Does The Paleo Model Eat... Quinoa?

QUINOA (Pronounced "keen-wah" for goodness sake, not "kin-o-a"!)

Not quite a real grain...

Cereal grains are the seeds of grasses. Quinoa is the seed of a broad-leaf plant. For this reason quinoa is actually a pseudo-cereal. i.e. Not technically a grain but with similar characteristics to one.

Quinoa has many touted benefits. The main ones being a relatively high (and complete) protein content, high levels of fibre, magnesium, iron and manganese and a relatively low glycemic load. 

And while quinoa has been eaten for millennia, it seems to be an uber popular food at the moment - particularly among the vegan/vegetarian/yoga/health/hip crowd. 

It is verging on 'super food' status and I see it popping up on a lot of New York restaurant menus to fancy up an otherwise basic market side or salad. (e.g. Kale, apple and quinoa salad).

However, I really don't think quinoa is all it's cracked up to be. And I certainly wouldn't consider it a superfood. Here's why:

Does The Paleo Model Eat... Agave Nectar?

Agave nectar (Pronounced "a-gah-vay"), also called agave syrup, is another one of those products that has been snapped up by marketers, health nuts and people who love jumping on the next "healthy" alternative without really looking into the actual properties of the stuff. 

Agave nectar, while it has a sexy name and comes from the same plant that makes tequila - which is actually my alcoholic drink of choice - is certainly not the healthy sweetener it is claimed to be.

The claimed health benefits include being low on the glycemic index (13-19) and that you require less of it than other sweeteners making it a lower calorie alternative to sugar without being "artificial". And, wow, it is all natural, gluten free and vegan friendly… no cruelty to bees. Namaste. 

My skeptical self would like to add that it is relatively new on the scene, sounds exotic and unfortunately hasn't been condemned yet like good old cane sugar, which all add to it's current popularity. 

So how healthy / unhealthy is this stuff, really? Let's look at the facts...