |
g
|
0.326
|
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{ 189 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Wow. So now I know! I am severely intolerant to gluten, soy, corn & dairy. I am well read & educated and know about the benefits of this superfood. But last nite??? If I never see quinoa again….as others have noted, it was red & white mix, (red for the first time). Before I was even done eating, I got the “full” feeling. Within an hour I too was curled up in a ball on the sofa. My 11yr old son was fine and he ate it too. I honestly didn’t know if I was going to throw up or if it would go the other way! I almost wished for vomiting and the like just so it would end…the pain…oh the pain. I seem to remember vague upsets with the white in the past, though I’ve only tried it a few times. I’m thinking it’s a protein thing, as all my other issues are protein, soy, casein, gluten & corn. Glad to hear I’m not the only one in the world with issues to this”hypoallergenic”, superfood!
I’ve treid eating quinoa on and off over the last couple of years. Early on I noticed a feeling of unwellnes the following day after having had quinoa for dinner. It doesn’t seem to matter if the quinoa is rinsed or not, though I think I may suffer from a more severe effect when it is not. I don’t get the horrid stomach pain that some others here have described, but I do experience a sort of brain fog headache the following day, combined with constipation. It is incredibly hard to focus during my workday when this happens. It’s light fighting concentrate when very tired or intoxicated. I am wondering if having meat with the quinoa, as some others have suggested, might be a factor, since on occasion I’ve had the grain before and suffered no ill effects. I noticed in the dietary info in the above chart that there is a fair amount of potassium in the grain. While I am unsure of whether I have a potassium allergy, I know for a fact that if i have a large amount of it on a given day then I do not feel very well.
Has anyone else suffered from the brain fog & headache symptoms I described?
Wow! I started eating quinoa about a month ago. I love making salads with it. I have recently begun having terrible episodes of reduced cognitive function (i.e., major brain fog). I can totally identify with the struggle to concentrate as if not having slept for 48 hours. A weird headache also accompanies the brain fog. I started a food journal about 10 days ago to see if I could identify a connection with anything … and it seems to be linked to eating quinoa. Unfortunately, I haven’t been washing the quinoa before I cook it. I will wash it thoroughly and try again (although I’m a little apprehensive about eating more now that I have pinpointed the issue). FYI – all of my salads have been meatless. I am bummed because I was so excited to find a healthy alternative to pasta.
I may post again with results after I try the “washed” quinoa.
Follow up: My bag of quinoa said that it had already been washed and that it was not necessary. So … I haven’t eaten it again … and I haven’t had the brain fog or digestive difficulties. I’m bummed about the reaction and not being able to eat quinoa – but glad to have identified the problem.
AJ and Kelly- I was so glad to read your posts because I’m on here because it’s one in the morning and I have a giant headache and constipation and I’m googling “quinoa allergy symptoms”!! I eat a great deal of quinoa because I have celiac disease, and as many mentioned. quinoa is “safe” for us…but I have eaten quinoa the last few nights (as I’m not very creative in the kitchen and carbs for me are hard to come by) and I’ve noticed some really interesting things. When I don’t wash the quinoa, my abdomen just below my belly button gets so swollen and feels so painfully bloated like I can’t even suck it in. It’s not a stabbing pain but a bloated pain and it’s pretty bad, so much so that I can feel my pulse in my stomach. I also am constipated and I get a nagging headache. Not a migraine, but I have to take 3 extra strength tylenol pills in order to sleep. It’s kind of like a hangover headache if that makes sense. When I do wash the quinoa, I get all the symptoms except the bloating/throbbing in my lower abdomen. Maybe as an experiment try washing it and see if your symptoms go away?
Good luck to you!!!
I am allergic to Quinoa. Which sucks because I really liked it! My throat got all scratchy, my face turned really red and was hot, and my motor skills were a little…’off’.
I’ve been having reactions to quinoa in the last few months and I think tonight just solidified, I made 2 delicious quinoa soups and just before bed time experienced terrible heart burn (again). I managed to fall asleep only to be woken up by the pain 2 hours later (now), it’s this familiar heart burn feeling that radiates from my chest all the way to my lower stomach and is almost debilitating… I’m so sad, I have been RAVING about this ‘grain’!
Anyone experience a similar occurrence?
I get a horrible stomach ache from quinoa. I kept thinking it was something else, so continued trying to eat it while avoiding other more typical foods that cause allergies, like dairy, glueten, etc. Tonight I spent an hour with gripping stomach pains after weeks of no problems, and my first time eating quinoa in a while. I am now convinced its quinoa. Really a shame, because I reallly really do love it.
quinoa made my feet and ankles swell to nearly 3 times their normal size and it took weeks to get the inflammation under control to the point where i could walk again. it also sent me to gastrointestinal hell and made me break out with a horrible rash. it’s too bad, because it is some damn tasty stuff. but that’s tasty, tasty poison, for some of us at least. =/
I’ve eaten quinoa plenty of times in the past and was fine. but recently the last two dishes I prepared with it made me so sick I actually thought it was food poisoning. I had the worst stomach pains ever and was in the bathroom all night. I have Celiac and am sensitive to begin with but quinoa is supposed to be ok for me. Well just today I had crackers with quinoa in them and once again I have that horrible, familiar stomach pain…joy.
I am so upset and confused because now all of a sudden my body can’t tolerate it. I was so happy to find a healthy alternative grain but it looks like I will have to add this to my ‘definitely avoid’ list.
Had always tried white quinoa in the past but found red and thought it would be interesting. The first few nights I thought I had an ulcer. Stomac pain was so bad I couldn’t sleep at all. After isolating what I was eating, I realized it was the red quinoa. It’s very odd since I have no other allergies. Such a shame as I really liked it and thought it was a healthy side dish. Never again.
Are you still eating white quinoa, or have you given up on quinoa altogether?
Yes, the white (I don’t know why) doesn’t seem to bother me. Of course now I probably jinxed myself by saying that. I also checked on preparation of the red quinoa in case there is something extra that needs to be done but couldn’t find anything. All I’ve been doing is rinsing until the water runs clear then boiling till tender. I also thought it might be a fiber overload, but I’m already (regularly) eating large servings of brown rice, fresh veg, whole wheat, etc., and the red doesn’t seem to contain any extra large amounts of fiber. Also I tried the red qunioa with and without meat (chicken) before I realized what the problem was. No change. I might try (A small amount of) red from another distributor at a later time just to see if that was the problem (got this one at TJs), but not anytime soon.
I have eaten quinoa for the first time about 2 months ago and have had terrible itching since, mainly on the skull.
Have had also intestine problems for months much before eating quinoa…
I could be gluten intolerant also, but the quinoa is the only new food I added to our meals.
The itching is terrible… could it be a intolerance of quinoa?
JDW
I am allegic to wheat, gluten and dairy. I have used organic quinoa flakes as pre-packaged cereal on and off over a few months. I noticed that perhaps I was having a reaction to it when I ate it so eliminated from my diet for a month. I had some last night and oh boy. My tummy was NOT happy at all this morning. Have terrible aches and pains and several visits to the bathroom. I feel tired and poisoned. I will NOT be eating this again.
I had quinoa this morning….the instant flakes that you have as a hot cereal and right after eating it I have a burning in my throat, chest and stomach and feel very spacey and just not feeling well. I have ate it in the past with the same symptoms, so this wonderful grain is not for all. I will now never try eating it again and wish I wouldn’s have…it’s just not worth it!!!
I am glad to see I am not alone. Quinoa has been giving me trouble for nearly a year, but no ill effects for my husband and son. Every single time I get sharp pains in the abdomen, nausea, sweating, chills, passing out, and diarrhea. Last night’s episode was so awful, my husband wanted to take me to the ER. All day today I have felt out of sorts, tired, and with a weakened digestive tract. I will not be eating quinoa again, ever.
Ate quinoa flakes for the first time this morning- I feel like I have stomach flu! How long does this last? I’m so sad this doesn’t appear to work for me. So glad I found the site- I was thinking I had developed an ulcer!
WOW! I have been struggling with extreme feelings of fullness over the past 60 days and my doctor and I have been completely stumped. I’ve had burning stomach pains (like hunger pains on steroids), constipation, headaches, shakiness, and restlessness when trying to sleep. When I eat just a little bowl of beans with quinoa, it would feel like my food would stay in my stomach for days – as if the food was not digesting. Turns out I’d been ordering the quinoa salad from Whole Foods for lunch and my wife and I would eat quinoa about 2 to 3 times a week for dinner. I too have had this brain fog and wake up in the mornings to a lovely headache. Could this all be from quinoa?????
Try cutting out all quinoa and after a few days, maybe even a week or two depending on how long it takes to clear out of your system, your body will provide you with the answer.
I recently was introduced to quinoa and had it on a salad a couple times and didn’t notice anything however last night I made my first batch and had a bowl with apples and cinnamon. I just came home from work because I threw up 4x in an hour. I thought I had food poisoning and looked this up on the Internet. I did not rinse it first though before cooking or after. Would this make a difference? I’m disappointed as I was happy to find an alternate source of protein. No more Quinoa for me
High in salycilates – quinoa? Please look into your research. Many, many places say quinoa ia low in salycilates.
I am so very grateful to have found this site! I just made a baked apple and quinoa dish for the 3rd time, and once again have been eating it for several days. Just figured out that each time I have made this dish I become very ill. Just spent 2 days in bed with the most awful headache and flulike symtoms. It started with a scratchy throat and horrible burning in my stomach, with all the fun bathroom stuff to go with it. Today my stomach and liver feel like they are on fire. Was considering the ER, but think I have it figured out now. I was suspicious before, but thought quinoa was ok for a gluten free diet. Nothing else makes me this sick, not even bread. And I am allergic to grasses, which quinoa is not…go figure.
I just wanted to add to my previous comment that even though I washed the quinoa, I still became sick. And… thanks to everyone that left comments…it helped me immensely!
I, too, am disappointed to report that while I think quinoa is tasty, I can’t digest it properly. As Allergy Guy has pointed out, though, this seems to be a very uncommon problem. Absolutely everybody I know is shocked to find that it makes me sick, because it is so easily digested by most people. I guess the takeaway lesson is the same as with any food. Try it, and if it makes you sick, don’t eat it! Even if common advice suggests that “nobody” is allergic to that food.
I ate it occasionally for a few years, and didn’t really notice anything right away. Lots of factors upset my stomach (IBS), so it took a while to make the connection, but each time I had it, the gas, cramps, bloating and pain got a little worse than before. The last time was excruciating. I had just a few teaspoons of a salad made with it and I felt so full… as if I’d eaten a really huge bowl of food. The only thing that gives me the exact same sensation is MSG. I expect that’s just a coincidence, but I wonder if there is a common chemical between the two.
Quinoa is evil as far as I’m concerned. I too am allergic to wheat, etc and cealiac. I ate it for the first time last night (used the flour and made cookies) and literally blew up like a balloon and itched like crazy – it felt like being on steriods! It was awful and I knew it was the quinoa at once. I then did more research and found out that it punches wholes in your gut wall leading to leaky gut and that nobody should it whether you have allergy problems or not – enough said!! Don’t eat it!
Where did you find this information about quinoa punching holes in your gut? I’d like to research it too. Thanks
I bought the book the Paleo Solution and it says the same thing, page 87
OK, I wonder where they got that information? “Facts” can easily be repeated because someone wrote it in a book, but I’d like a more scientific source, especially as quinoa is a staple food in parts of South America. It is also perfectly OK for the vast majority of people. As I’ve said before, this website is probably the number one place on the whole internet to talk about problems with eating Quinoa, so just because there are hundreds of comments about it being a problem, doesn’t make it harmful for most people.
Well, my doc just put an interesting hypothesis to me. I couldn’t understand why I was suddenly experiencing reactions to a food that I could previously tolerate. Quinoa isn’t the only food I’m reacting adversely to – rice and white bread are other culprits. I bloat severely on those things, and have severe stomach cramps. But I also suffer some other symptoms, like fogginess; mood swings; really, REALLY bad PMS. it was the PMS that I originally went to the doc for. After hormones were conclusively ruled out – my GP (!) suggested “Leaky Gut”. His theory is that I can no longer tolerate Quinoa because somewhere along the line something has aggravated the stomach lining so that the Villi are allowing undigested or partially undigested particles through to the gut. As they have not been broken down to the correct stage for absorption, the body treats it like a foreign object and reacts accordingly. I looked at some of the information in his office about leaky gut and was amazed at how much it affects – both psychologically and physically …. and conversely how many psychological and physical factors can contribute to leaky gut. Kind of like “chicken and egg”. I’m still a little sceptical, but am undergoing the detox program suggested, and will keep you posted if you are interested. Have to say I am still in shock that my traditional GP has considered something that usually lies in the realm of “non-traditional” medicine!
That sounds like a classic definition of celiac disease.
I highly recommend the following in this order:
1) Get tested for celiac disease. This should be done before step 2, which you will want to to ASAP, like today
2) Cut out all gluten and see if you get better. Continue with this even if you get a non-celiac test result, in which case you should continue a strict gluten-free diet for at least two months before deciding if it is helpful or not.
I suggest you also cut out all the foods you seem to be sensitive to. If a gluten-free diet helps, you might reintroduce the other foods once you feel you’re fully recovered and see if you can tolerate them.
Do drop by and let us know how you do with it. There is lots of information about a gluten free diet on this site and all over the internet.
I have been gf for over 5 years now, celiac’s was figured out at the age of 20 after a childhood of migraines, ulcers, fatigue and many more issues. Felt great for the last 4.5 years and seem to be back at the beginning again. Just found out I now have a corn, dairy, soy and nut allergy too!!! Now I am so itchy I am scared to eat anythi ng. And quinoa and rice, I don’t trust any more!!
Any feedback from anyone. And any solution to helping the itchyness?!? Otherthen predizone or sarnia lotion?
I just made the connection this morning as to why I’ve been having horrible stomachaches. Like other commentors I thought it was other foods then I had an aha moment when I realized quinoa was the common denominator. I thought maybe I hadn’t cooked it enough and it was swelling up in my belly but I see that others have had problems even using the flour. There’s goes a good source of protein!
I have a slew of allergic, autoimmune, and genetic disorders. Excema, asthma, allergies, acid reflux, eosinophilic esophagitis, dysphagia – the list goes on. Can’t imagine what I’ll be diagnosed with next!
I am allergic to wheat, so I’ve been following a GF diet for about a year. I tried a new blend of quinoa and corn pasta last week as well as this past Tuesday, 2/28. I’ve had good experiences with corn pasta, but wasn’t fond of how easily it breaks apart just a little while after cooking. My mum bought me some Quinoa pasta (very sweet of her), which is a blend of corn and quinoa. Last week, my boyfriend and I split half a pack of quinoa spaghetti, and the next day I felt terribly full despite having not really eaten, and was very lethargic. I thought perhaps I’d had too much coffee, but I’m changing my tune now. I made myself shrimp scampi with the rest of the spaghetti on Tuesday evening, and within my first bite had a bolus (clump of chewed food) lodge in my upper esophagus (thanks, dysphagia). It took about a gallon of warm water, tea&honey, and more honey to help the bolus get to my stomach. I went to bed hoping a night’s rest would ease the pain in my throat. When I woke up, however, I noted pain in my lower esophagus, right around the duodenum. In addition, I’d been burping since the 1st bite the night before. Around noon, I realized that, in addition to having choked on the pasta, I was also likely having an allergic reaction to it. I had the same gas-bubble feeling in my throat that I get with an allergic reaction and terrible heartburn, which I had mistaken for pain from having passed the bolus down my throat. I am definitely going to stay away from quinoa products for a while. 24 hours of pain and discomfort is not worth a plate of shrimp scampi.
I’m so glad I found this site. Everywhere it says whole grains and fiber are good foods even if you have an ulcer. I was just diagnosed with a peptic ulcer and lactose intolerance. Have had awful heartburn since for the past 9 months but it got really bad when I went on a real non processed food health kick, also added quinoa to my diet at that time (but never suspected it was the cause of all my pain. Well today 5 days in to prevacid regime to heal my ulcer, I had some quinoa, maybe 1/4 cup cooked. Thought I was being healthy. 1 hr later I was having the worst heartburn ever. I still couldn’t believe it was the quinoa but since that was what I ate it had to be the cause and all the comments above confirm it. by the way I asked my 45 year old gastroenterologist if he thought quinoa was ok to eat and he didn’t know what it was, but “it should be all right” Alas everyone can be wrong. Gonna listen to my body and ditch the quinoa
OMG… I thought I was nuts!!!! I have been eating Quinoa for about 2 months now since I have been dieting. Cutting carbs and adding more protein. I lost 20 pounds in 2 months!!!! I felt pretty good besides the headaches I was having. I have a feeling it’s mainly due to the quinoa flakes I eat every morning. Last week Thursday I did my morning routine, get my quinoa ready, steeped my tea, and filled my water bottle and dug into my quinoa.. About 30 min later my stomach hurt so bad, I thought I was going to die. Bloating, nausea, constipation, and NOTHING helped. That morning I added cranberries to the cereal instead of my normal raisins and I had a full serving instead of half of a serving of quinoa so naturally I thought it was the cranberries that were reacting with me.. So, I tried the full serving Friday morning with my normal raisins.. Well, much to my surprise the stomach ache was back an just as bad. I almost left work it was so bad. Needless to say I took myself off the quinoa for the weekend and went back to my normal half serving with half serving of raisins today… Guess who has a stomach ache again? Yes, me and from reading the posts on the site, i see a headache is also part of the list of symptoms and a brain fog.. For the past 2 months I couldn’t figure out why I was getting such terrible headaches during the day and having such a terrible time concentrating… I thought it was all linked to my change in my diet. And quite possibly because I quit cold turkey from coffee and soda. Then I thought I had blood pressure issues so I went to the doctor and everything was normal… I never once thought it was the “superfood” I was eating every morning… I’m not allergic to any foods but, now, I think I can say that I am sensitive to quinoa. I’m so bummed now, I will have to try something else!!!
I have eaten quinoa (washed) quite a lot in my life. However, the last 4/5 times I’ve had it, I had an almost immediate incapacitatingly sore stomach, really bad bloating, and terrible diarrhea. Does this mean I am definitely intolerant to it? Or if I wash it really well, would this terrible pain not occur? As a vegetarian it is such a good grain (protein source+carb in one) so don’t want to cut it out completely. On the other hand, I never want to feel like this again. Thanks, L x
Hello all- so relieved to read your comments- I thought feeling ill after eating quinoa was strange….as I knew about it’s great nutritional qualities….I always felt ill eating it- stomach, digestion issues, extreme fatigue, cheeks blowing up as if I’ve eaten msg…..and I have many allergies and food intolerances as it is……the choices get narrower- I wonderif it’s the quinoa or the chemicals they spray on the grains and in the soils….
I tried Quinoa for the first time 2 days ago. I was pleasantly surprised how much I liked it. I ate leftovers for lunch yesterday and 2 hours later, started to break out in hives. Today, after Benadryl, my neck, face and esophagus feel like I have a chemical burn. My skin is swollen, hot and itchy. The only thing new that I have added was the Quinoa. I can’t believe this.
I have celiac and must also avoid processed foods, sugar, dairy, soy, and most citrus fruits. Quinoa was a blessing. Did ok with the quinoa grains, but I do rinse, rinse, rinse before cooking. I skim off the white foamy “stuff” that forms while cooking (can form gas) and I rinse again
while straining before storing. I cook a bag at the time because I eat it
a lot. Then I discovered quinoa flour….and that’s when my gas, bloating and stomach cramps started. Perhaps it is not so well rinsed before they ground it into flour. I don’t know… but it does a number on my stomach. Can hear it “churning” across the room.
Unfortunately, I didn’t make the connection until about my second or third bag…and I have several more bags. I hate it because it costs about $9.00 a bag…which ain’t cheap to me. I may slowly use the flour up…but I won’t be getting any more of it. I use it in my salmon patties instead of bread crumbs and I use it to make me little pancake type cake and top it with applesauce. Quite tasty but a little too much stomach ache for me. Will continue the grains unless I see that they are causing me problems later on. I think the key is RINSE WELL, then rinse again. !!!
I’m so glad to find this site. And relieved to see I’m not alone in my pain.
I ran across an EPA document that likely explains the gastrointestinal pain. In its unprocessed form, quinoa has a non-toxic coating (saponin) useable as a pesticide.
For this reason, quinoa should be soaked, washed, and cooked fully.
I’ll probably give quinoa another try…but not soon. ;^)
I ate the red quinoa for 3 weeks for lunch and dinner, I also had the flakes on my shake in the morning. I lost about 7pounds awesome for diet , but 2weeks ago I had the worse allergic reaction. The quinoa almost put me in the hospital. My body was cover with hives,and red dots. I itch like crazy my body aches. I hope someone read this very carefully when they decide to eat quinoa. I am taking oral medication, hydrocortisone 2.5%, and meds to help me to sleep because of the pain and the itching my doctor said that I should be okay but it will take a few more weeks to go away and to have my body free of quinoa. I love the taste but I would wish I am going thru to anyone. This product need to have clear warnings about severe allergic reactions.
Happy to find this and to see I’m not alone! I’ve been eating quinoa for different meals for the past two weeks and noticed myself feeling ill off and on. I’ve been constipated and uncomfortable. Last night, I had two big bowls and quinoa and carrots for dinner, and I felt awful and nauseous and had to get up during the night to throw up. I thought back to what could be causing it and realized that there was a correlation between eating quinoa and feeling constipated and nauseous. Ugh. I’ve never had to deal with a food intolerance before.
The other women in the office love quinoa and have not had any issues at all. I used to love it, but now the thought of eating any more makes my stomach churn. Back to eating rice!
One caveat to my story: I only rinsed it once for about three minutes and I have people telling me I should have rinsed it more. I’m not going to experiment though. I’m done!
I am entering this conversation late and am concerned that so many people have difficulty with quinoa yet not many discuss the gluten/gliadin properties of all the “secondary” grains. I was diagnosed with severe genetic gluten intolerance (I do not carry the gene for celiac) in 2007 and am under the ongoing support and guidance of a highly educated medical nutritionist whose practice specifically treats patients with chronic genetic and inflammatory diseases. I was instructed from the beginning to avoid all “grains” except rice and organic corn. Period. No oats, buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth, millet or teff. No einkorn, the ancient (meaning not hybridized or GMO) wheat recently discussed on Dr Oz as “possibly” OK for celiacs. No farro, also ancient. No soy either. The mainstream and Web information is not reliable and many researchers/scientists still debate over what grains and grasses (and other plant foods) are gluten free and what is not, hence the ongoing debate about oats. I’ve never quite understood why it’s so complicated to find reliable and consistent info, but I’m sharing this with all of you who have symptoms after eating quinoa that it’s likely not an “allergy” reaction or a function of rinsing/prepping properly but a gluten-related one. It’s unclear whether this is due to inherent gluten presence or cross contamination or info we don’t know yet. The bottom line is that we have problems tolerating our foods bc of the following issues: a) extensive genetic modification/hybridization of our main foodstuffs esp wheat, soy beans, corn, and sugar); b) altered intestinal florae from extensive use of antibiotics, both medicinally and in agriculture, and chlorine in water; c) overuse of drugs inhibiting secretion of digestive acid in the stomach; and d) for the past 50-100 years, overly sanitized conditions when infants and children are developing proper immune tolerances. All this has rendered most of our main protein-rich foodstuffs highly antigenic causing digestion problems, inflammatory response, and disease. Hope this helps!
I am celiac and have enjoyed quinoa for years but recently started eating spaghetti made from quinoi which makes my stomach swell terribly and puts me a bad mood. I just realized this last night that it has to be the culprit.
I got dizzy almost immediately after eating quinoa tonight, my throat still hurts hours later and I’m having some shortness of breath. Never touching this stuff again!
I do have other food allergies though, so I thought it was just me having a the problem.
Wow, I thought it was the end of the world two nights ago. Just as many of the earlier comments, I thought if anything would be safe it would be Quinoa! After eating approx. 1 cup of a mixture, like tabuli, my stomach got “bloaty”. Two hours later, gas, and never trusting a fart, I went to the bathroom and began the first of several visits with explosive diarrhea and feeling cold. A few hours after that began cold sweats, dizziness, and scratchy throat. I felt like I would vomit. I got down on the floor in my living room and after about 30 minutes realized I was so weak that I couldn’t get back up and began calling to my husband, who was in bed, asleep. It took about five minutes of yelling before he woke to find me on the floor unable to move. That’s when I noticed the bizarre migraine/hangover headache.
I don’t know how I got up, or got back into bed, but I do remember the cold sweats were now chills and I was shaking almost in convulsive manner, and extra blankets (it was over 80 degrees outside).
I spent the next day battling an awful headache that I told my husband felt like a hangover, I couldn’t eat, and barely managed to drink sips of water (knowing I needed lots more after all the diarrhea). I would sleep several hours, and I believe I was passing out for several minutes, as I would shut my eyes, and feel I’d slept 30 minutes but only 2 or 3 minutes passed. When I did get up, it was just to the bathroom, I had aches in my legs and in my armpits, it wasn’t until 8 PM that I was able to try some soup, a piece of bread, and some tea, but within a half hour I was back in bed and slept another two hours. Finally, around 11 PM, I was able to finish the soup, another piece of bread and had some more tea. I didn’t think I’d be able to sleep after sleeping for nearly 20 hours, but I did, hard as a rock.
Today, I’m still achy, I’m being extremely easy on my eating anything, but at least that awful headache is gone…once I was up, I started looking into the quinoa issues…I wish I had found this website before all this happened!
True, there may not be that many people who experience an allergic reaction to quinoa, but I’m not allergic to wheat, as many who probably tried quinoa as an alternative because of celiac disease…still, I think more information needs to get out there about reactions to quinoa as there are for reactions to wheat eh?
Hi, I’ve just found this website as I’ve also had really bad problems with bloating stomach and really smelly bad wind, so since last September I decided to cut out sugars and fruit, thinking it was Candida and I went really strict with my diet, thinking it was the cause but the symptoms continued. I started taking probiotics and grapefruit seed extract and eating loads of garlic with no change. I then cut out wheat as I had been eating a little too much, but again the symptoms continued. I then thought that I’d probably over done it with the oats while cutting out the wheat, so I cut out the oats. I then decided to go gluten free and keep a diary of what I was eating. I did have times when I had no symptoms, but the symptoms would then return a few days later. Yesterday after eating quinoa for two days, I checked my diary and have finally realised it is the quinoa. I’m going to wait for the symptoms to go before I re-introduce the other foods back again. It’s been good for me cutting out the other foods, and when I don’t have any symptoms I feel so healthy and full of energy, especially as I have been breastfeeding for the past year. Tomorrow I have an appointment to have an allergy test so this should confirm my findings as to whether I have a problem with gluten. I have seen two different food nutritionists over the past 20 years who told me I had an intolerance to dairy, potatoes, tomatoes and citrus.
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