Amaranth - food of the future

Among the adherents of a healthy diet, a new, more to say a well forgotten old plant - amaranth - is gaining in popularity. Scientists and nutrition experts of the UN, this plant was called the culture of the XXI century as one of the most promising for the cultivation and nutrition of mankind. This plant, unique in its nature, deserves the closest attention. The homeland of the amaranth is South America, where for 8 thousand years this plant served as the main food for the Aztecs, the Incas and the Maya peoples. Amaranth was considered a sacred plant and was the second most important cereal crop after corn.
With the advent of the Spanish conquerors, numerous amaranth plantations were destroyed, and their cultivation is prohibited. Since the middle of the 19th century, culture has come to Europe, and among the peoples of Asia among the mountain tribes of India, Pakistan, Nepal becomes the main grain and vegetable culture.
In Russia for a long time, amaranth was considered a malignant weed, until it was noticed that pets prefer this plant to other foods and eat it whole - from stems to seeds. Now in our country amaranth is bred for the most part as fodder and ornamental culture. Its popular in the people name - shiritsa, cock-scallops, cat's tail.
Scientists have found that amaranth has a special nature of photosynthesis, in which the amount of absorbed carbon dioxide is several times greater than other plants of this group. This causes the colossal possibilities of its growth, endurance to climatic conditions and yield.
And besides this amaranth is unique in the content of biologically active substances, in many respects superior to corn, soybeans, wheat. Amaranth seeds have an increased (16-18%) protein content (for comparison, in wheat protein only 12%) and essential amino acids. In amaranth, the content of the most important amino acid - lysine, due to which the food is absorbed by the body, is 30 times higher than in wheat. In the green of amaranth contains vitamins, carbohydrates, flavonoids, minerals, polyunsaturated fatty acids
In amaranth oil, a unique high (up to 6%) amount of squalene. Squalene is a rare and necessary substance for the body, close in composition to the human cell. Interacting with water, this substance saturates the cells of the body with oxygen and is a powerful oxidant and immunomodulator. In approximately the same amount of squalene is contained, perhaps, only in the shark liver, preparations from which are very expensive.

How to use amaranth

During the ripening period, amaranth leaves are used as salads, adding them to vegetables, and also sprinkling them with soups or side dishes in the form of finely chopped leaves. Dried seeds of amaranth can be ground into flour and used as an additive to food in the winter season.
Amaranth seeds can be brewed as a tea or a drink in a thermos bottle. In winter, they can be germinated, for this you must constantly monitor the moisture in the germinated container.
But, perhaps, one of the most effective ways of using amaranth is its oil. At home, it is impossible to squeeze out the oil, and in industrial production, this is a laborious task. Therefore, the cost of amaranth oil surpasses almost all the oils that we use in everyday life. 100% amaranth oil can be found only through online stores from manufacturers.
Finally I want to recall that the inclusion in our constant diet of amaranth in all its forms will allow us to follow the wisest dictum of Hippocrates: "Let the food be your medicine, not the medicine for food."