藜麥的營養價值

越來越多希望通過改變個人飲食習慣來改善和保持健康的人們開始食用藜麥，因為它是一種很好的「功能性食品」（有助於降低各種疾病的危險和/或促進身體健康）。由於其卓越的營養特性，這一食物對於人類生長發育的不同階段都是非常有益的。除了易於消化，它不含膽固醇，而且可以很簡單地用來製作全面和均衡的食物。

藜麥還可以用於普通餐和素食，並用來為特定消費群體，如老人、兒童、高體能消耗的運動員、糖尿病患者、乳糜瀉 (coeliac disease) 和乳糖不耐 (intolerance to lactose) 受症患者製作專門食物 。

Nutritional value

The consumption of quinoa is becoming increasingly popular among people wanting to improve and maintain their state of health by changing their eating habits, as it is an excellent ‘functional food’  (which helps reduce the risk of various diseases and/or promotes good health). Because of its superior nutritional characteristics this food can be very useful in the different stages of human development and growth. Apart from being easy to digest, it has no cholesterol and is easy to use in the preparation of comprehensive and balanced diets.

Quinoa can also be used in both normal and vegetarian diets, as well as in the preparation of special diets for specific consumer groups such as the elderly, children, high-performance athletes, diabetics, celiacs and people with intolerance to lactose.

蛋白質 Proteins

藜麥的獨特之處是其高蛋白質含量。其蛋白質的品質和平衡性優於其他穀物，在12.5％和16.7％之間。藜麥蛋白質的37％由必需氨基酸 (essential amino acids) 構成。

必需氨基酸是人體無法產生的，因此要從膳食中攝取。如果膳食中缺乏此類氨基酸，壞死組織的細胞得不到修復或新的組織無法再生，導致人體生長和發育受阻。人體需要的必需氨基酸是：纈氨酸、亮氨酸、蘇氨酸、賴氨酸、色氨酸、組氨酸、苯丙氨酸、異亮氨酸、精氨酸和蛋氨酸。

藜麥的氨基酸含量超過其它谷類：谷氨酸、天冬氨酸、異亮氨酸、賴氨酸、苯丙氨酸、酪氨酸和纈氨酸。谷氨酸 (Glutamic acid) 有助於 提供大腦所需能量並促進學習、記憶等重要過程以及神經元的可塑性；天冬氨酸 (aspartic acid) 可增強肝功能，並在維持心血管系統方面發揮重要作用；酪氨酸 (tyrosine) 具有重要的抗壓力功能，在減輕抑鬱和焦慮和其他方面起著根本性的作用；藜麥中賴氨酸 (lysine) 的含量達到其他穀物的兩倍，它能夠通過產生抗體來增強機體的免疫功能，促進腸胃功能，配合組織修復，促進脂肪酸的代謝，協助鈣的轉化和吸收，它甚至（似乎）可與維生素C一道，延緩或阻止癌擴散，而這僅僅是藜麥眾多治療用途中的幾個。異亮氨酸、亮氨酸和纈氨酸除了其他功能之外，共同參與生產肌肉能量，改善神經肌肉疾病，防止肝功能受損，並維持血糖的平衡。

Proteins

What distinguishes quinoa is its high protein value. The quality and balance of its proteins is superior to that of other cereals, fluctuating between 12.5 and 16.7%. And 37% of quinoa proteins are made up of essential amino acids.

Essential amino acids are those that the human body cannot produce and that must therefore be ingested from the diet. A deficiency of these amino acids in the diet restricts human development as the cells of dead tissues cannot be repaired or new tissues created, in the case of growth. The essential amino acids for humans are : Valine, Leucine, Threonine, Lysine, Tryptophan, Histidine, Phenylalanine, Isoleucine, Arginine and Methionine.6

The amino acids that quinoa contains in greater quantities than other cereals are: glutamic acid, aspartic acid, isoleucine, lysine, phenylalanine, tyrosine and valine. Glutamic acid is involved in the production of energy for the brain and in key processes such as learning, memorization and neuronal plasticity; aspartic acid enhances liver function and is vital for maintaining the cardiovascular system; tyrosine has an important antistress function and plays a fundamental role in alleviating depression and anxiety, among other functions; lysine, whose content in quinoa is double that in other cereals, enhances the immunity function by helping build antibodies, favours the gastric function, collaborates in tissue repair, participates in the metabolism of fatty acids, helps the transfer and absorption of calcium, and can even, it would seem, delay or block – together with vitamin C – cancer metastasis, to mention only a few of its many therapeutic properties. As for isoleucine, leucine and valine, these participate together in the production of muscular energy, improve neuromuscular disorders, prevent liver damage and help maintain a balance of sugar levels in the blood, among other functions.

脂肪Fats

藜麥脂肪大多是單不飽和脂肪酸和多不飽和脂肪酸，將其納入食物對身體有益，因為它們對於人類神經和視覺系統結構和功能的形成至關重要。同時，它們有助於降低血液中總膽固醇和低密度脂蛋白膽固醇（壞膽固醇）的水平，而這裡僅是藜麥脂肪對人體機體消耗歐米加脂肪酸方面多種好處的幾個例子。生藜麥籽粒中脂肪酸ω-3、ω-6和ω-9的含量分別是8.1％、52.3％、23％。

Fats

The majority of quinoa fats are monounsaturates and polyunsaturates which are beneficial to the body when incorporated into food, as they are fundamental in forming the structure and functionality of the human nervous and visual system. At the same time, their consumption reduces total cholesterol level and cholesterol LDL (bad cholesterol) in the blood, just to mention some of the multiple benefits to the human organism of consuming omega fatty acids. Fatty acid values in a raw quinoa grain are 8.1%, 52.3%, 23% of omega 3, omega 6 and omega 9 respectively.

纖維Fibre

藜麥是一種富含纖維的食物，其構成根據不同類型而有所差異，從2.49到5.31g/100克幹物質不等。現已證明，膳食纖維能夠降低總膽固醇、壞膽固醇和動脈壓，而且它可作為一種抗氧化劑。抗氧化劑可以防止自由基引起的老化過程和其他疾病。

Fibre

Quinoa is a food rich in fibre with a composition that varies according to type of grain, ranging from 2.49 to 5.31g/100 gr of dry matter. It has been shown that dietary fibre reduces levels of total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and arterial pressure, and that it acts as an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect us from free radicals that cause the ageing processes and from other diseases.

無麩質Gluten free

根據《食品法典》(Codex Alimentarius)，藜麥被認為不含麩質，因為它的麩質含量低於20mg/kg，因此有益於那些對麩質過敏的人。經常食用藜麥可以加快腸絨毛的恢復，其速度遠遠超過採用簡單的無麩質膳食。

Gluten free

Quinoa is considered to be gluten free as it contains less than 20mg/kg according to the Codex Alimentarius, rendering it useful for people allergic to gluten. A regular consumption of quinoa helps celiacs regain normality of the intestinal villi far more quickly than with a simple gluten-free diet.

礦物質Minerals

藜麥實際上包含所有的礦物質，含量高於其他穀物。它含有磷、鈣、鐵、鉀、鎂、錳、鋅、鋰和銅。

其鐵的含量是小麥的兩倍，大米的3倍，並且與豆類的鐵含量幾乎一樣。

它的鈣含量比小麥多1.5倍，具有促進骨骼和牙齒結構的功能，以及促進調節神經肌肉的化學和電刺激傳遞、細胞分泌和血液凝固。4至9歲兒童及成人的鈣推薦攝入量分別為每天600-700毫克和1000-1300毫克（糧農組織/世衛組織，2001年）。

由於體內同時存在鋅，所以鈣能夠被吸收，這使得藜麥成為最佳食物，例如，它可避免鈣流失和骨質疏鬆症，其他的食物也含有鈣，但其中所含的鈣不能被人體吸收。藜麥的鋅含量是小麥的兩倍，與大米和玉米相比則差異更大。

Minerals

A quinoa grain contains virtually all minerals at a higher level than cereals. It contains phosphorous, calcium, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, zinc, lithium and copper.

Its iron content is twice that of wheat, three times that of rice and almost that of bean.

It has 1.5 times more calcium than wheat. This mineral is responsible for various bone and dental structure functions and also plays a role in regulating the neuromuscular transmission of chemical and electric stimuli, cell secretion and blood coagulation. The recommended calcium intake for children aged 4 to 9 years is 600-700 mg/day and for adults is from 1000 to 1300 mg/day (FAO/WHO, 2001).

Calcium is absorbed by the body due to the concurrent presence of zinc, which makes it highly recommended to, for example, avoid decalcification and osteoporosis, in contrast to other foods that indeed contain calcium but in which the calcium cannot be absorbed by the body. The zinc content of quinoa is twice that of wheat, and the differences are even greater when compared to rice and maize.

維生素Vitamins

藜麥富含維生素B、維生素C和複合維生素E，其維生素B和維生素C的含量高於小麥。它富含β-胡蘿蔔素、煙酸（B3）。它的核黃素（B2）、α-生育酚（維生素E）和胡蘿蔔素含量大大高於小麥和大米。

Vitamins

Quinoa has a high content of the vitamins of the B, C and E complex, with a vitamin B and C content higher than that of wheat. It is rich in beta-carotene and niacin (B3). It contains substantially more riboflavin (B2), alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) and carotene than wheat and rice.

資料來源：2013國際藜麥年秘書處
Source: 2013 International Year of Quinoa Secretariat
圖片 Photo:Bioversity International