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?

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

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.