# most nutritionally complete grain? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 9, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nutritionally-complete-grain/249508 "2004-06-09T19:00:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nutritionally-complete-grain/249508/1 "2004-06-09T19:00:59Z")
Watching Survivor of course brings on desert island fantasies. Now, I could gather food fairly well, but having that rice to fall back on, and be a source of carbs would be good. Then I thought- wouldn’t whole brown rice be better? Which brings me to my question- which grain is the most nutritionally complete, in terms of amino acids, vitamins, and fiber? ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nutritionally-complete-grain/249508/2 "2004-06-09T19:39:45Z")
According to the stoners, it’s [hemp seed](http://www.angelfire.com/ca7/ddc/Food.html). 😃 According to actual researchers, it’s [quinoa](http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/quinoa.html). > [@](#): > > Quinoa [pronounced “keen-wah”] > Quinoa can be termed the ‘super grain’ because it is overflowing with nutrients and has multiple uses. Quinoa has a very mild taste and a light, non-sticky texture with a pleasant crunch, which comes from its external germ layer. Quinoa is higher in iron than other grains and is a good source of many other key nutrients like folate, zinc, niacin, thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B6, magnesium, and phosphorous. It can be used as rice is, but with many more nutrients and the same taste. [source page](http://www.nutrition.tufts.edu/news/matters/2001-04-17.html) and a good article about whole grains in general. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nutritionally-complete-grain/249508/3 "2004-06-09T22:04:05Z")
Hmm, it seems you’re going to have to define ‘grain’. Quinoa is a chenopod and not a grass, so defining it as a grain is dubious. It is only a grain under the definition of ‘plant that produces small edible seeds’. But of course if we are going to work under such a broad definition of grain then we also need to include the pulses or ‘grain legumes’ such as chickpeas, lentils etc. And as you can see the nutritional value of lentils is well above that of quinoa in almost every field but especially protein. ( [http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/anim3754?opendocument](http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/%24department/deptdocs.nsf/all/anim3754?opendocument) ). The only reason quinoa could even be considered is if you deliberately exclude pulses from the ‘grain’ category, but it’s very artificial to exclude pulses as grains because they are not a grass while allowing quinoa, which is also not a grass. ---
**Author:** ![Jpeg\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/4bbf92/32.png) [@Jpeg\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jpeg_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2004, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nutritionally-complete-grain/249508/4 "2004-06-09T22:31:57Z")
I thought it was [t’ef](http://recipeview.com/None/None7651.htm). Used in Ethiopian cooking. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nutritionally-complete-grain/249508/5 "2004-06-10T04:42:35Z")
I rice a “true” grain? Of the _true_ grains, which is best? Looks like barley?? ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2004, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-nutritionally-complete-grain/249508/6 "2004-06-10T06:21:23Z")
Rice is a ‘true’ grain, whatever that is, in the sense that it is a grass. Of course so is Teff. I’m guessing that of the grasses Teff or one of the other odd crops would be nutritionally the best.