It depends, the answer is not so easy. Quinoa is one of the most popular foods today because it is a super food, that is, a type of ingredient that provides us with a large amount of nutrients in a very small amount of it. Therefore, it is a highly beneficial product for health that helps us improve internal processes and, thus, make us much stronger and healthier.
However, there are those who claim that quinoa makes you fat, others that it loses weight, but it is difficult to give a definitive answer without exploring several factors to take into account. Therefore, in this oneHOWTO article we are going to find out if quinoa makes you fat, its calories and its benefits so that you know how to consume it properly and take advantage of all its properties.
What is quinoa – calories and nutritional value
Despite the fact that quinoa is currently part of the list of the super-foods, the truth is that it is still a great source of protein, in addition to being very rich in carbohydrates. Therefore, we must not exceed its consumption.
First of all, it is necessary to know what quinoa is to understand its nutritional value. it is a seed that, by mistake, is mistaken for a cereal due to its cooking method and its appearance. The greatest contribution of quinoa is protein, but it also provides us with carbohydrates and an interesting source of vitamins and minerals. Next, we tell you the quinoa calories and its nutritional content per 1 cooked cup of food:
- 222 calories
- 39 g of carbohydrates
- 8 g protein
- 6 g fat
- 5 g fiber
- 1g sugar
Thanks to this interesting nutritional contribution, quinoa is considered a super food and, therefore, it is included in that list along with other products such as kale, coconut oil or charcoal.
But then, does quinoa make you fat? The answer to this question depends on each person’s daily calorie intake and burn. By itself, quinoa is not fattening, but if it is consumed in large quantities or the diet is not complemented with a healthy exercise routine, the carbohydrates it contains will inevitably be transformed into fat.
What you can be sure of is that quinoa will provide you with a valuable supply of nutrients in less food.
Does quinoa for dinner make you fat?
Much is said about whether the calories you eat at dinner are more fattening than those you eat for the day, but research has not yet yielded definitive results. What we do know is that, although quinoa contains fewer carbohydrates than foods like pasta, it is still rich in carbohydrates.
At this point, we must remember that carbohydrates are foods that are very rich in energy (that is, in calories) and, if they are not consumed by our body, they end up stored in the body as saturated fat. We understand that it would be something similar to the “reserve” of our body that will burn when we need an extra energy during the day. But if this reserve is increasing, in the end, we will get fat.
Whatever time of day you consume the quinoa, it is important to keep in mind that all the calories that you do not burn will be converted into reserves, but this does not mean that you have to spend all day in the gym to eliminate them, because the body burns them throughout the day by itself. With a consistent exercise routine and a moderate intake of high-calorie foods, most people will not be at risk of gaining weight.
Recommended foods for dinner and not to gain weight
And what can you eat at night so as not to gain weight? To answer this question, we must first understand the relationship that our body establishes with food. The use that we give to the calories ingested through food is purely energy, that is, what we eat is what we will use to function correctly both inside (our body) and outside (perform our daily tasks). The source from which we obtain energy to live is from food, that is why it is so important that we give our body a healthy diet from which it can obtain quality nutrients and avoid toxins or harmful substances.
So, if we think about what we need first thing in the day, just woke up and with the whole day ahead of us, we will understand that it will not be the same as at dinner time, when we are going to prepare to sleep and be still for a few 8 hours. For this reason, at this time of day we should consume foods that satisfy our appetite, that provide us with nutrients but that are low in calories and fat, since our body does not need this contribution to go to sleep.
That being said, foods that we can take at dinner time are as follows:
- Lean meats (chicken, turkey, rabbit, etc.): basically because they are very low in fat
- Fish: they are also very low in fat and calories
- Skim dairy: they are a rich source of protein
- Eggs: they are also very protein
- Vegetables: they are highly nutritious, satisfying and hardly provide us with calories
As you can see, in this list we have stopped mentioning other foods such as carbohydrates or fruits since, although they are very healthy, they should not be taken at this time of day due to their contribution in sugars and / or calories, something that we do not need to go to sleep. In this other oneHOWTO article we will tell you why it is bad to eat fruit at night.
This article is merely informative, at oneHOWTO we do not have the power to prescribe any medical treatment or make any type of diagnosis. We invite you to see a doctor in the case of presenting any type of condition or discomfort.
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