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.

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?

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.

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?

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

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

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

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

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.

This is TMI, but I just got out of the bathroom, after having a bout of severe tummy cramping and diarrhea. I have gluten-tolerance (likely undiagnosed Celiac, but have not been tested to find out for sure) and have been gluten-free for six months. I came online to see if there were others with this kind of a reaction to quinoa because it seems every time I eat it, I get these really bad stomach cramps and diarrhea. I always soak my quinoa for at least two hours (most often I soak it overnight) and I rinse it completely. I seem to have a delayed reaction to quinoa as my cramping and diarrhea start about 24-48 hours after eating it. I've had this happen every time I have had quinoa, though. I have to say, this reaction HURTS much more than any other reaction I have had to food, including stuff with gluten. The cramps are really bad when I have quinoa. I don't know if it is being sensitive to the traces of saponin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinoa#Saponin_content) or some other component of quinoa, like its proteins, but I think I am through with experimenting with this gluten-free grain.

It's too bad! It's nutritional profile is so great and there are a bunch of wonderful recipes using it! I am gluten, yeast, and sugar-free (or should be, lol -- sugar is the tough one) and I am sad to have to eliminate yet another food from what is possible to eat. I gotta say, though, the reaction I have to quinoa is NOT worth its ingestion! Ouch!

Just want to mention that you should NEVER apply heat to your adominal area when you are having pain there. Should you be having a problem with an internal organ (appendix, diverticulitis, etc) heat could cause that organ to rupture, as happened to my mother.

I agree, dogs are carnivores, BUT, they still need a balanced diet. While working for a veterenarian, we had a mystery case of 2 dogs that kept coughing and coughing at home, but not when they'd come into the hospital. This went on back and forth several times. I asked many questions, trying to discover if they had allergies to something she was giving them. She finally replied that she gave them NOTHING but boiled liver. The dogs had beri beri, because all they got was straight meat. That's why dog food (or your own with proper balance) is better, it includes the vitamins from plants & grains. That's why they got better when she brought them in for observation to the clinic and we fed them dog food, and got worse when she took them back home to nothing but boiled liver. It is the same disease that caused the sailors to start taking limes with them when they were out to sea, and to be called 'limeys' - because no fresh produce for months was giving them beri beri.

Today was the first time I tried quinnoa. An hour or so after eating it, I found myself to be very dizzy and nauseous. I do not have any stomach pains or problems with breathing (at least not yet and hopefully not later in the day!) but as stated feel dizzy and nauseous. I am a healthly young man in my late 20's that eats a pretty well-balanced vegetarian diet and have no allergies to other foods. Perhaps it's a concidence but I think I may have found my first allergy and maybe it is more common then people think. At any rate, word of warning to those interested in quinnoa "Proceed with caution!!"

So, I feel much better after reading these posts. I was a little concerned after eating Quinoa a couple of months ago and getting really ill, nauseous, and could barely stand up my stomach hurt so bad. The strange thing is, I always buy the same Quinoa, and used to eat it frequently, and one day I got really sick. Not thinking it was from the Quinoa, I continued to eat it and kept getting sick. The thing that I was rather confused about was that my allergy seemed to come on instantly. One week I could eat it and the next I was super sick. NO matter what brand I bought from there on out, the same thing would happen. Hopefully, if i soak it for longer and clean it more thouroughly, this wont happen. It would make me very sad to not be able to eat it anymore.

I have a special needs child and have been trying an alkaline diet to help his digestion. I used quinoa due to it's hi protein content. This and the fact that it is a "complete" protein (has all the amino acids in) makes it a GREAT food. My boy has had quinoa previously but almost daily since the middle of Nov. He has started with projectile vomiting for the past week - and ALL when he has quinoa. If he has any other food, he is fine.
I am v surprised at all the people who indicate their adverse reactions to this grain. He doesn't have meat so I was thrilled when I read up on the benefits on quinoa. Now I don't know what I'm going to do.
He doesn't speak so I don't know if he has the other symptoms mentioned, like dizziness or headaches.

Quinoa is the Devil. Tried it loved it ate a ton of it. Have been a bag of crap for days while still chowing it down. Thank god for my little brain and thinking this stuff might be the DEVIL. Your page helped me find the problem that was being eaten under my very nose. Guess I'll leave this to goats and people of the Andes!

If you have an allergy to chenopods are you then allergic to quinoa?? I had a severe reaction to chenopods on a skin allergy test resulting in streaking up the arm.

For the first time, I developed some slight tongue tingling and throat itch after eating quinoa , similiar reactions to other foods that if exposed to I may experience. - diagnosed by allergist to certain foods including grasses, mold pollen and some foods. I may eat quinoa occassionally only , I'd been eating it for about 2-3 days for lunch after adding it to a pot of soup.

It is a super source of iron which is why I'd purchased it. I plan to re-try a small quantity (1/4 teaspoon full) in about two weeks.

I used to eat quinoui almost every day for breakfast, as well as many other times when it was prepared as a side dish. Its delicious! Recently, however, I have found that I have a horrible intolerance to it, in any amount. The first time this happened, I ate a normal amount, and about an hour or so afterwards, I was lying in bed with horrible stomach pains and the sweats for almost 3 hours. I was completely nauseous, though my attempts to throw up failed because there was nothing in my stomach. I was convinced that I had food poisoning of some kind. Very suddenly, the pain stopped, and I was completely back to normal. Because I had no reason to believe it was from the quinoui, I ate it a second time several days later, and was in the exact same position again. Stomach clenching, extreme discomfort, nausea, sweating, the whole works. I could almost pinpoint exactly where in my digestive tract it was all knotted up in. It just didnt make sense. I still didnt quite make the connection that it was from quinoui because it was such a sudden intolerance from something I ate all the time. Third time, I ate a Kashi frozen meal that had some in it, and yep, same deal, though a little less intense because it was a smaller amount. This sparked my research on this strange occurance, and I found this blog.

Does anyone have any idea why this would happen? I just dont get it, but apparently I am not alone here...

I am not quite sure if I am allergic to quinoa or not. However, onecthing I am very certain about is I am SO very swollen and retaining SO much water. I have not felt like this in such a long time. I made quinoa this past week... it was packaged and I made it in a rice cooker. I absolutely love it, but my body started reacting in a very unfavorable way. At first, it was as if I was constipated to the max during the morning hours. Then, during the afternoon it was as if everything went back to normal, and all of a sudden my body started swelling. I gained approximately 10lbs in less than a week of eating it. I don't have any other symptoms, but I'm guessing my body is reacting to the quinoa... I still feel like a marshmallow! =(

I'm so relieved to read these comments about aother people having problems with Quinoa as it makes me feel a bit better knowing I am not the only one and that I am not imagining it. I've eaten Quinoa on numerous occasion (I quite like it too) with no troubles and then about 3 months ago I made peppers stuffed with Quinoa. I had severe stomach cramping for about 8 hours afterwards. My son and husband were fine. I am pregnant and had trouble eating peppers in my last pregnancy so thought it was the peppers and decided to avoid them for awhile. Last night I made Quinoa as a side dish and was violently ill afterwards (again husband and son were both fine). I had waves of severe stomach cramping, vomiting, diarrhea, headache and chills. Being pregnant this was very scary and I called the 24h nurses hotline for advice. I was just about to take myself to the emergency room when the symptoms FINALLY started settling down and I was able to fall asleep. As much as I love it I will NEVER eat it again, the pain is just not worth it.

I am so glad to have finally found others saying the same thing about quinoa- although sorry "we" cannot eat this nutritious grain. Twice in my life I have tried eating quinoa. These were 10 years apart. And like many others, it was on the third serving or so that did it. I have never, not even with the flu, been so ill. Violent vomiting, shaking, chills, etc. until I was at the dry heaves stage, as I was emptied out. The first time around I couldn't narrow down my being ill to anything else as it was the only new item in my diet, but baffled as I had eaten it a few times previous ( meaning the previous week.) So, as it has such a great nution profile I tried it again last Fall and was vomiting violently within 3 hours. And furious with myself as I had done it to myself !