Buckwheat Diet
Summary
The buckwheat diet, as the name suggests, is a diet centered entirely on meals made from cooked buckwheat. It is a gluten-free mono-diet, sometimes classified as a detox diet, with some variations permitting certain beverages like tea and kefir.
Overall, buckwheat has a favourable nutritional profile, being high in dietary fiber, high-quality protein, magnesium, manganese, and copper, and low in calories, saturated fats, and cholesterol.
The buckwheat diet provides less than 500 calories per day instead of the recommended daily average calorie intake of 2000 to 2500.
Buckwheat has been researched to have various health-beneficial qualities, reducing blood pressure and inflammation, decreasing the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative disease, cancer, and more.
All that said, the buckwheat diet alone does not provide enough calories, protein, fats, as well as most vitamins and minerals, and is not recommended to keep for long periods due to the risk of malnourishment.
The buckwheat diet is also not advisable for people with kidney stones as it has high oxalate values.
Introduction
Buckwheat is not linked to wheat; despite its deceptive name, buckwheat isn't actually a grain. Buckwheat, a gluten-free non-grass species utilized as a cereal in cooking, is regarded as a pseudocereal. Buckwheat, rhubarb, and sorrel are members of the same family.
The name buckwheat diet is quite self-explanatory. It is a diet based completely on cooked buckwheat meals and is considered a type of detoxification or mono-diet. Some versions also allow a few drinks, such as tea and kefir.
Buckwheat Diet and Nutrition
Detox diets are not known for their nutrient-rich qualities as they are often about losing weight.
The infographics below show what a diet consisting of 3 buckwheat meals cooked with salt and pepper, kefir, tea, and water looks like from a nutrition perspective, according to our diet analyzer.
Macronutrients and Calories
This diet provides 471 calories per day, which is significantly less than the recommended 2000 to 2500 calorie daily intake.
Buckwheat contains no cholesterol and a negligible amount of fats.
A 100g serving of cooked buckwheat provides 20g carbohydrates, out of which 85% are net carbs and 15% is dietary fiber. It falls in the top 29% as a source of fiber.
The protein found in buckwheat is of high quality as it provides some amount of all essential amino acids.
Glycemic Index, Insulin Index and Oxalates
Buckwheat has a low glycemic index of 51; combined with kefir, the glycemic index of the buckwheat diet falls to 24. This diet also has a low insulin index of 45.
For people with kidney stones, it is recommended to avoid the buckwheat diet as this grain has a high oxalate value of 133mg per every 100g serving. This makes the total daily oxalate intake of this diet 692mg.
As can be noted, buckwheat lacks vitamins B12, A, C, and D entirely. It is also low in vitamins E, C, B1, B2, potassium, calcium, selenium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc.
On the other hand, buckwheat is a good source of magnesium, copper, and manganese.
Buckwheat and Health
Buckwheat has been researched to have various health-promoting qualities.
Flavonoids found in buckwheat, such as rutin and quercetin, help reduce blood pressure through improving blood circulation and widening the blood vessels (1).
Due to its polyphenolic content, rutin in particular, buckwheat also has strong antioxidant effects, which can potentially decrease the risk of cardiovascular, degenerative, and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as cancer (1).
Buckwheat has also been researched to have antidiabetic properties, reducing blood sugar levels, increasing insulin levels, and overall lowering the risk of diabetes (1, 2).
Buckwheat has demonstrated many other beneficial properties, such as antiallergic, anticancer, liver-protecting, anti-inflammatory, antifatigue, hypocholesterolemic, neuroprotective, anti-microbial, etc (1, 2, 3).
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