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.
Sandy points out that “…[quinoa] is high in phenylalanine (amino acid), and this is taken from a recent NYT article about sweeteners–turns out that amino acid is also in aspartame. ‘. . . about 1 in 25,000 in the United States — have a genetic condition that prevents them from metabolizing one of the amino acids, phenylalanine, and those people are warned away from aspartame.’”
The above may explain the large number of people leaving comments on this article about how they cannot eat quinoa.
Liz has left a comment suggesting that liquid bentonite clay detox supplement ( about four tablespoons) and Zyrtec (one, the other or both) may help alleviate symptoms. If you decide to try this, please leave a comment and share if this helped you or not.
Another interesting theory was posted by Katherine Kohl. Read her post about Quinoa Sickness and Mycotoxin.
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
|
Internal Links
External Links
{ 38 comments… read them below or add one }
Possible Quinoa allergy
I’m sick a lot and right now I’m on an experimental 2-week no gluten/yeast/dairy diet to see if I have allergies (they were slightly elevated on the allergy test but the doctor said that if I introduce them back into my diet one at a time and I don’t feel any worse than when off them I can still eat them). I tried Quinoa pasta yesterday and an hour later I was really nauseous. I was lying down on the cold bathroom floor because moving aggravated it. I have had Quinoa once before (although then it wasn’t in pasta) and I don’t remember getting a reaction like this.
I was diagnosed with celiac
I was diagnosed with celiac 3 months ago. I have been eating quinoa for at least 8 years. Have always washed it before cooking.
I tried quinoa (red, from a bin) 2 month ago, and was really ill (did not wash it well) Tried it again 3 week later, white, from a box, wash it well, was sick again.
Tried it a week ago, washed and soaked it well, was sick again. So somehow, I’ve become allergic to it…fairly recently, post diagnosis, of celiac…bummer.
allergy to quinoa
I had never eaten quinoa before, but had some in a salad 3 days ago at a party (and nothing else). Within 30 minutes I broke out in hives which covered my entire body and which I still have. I talked to our Dr. about it and he said that food allergies which produce hives (but are not accompanied by anaphalaxis) usually reasolve in about a week. I also have headaches and joint pain. Glad to know about this allergy and sorry I’m one of the few who have it because it’s obviously a very nutritious food. Louise
What else was in the salad?
What else was in the salad, Louise? Are you sure it was the quinoa?
Unless you have other allergies or are on a $gluten free diet$, I suppose you are better with a quinoa allergy than something common that might have been in the salad, an olive oil allergy for example.
Developed Quinoa Reaction
I started eating quinoa a couple of years ago. I would prepare it straight out of the box (from Trader Joe’s) and my whole family would eat it as a side dish to dinner. We had it maybe once a month or so or every few months. No one had a problem. I have eaten it at a local restaurant as well with no adverse reaction. Recently, I learned one should rinse the quinoa and so, the last time I made it, a couple months ago, I rinsed it anally! The following day I brought a lunch portion to the beach and ate it for lunch (having skipped breakfast). Probably a half hour later I started to feel nauseated. The feeling increased and came in waves. I was sick all afternoon and into the evening as it passed through my system with severe stomach cramps coming and going, chills and then diarrhea. I didn’t put it together that it was the quinoa as I have a stomach of steel and have no food allergies. Besides the quinoa and greens I put in were fresh and washed. I ate two more portions of that quinoa all with the same reaction and the third time I was sick I realized it was something about the quinoa, but I thought it was the sauteed radish greens I had prepared it with as I have never eaten these greens. Yesterday, my friend gave me a bowl of quinoa for lunch which her husband had made the night before and again, about 20 minutes or 1/2 hour later I was sick. I was sick for about 6 or 7 hours and when the final bit had passed through my intestine I developed a headache and body pains. Today I feel like I was beaten up. I am not fully recovered. I am DEFINITELY allergic to QUINUA, rinsed or not, prepared at home, or by someone else. I won’t try it again. The perplexing part is that this seems to be a developed food allergy as I ate it many times without any reaction whatsoever.
Anaphlaxic reaction to quinoa
I’m glad I found this site. Last year, I discovered my quinoa allergy. I thought maybe I was getting a goiter or that my thyroid meds were too high. Every morning after breakfast (and after I take my pills) I would have this feeling like my throat was closing up. I also felt really dizzy like I couldn’t breath. One morning it was so bad I almost went to the ER. So I had my thyroid tested the next day. My results were as usual. Eventually the throat issue stopped then I realized . . . I ran out of quinoa and had not eaten it for the last couple of days.
Recently I had an allergic reaction to strawberries and my face suddenly developed a rash. I wonder if there is a similarity to quinoa and strawberry seeds, being that quinoa is a seed and not a grain.
Anyway, I also have wheat, gluten and dairy intolerances. I’m the Chicago Dairy Free Examiner and I’m working on my certification to become a PAC (Protect Allergic Children) Consultant. Please let me know if I can be of help to anyone out there.
Just been sick….
I know that I have an intolernance to quinoa, I start vomiting about an hour after I have eaten it, until I cannot physcially throw up anymore. But I am wondering if hemp flour can have the same affect as I just experienced the same from somethng that was made from Hemp flour, flax seeds and sesame seeds. Any idea as to whether hemp and quinoa have the same ‘components’?
Sudden quinoa allergy
It is too bad because I really like quinoa. Perhaps it is because of the menopause that my body changed. Maybe one day I will be able to eat it again. My sister developed an allergy to sesame and pine nuts after she gave birth to her son. Thanks for the advice. I will try amaranth (which I have tried before) and it should be okay. I am not allergic to anything else – not wheat, not gluten – just quinoa.
Sharon
Good luck!
Good luck, Sharon.
At least you don’t have a massively restrictive diet (unlike many other visitor to this site suffering from a $gluten-allergy$, $celiac$, $yeast-allergy$ etc.
Quinoa Allergic reaction
I had quinoa last night for the first and last time. 15 minutes after eating it I was dizzy, had touble breathing and swallowing. Broke out it a rash and turned bright red all over. My Wife (a Nurse) called the EMT’s and they rushed me to the Hospital. I spent 3 1/2 hours in Emergency. On the way to the Hospital I vomited three times. At the Hospita I continued to vomit until the Quinoa was gone. They wrote me some scripts and sent me home. I have to stay on these scripts for three days to avoid a relapse. I had no idea I was allergic to Quinoa. From my viewpoint I think it’s dangerous.
Dangerous to a minority
Quinoa is dangerous for you, this is true.
For the vast majority of people, it is perfectly safe. I have it every morning for breakfast.
It is a staple crop in parts of South America.
Quinoa is absolutely safe, except for a minority of people who are allergic to it.
Quinoa reaction had me gasping for air
I love Quinoa and eat it often, but yesterday I had the worst reaction that had me dying for air. I made a qunioa tabouli salad (delicious) but after a few bites my throat started to seize up and my upper back was spasming in pain. It was a struggle to breath for what seemed like a few minutes, but I kept calm and after some gentle pating on my back to “burp me” the episode calmed down. I’ve had this reaction to a few other foods (sulfur), which I avoid, but am shocked and saddened that quinoa may now be on my “don’t eat” list. Today, I have a headache, stuffed sinus’s and an extremely sore throat — a summer cold that suddenly surfaced, or the aftermath of my death defying quinoa episode? After reading the comments here I’m beginning to think I’m suffering from the aftermath. Strange, I’m a very healthy eater with few allergies. Since I love quinoa I will venture to eat it again to test my tolerance/ brand/ recipe, but with an epi-pin handy.
Let us know how it goes
I admire your bravery, Liz.
Let us know how your next attempt at eating quinoa goes.
I hope it goes well!
Quinoa
My dog is allergic to quinoa. I gave her a cracker that contained quinoa, flax seed, brown rice, sesame seeds and sea salt (The brand is “Marys’ Gone Crackers”). I was unable to identify the ingredient that caused the first sign of an allergy (angioneurotic edema) which showed up as a severely swollen face. The face swelling occurred two more times, I still was unable to identify, as other foods were involved. The fourth time, which was the worst, involved anaphylactic shock. I had to rush her to the vet. Which if I had not done, she would have died. I have now been able to locate the exact ingredient that caused this massive allergy. She has successfully eaten the other ingredients of the cracker with no sign of an allergy. I did not give her these often, nor very much (a quarter of a cracker). I myself no longer eat them. I only gave her them because I thought these to be safe ingredients (she is on a grain free diet, I give her flax seed regularly).
I hope this is of help, even though it was a dog allergy, it is nonetheless worth noting.
Dogs are carnivores
Dogs are carnivores. You should feed it meat.
dogs are omnivores. do your
dogs are omnivores. do your homework.
Apparently
OK, OK!
I looked it up.
Apparently dogs are omnivores.
Does it follow that dogs can be vegetarians?
Perhaps that is a discussion best carried out on another website.
quinoa
I have Celiacs. I have been gluten free for three and a half years. Last week I had to travel to pick up a friend at the airport. I ended up purchasing quinoa for my lunch.
I also brought home some quinoa. The quinoa dishes were gluten free and were purchased from a reputable store.
I woke up with congestion, sinus headache, and stomach pain the next morning. I had quinoa later in the day and the stomach pain increased. I didn’t have anymore for two days and stomach pain and headache eased.
Thursday I tried quinoa again. This time the headache, congestion, and pain were more intense. My stool was loose after having severe cramping.
Yesterday I finished off the last of quinoa. I had a headache soon after eating it, cramping, and stomach pain. I went for my normal evening walk and wasn’t sure I would make it back. The cramping and pain increased and had to run several times with loose stools.
This morning I still have the headache and congestion. I don’t have stomach pain or cramping. I think if I could vomit it would have cleared my system more quickly. I had surgery a few years back to create a new stomach valve and have not been able to vomit since. I will not try quiona again.
Alesia
Saponin insight
Thanks for the insight about saponin, Steve.
I wonder if soaking the quinoa, throwing out the water, then cooking it might solve the problem for some people.
Quinoa intolerance
From the research that I’ve done I think the saponin in quinoa may be the culprit. It is found in the hulls of the quinoa kernel which when they are washed produces a residue in the water like soap suds and and though it has some definite therapeutic applications in medicine is a toxin/irritant in the digestive system. Apparently, some people are very sensitive to the saponin in quinoa and develop GI distress when even traces of it are ingested.
In my case, I became very ill when I have eaten quinoa as a breakfast cereal or as a side dish but seem to be okay with it when used as a component in noodles combined with other grains such as corn. Why I’m okay with it in noodles I’m not sure. Perhaps it is because it is more diluted or because of the way it is processed.
Steve
Quinoa alergies?
I fixed a quinoa salad for dinner last night and both my husband and I woke up with headaches and I felt nauseaus. I looked up and found that quinoa is in the chenopod family. I watch the alergy and pollen index daily, and I have noticed that whenever the Chenopod-amaranth index is high, I have the worst allergies and so does my husband. I’m chalking it up to our pollen alergies.
Bad reaction to Quinoa
I have celiac disease, so Quinoa is often used as a wheat substitute. The other night, I cooked Quinoa and added some frozen veggies. Even as I was still eating it, I started feeling stomach pain. It kept getting worse until I was nauseous and in real pain. As it moved out of my stomach and into my intestines, the pain followed. I developed a headache and remained quite sick until about 3am. If I could have vomited, I would have just to get it out of me, but I had to wait until it eventually gave me diarhea. I had to take the next day off work, and now I’m on day two and I still don’t feel quite well. I think someone should do some research into this grain. I don’t even have that severe a reaction when I accidentally ingest gluten, which celiacs cannot tollerate.
Wendy
I started eating Quiona
I started eating Quiona three days ago, and I’ve got severe stomach cramping and loose stools. I have had it each night for dinner in a salad. I am not sure what to think and will call Eden Foods tomorrow to see if they have some advice, perhaps your body need to become accustom to eating it, or I am over eating it?
Getting used to Quinoa
Quinoa is not something you should need to get used to eating.
Quinoa is well tolerated by most of the population.
You are one of the unfortunate few who can not tolerate it for some reason.
Unless of course, there is a case of contaminated quinoa, something that just occurred to me.
This seems very unlikely however.
I bet there are other things that you “over eat” that you are not reacting too.
It is best not to rely too much on one food, but the fact is we all have our staple foods.
You could try cutting it out of your diet for a few months, then see what happens when you eat just a little quinoa.
I hate to say it but chances are quinoa is not for you.
Try $amaranth$ instead.
quinoa allergy/sensitivity
Am I glad I found this page. I’d been plagued with severe abdominal cramping, nausea and diarhea over the past month or so and I was getting concerned, even thinking about going to the doctor for some of those yucky tests. Then it cleared up and I was fine for about a week. Today I had to call my husband to take me home from work after lunch and I’ve spent the afternoon curled up with a heating pad, taking gravol and running to the bathroom. A few weeks back I tried a new recipe – root vegetable curry with quinoa. First time I’ve cooked it. Made a huge pot and froze lunch portions. Ate it almost daily for a week. Then I thought I’d run out, but last night discovered one more lunch container at the back of the freezer. Guess what I had for lunch today??? I’m starting to feel better now, but two things made me think about a possible allergy – the return of symptoms after eating it and right now my nose is stuffed up tight and I have a whacking headache. I have a shellfish allergy (which is now severe and requires an epi-pen) and way back it started out with cramps, nausea, vomiting, nasal stuffiness and a heachache. I think I’ll keep away from the quinoa!
quinoa sensitivity and nausea
Thanks so much to all who posted. After six months of sporadic episodes of unexplained stomach pains, often culminating in vomiting, I am just now realizing that almost each incident involved quinoa. The degree of illness correlates with the amount I ate. I had a total GI work-up and they found nothing, so….I guess this is an extremely rare food allergy, judging by the small number of posts I’ve found, but I just started looking tonight.
Quinoa and vomiting
I was interested to come across these posts as these appear to be about the only information with regard to people experiencing vomiting after quinoa. Mine didn’t start out initially – infact I ate it for breakfast for almost 3 weeks but felt nauseous the entire time (I couldn’t figure out why – I even took a bunch of pregnancy tests!). Then one morning I had quite a bad reaction and vomited about an hour or so after breakfast and felt quite ill the entire day (a bit like having gastro). I stopped the Quinoa from then on (mainly because I had been conditioned not to like it anymore after being sick). I was completely fine after this point – no more nausea. Then, 6 weeks or so later, I made some Quinoa flakes (porridge) for supper before bed one night and awoke with severe vomiting 3 hours later.
I guess that confirms it for me… it is possible to be allergic (or at least intolerant) to Quinoa.
Quinoa pains
I started eating Quinoa Flakes boiled in water about 2 months ago, with no problems until about 7 days ago. Now, every time I eat quinoa I have severe cramping and nausea for 2-3 hours. I was starting to think it was an ulcer aggravated by the cup of coffee I drink as well, but I can drink coffee at any other time of day without these symptoms, and the only day last week I did not suffer was the day I drank coffee and did NOT eat quinoa.
Is is possible that there is a food pathogen or some sort of toxin present in the box of flakes I bought. I do not have celiac disease, so any contamination with wheat would not be the problem.
I hate to stop eating quinoa entirely unless it is necessary because it is so nutritious.
I would appreciate any insights (I don’t speak French).
Megan
Quinoa problem or not
Hi Megan,
Sorry to hear that you may be having trouble with quinoa. It is a great food.
First question: are the quinoa flakes pure?
The only sure way I can think of to be sure if quinoa is a problem or not is to cut it out for a few weeks, then try it again.
Try a different box. To be more sure, try a different brand as well. This eliminates the possibility that the box you have is contaminated in any way.
Quinoa made me sick
I started eating Quinoa three weeks ago. I cooked it in coconut milk and found it very good to eat. Then I tried chicken stock and again, the quinoa came out to be very good. I made enough to last a few days.
Yesterday, I fixed the quinoa with chicken stock and after eating, I got to vomiting. Every bit of quinoa I ate, I vomited out of me.
My stomach feels like someone is squeezing my gut, my side aches and I have such a headache.
I prewashed the quinoa, though the package I brought looked strange to me. That is the only difference.
Before I was buying in bulk but yesterday I used a package. I rinsed until the water ran clear from the quinoa.
I’m trying to figure out what I did wrong and I’m thinking I may have developed an allergy.
I ate breakfast this morning and had oatmeal because I figure I need to eat. I even had coffee in spite of my gut pain from last night.
The only time I did vomit was after eating the quinoa though I feel like I’ve been knocked around a bit.
Is it possible to get a quinoa allergy?
Allergy or food poisoning
Hi Mike,
I suppose you could get an allergy to almost anything. Do you have any other food allergies?
It is also possible that you had food poisoning – from the chicken stock, or something else you ate previously.
Quinoa saponin
Got the same stomach ache those days with quinoamade bred bought in a bioshop. But I have never been sick with boiled quinoa grains.
Why stomach ache ? If you read French, there could be an answer, see below
Reference
Good luck in investigations
Giles
Answer to quinoa causing illness
I agree with you, saponin is probably the reason some people become sick from eating quinoa.
This should solve the problem: wash the quinoa properly before cooking. See $C_cooking quinoa$ for more info.
Translation of above to English
I used Google Translate to turn the useful post above into English. Not the best translation, but you’ll get the idea:
I agree that most people can tolerate quinoa, won’t get sick from it, and will probably love it. But if saponin were the cause of people’s quinoa-induced sickness, then you would see whole families getting sick after a meal. In my house, I am the only one who gets physically ill for hours after eating quinoa (I just tried again tonight after 2 years of avoiding it). My husband and two very young sons did not react at all– and one would expect that small children would have a more severe reaction to a resin or contamination, right?
I totally agree that quinoa is an amazing grain. I would eat it every day, if I could tolerate it! And you’re probably right that a large number of people end up at this site because they have googled “quinoa allergy,” and the comments will reflect that. But an allergy, or an intolerance, to quinoa is legitimate– please don’t encourage people to keep trying it (after a break, or after buying it from a different source, or after cleaning/cooking it a different way) when it makes them sick! There are plenty of other grains to choose from that won’t cause physical illness.
I completely agree with you Lindsey! I started serving quinoa to my family often because it is ‘so healthy’ and everyone (including my 2 yr old and 4 yr old) loved it. One night, about 2 hours after eating, my stomach began to hurt. I kissed my kids goodnight and went straight to the bathroom where I vomited like I have never experienced in my life. For hours I had stomach cramps and vomiting until I finally was weak but able to drift off to sleep. I didn’t immediately suspect the quinoa so I actually experienced this traumatic reaction a few times before I figured it out. I don’t know if this is an ‘allergy’, I don’t know why I was able to eat it before and then suddenly not, but I do know that I will never eat it again. I almost got sick at the sight of it at a potluck recently. I have no desire to try it again, and I think anyone who has experienced a reaction like mine would understand.
This grain made me noxious,
This grain made me noxious, think its an allergy, looked it up and there seems to be very little information about this, just some reports of similar experiences on discussion boards.
Quinoa is fine for most people
I’m sorry to hear you had a problem with Quinoa, Norge.
I find it to be a tasty and nutritious alternative to wheat.
Unfortunately, not everyone experiences the same thing.
So for anyone else who wants to try quinoa, just try it. The chances of it making you feel sick are very slim.