amaranto (kiwicha)

What is amaranto (kiwicha)?

Amaranto, also called kiwicha, is a tiny seed grain from the plant Amaranthus caudatus. In the Andes it is an everyday food. Cooks boil it like porridge, pop it like popcorn, or grind it into flour.

The seed is valued for its protein, which is rich in the amino acid lysine. Most grains are low in lysine. Amaranth also has no gluten, so people with coeliac disease (an immune reaction to gluten) can eat it.

The young leaves are eaten too, cooked like spinach. Oil pressed from the seed is sold in capsules.

Here is the honest verdict. As a food, amaranth is clearly nourishing. As a treatment for any named illness, the human evidence is thin and early.

Long traditional use is not proof that it works, and not proof that it is safe.

How does amaranto (kiwicha) work?

Most of what amaranth does in the body, it does as a food. It supplies protein, fibre, iron, magnesium and calcium. Those effects are well understood and not in doubt.

The claims that go further are far less settled. Amaranth seed oil is high in squalene, a fatty compound. In rat studies, amaranth oil and squalene lowered blood cholesterol.

Human results have been small and mixed. Some short trials found modest drops in cholesterol, others found none. So the mechanism is plausible, but not proven in people.

Fibre may also play a part. Soluble fibre slows how fast sugar enters the blood after a meal. That is a general property of high-fibre foods rather than something special to amaranth.

In test-tube work, amaranth peptides (small protein fragments) have shown antioxidant activity and blocked an enzyme linked to blood pressure. Whether any of that happens after you eat a bowl of it has not been shown.

What forms does amaranto (kiwicha) come in?

Amaranth is sold mostly as food, not as a pill.

- Whole seed, to boil like rice or porridge. - Puffed or popped seed, used in cereal and snack bars. - Flour, for breads, pancakes and gluten-free baking.

- Flakes, for hot cereal. - Alegria, a traditional sweet bar of popped seed and honey or syrup. - Fresh leaves, cooked as a green vegetable.

- Cold-pressed seed oil, sold in bottles or capsules. - Protein powder made from the seed.

The grain forms are ordinary groceries. The oil capsules and powders are sold as supplements and are far less studied.

Where it comes from:

Amaranth is one of the oldest crops of the Americas. Andean farmers grew kiwicha for thousands of years alongside quinoa and potatoes. Seeds have been found in tombs in Peru.

In Mexico the related species was called huauhtli. Aztec communities used it in food and in religious offerings. Spanish colonial rulers discouraged the crop, and planting fell away for centuries.

Andean and Mexican home cooking kept it alive. Traditional healers described it as a strengthening food for children, for people recovering from illness, and for nursing mothers. Leaf preparations were used for the gut and for sore mouths.

From the 1970s onward, agencies and researchers promoted amaranth again as a hardy, high-protein crop. It is now grown in Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, India and parts of Africa.

What does amaranto (kiwicha) help with?

• Gluten-free diets for coeliac disease: This one is solid. Amaranth seed contains no gluten, so it is safe for people with coeliac disease. It adds protein and minerals to a gluten-free diet, which can otherwise be low in both. One caution. Check the packet for a gluten-free label. Amaranth is often milled in plants that also handle wheat.
• General nourishment and protein intake: Andean tradition treated kiwicha as a food for children and for people getting over illness. The nutrition side of that holds up. The seed is a good source of protein, iron, magnesium and calcium. What it does not do is treat a disease. There is no trial showing that amaranth speeds recovery from any specific illness.
• High cholesterol: Tradition did not claim this; it is a modern research idea, driven by the squalene in the seed oil. Animal studies have been fairly positive. Human studies are small and mixed. A few short trials in adults with raised cholesterol found modest falls in total or LDL cholesterol. Others found no clear change. Treat amaranth as a decent food choice, not as a cholesterol treatment. It is not a substitute for a statin or other prescribed medicine.
• Blood sugar control: The evidence here is early. Rodent studies have shown lower blood sugar with amaranth or its extracts. In people, the data are limited to small studies and short feeding trials. Any benefit is likely the usual benefit of a whole grain high in fibre and protein. If you take diabetes medicine, keep taking it. Tell your doctor if you change your diet a lot.
• Constipation and low fibre intake: Amaranth is a reasonable source of fibre, and fibre does help stools move. That much is well accepted for high-fibre foods in general. There is no trial testing amaranth itself against constipation. Any other high-fibre grain would be expected to do much the same.
• Low iron intake: Amaranth seed and leaves both contain useful iron. The seed is often listed among plant foods that help a meat-free diet. The catch is absorption. Plant iron is absorbed less well than iron from meat, and phytates in the seed reduce it further. Soaking and cooking help. Vitamin C in the same meal helps too. Amaranth is not a treatment for diagnosed iron-deficiency anaemia (low iron in the blood). That needs testing and, usually, iron tablets.

Which foods are rich in amaranto (kiwicha)?

1. Whole amaranth (kiwicha) grain
2. Amaranth flour
3. Puffed amaranth cereal
4. Alegria bars
5. Amaranth leaves, cooked as a green
6. Gluten-free breads and pastas made with amaranth flour
7. Cold-pressed amaranth seed oil

Practical Tips:

Amaranth is itself the food, so there is no need for a supplement to get it.

The seed pairs well with foods high in vitamin C, such as tomatoes or citrus, which help you absorb its iron.

Popped amaranth bars can be high in sugar. Check the label if that matters to you.

What are the side effects of amaranto (kiwicha)?

• Wind and bloating when you first raise your fibre intake
• Loose stools
• Stomach cramping if you eat a lot at once
• Bitter taste and poor digestion from raw or badly washed seed
• Allergic reaction, which is rare
• Kidney stone risk from large, regular servings of the leaves

Good to know:

For most people amaranth causes no trouble at all. It has been eaten daily for centuries.

The common complaints are gut ones, and they come from fibre. They usually settle if you add it slowly and drink enough water.

Serious problems are rare. True allergy to amaranth has been reported but is uncommon. The real cautions attach to the leaves, which carry oxalates and nitrates, rather than to the grain.

How much amaranto (kiwicha) should you take?

• Recommended daily: Amaranth is a food, so packets carry serving sizes rather than doses. A typical label lists about a quarter cup of dry grain, roughly 45 to 50 g, as one serving. That cooks up to around a cupful. Seed oil capsules are often labelled at 1000 mg, once or twice a day. These are label figures, not advice for you. How much suits you depends on your diet, your gut and any conditions you have.
• Best time of day: Time of day does not matter. Eat it whenever you would eat any other grain. If you take a thyroid tablet such as levothyroxine, leave a gap of about four hours between the tablet and a high-fibre meal.
• With or without food: It is a food, so the question is really how to prepare it. - Rinse the seed, then boil it until soft. Do not eat it raw. - Popped or puffed seed is already heat-treated and ready to eat. - Cook the leaves rather than eating big raw servings. - Oil capsules are usually taken with a meal, which suits a fat-based product.
• Time to effect: As food, the nourishment is immediate; it counts towards your day's protein and minerals from the first meal. For fibre and bowel habit, most people notice a change within a few days. For cholesterol, any effect would take weeks and would be modest at best. It may do nothing at all for you. Do not judge your cholesterol by how you feel; it needs a blood test.
• How long to take it: As a grain, amaranth can be part of the diet indefinitely, the same as rice or oats. There is no reason to cycle it on and off. For the oil capsules, no safe long-term duration has been established in studies. Nobody has tested years of use.