Buckwheat nutritional information

Much like a seahorse is not a horse, buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum) is not related to wheat (Triticum aestivum).  Other than their common names, and that they are both edible, buckwheat and wheat don't have much in common.  

While buckwheat and wheat are both angiosperms (vascular flowering plants), that is almost where the similarity ends.  Wheat is a monocot, while buckwheat is a dicot, as far as flowering plants go you can't get much more different than that.

Both plants are edible, both can be eaten in similar ways.  Both are popular breakfast foods, as well as being popular for animal feed, and both feed a tremendous number of humans across the world every day.  Both have edible leaves and stems, but I want to discuss the seed/fruit of buckwheat.  

Wheat contains gluten, buckwheat does not.  Wheat is low in several essential amino acids (eg lysine and threonine) and is not considered to be complete protein.  

Buckwheat contains high quality complete protein with decent quantities of all of the essential amino acids.  Buckwheat is rich in limiting amino acids like lysine and arginine, which are in shortest supply in plant-based diets and is pretty rare among plant foods.  For this reason, buckwheat is considered to be a complete protein.

Some buckwheat that I grew

Buckwheat nutritional value

It is difficult finding nutritional data on anything that is overly consistent.  Sometimes these differences come down to what exactly is being tested, or different varieties, or seasonal variations, or even how the test was conducted.  For this reason I try to look up several sources of information.  Regardless of the source, you will notice that buckwheat is incredibly nutritious for a plant based food.

I found a website that listed the following nutritional value per 100g of buckwheat:  

Principle	Nutrient Value	Percent of RDA
Energy	343 Kcal	17%
Carbohydrates	71.50 g	55%
Protein	13.25 g	24%
Total Fat	3.40 g	17%
Cholesterol	0 mg	0%
Dietary Fiber	10 g	26%
Vitamins
Folates (B9)	30 µg	7.5%
Niacin (B3)	7.020 mg	44%
Pantothenic acid	12.33 mg	25%
Riboflavin (B2)	0.425 mg	33%
Thiamin (B1)	0.101 mg	8.5%
Vitamin A	0 IU	0%
Electrolytes
Sodium	1 mg	<1%
Potassium	460 mg	10%
Minerals
Calcium	18 mg	2%
Copper	1.100 mg	122%
Iron	2.20 mg	27.5%
Magnesium	231 mg	58%
Manganese	1.300 mg	56.5%
Phosphorus	347 mg	50%
Selenium	8.3 µg	15%
Zinc	2.40 mg	22%
Amino acids
Lysine	672 mg	32%
Methionine	172 mg	24%
Tryptophan	192 mg	69%

Buckwheat nutrition compared to Grains

I also found a comparison of the nutritional value of buckwheat, rice, wheat, and maize.  I have highlighted the highest value in each row to make it easier to read. 

By in large, buckwheat appears to be more nutritious than any of the true grains that were tested in that sample:

Comparison of nutrition: Buckwheat, Rice, Wheat, and Maize

Buckwheat vitamins compared to wheat

To give a little perspective I looked up the Recommended Daily Intake (RDI) of a few vitamins and minerals that are present in buckwheat and listed the equivalent in wheat.  As you can see, buckwheat is far more nutritious than wheat.

Vitamin E (tocopherol) buckwheat 40mg, wheat <1mg, RDI 15-20mg with safe upper limit 1,000mg
Thiamin (B1) buckwheat 3.3mg, wheat 0.5mg, RDI 1.5mg
Riboflavin (B2) buckwheat 10.8mg, wheat 0.2mg, RDI 1.8mg
Niacin (B3) buckwheat 18, wheat 5.5, RDI 20 

Pantothenic acid (B5) buckwheat 11mg, wheat <1mg, RDI 10mg with safe upper limit of 1,000mg
Magnesium, buckwheat 390mg, wheat 138mg, RDI 400mg

Choline, buckwheat 440mg, wheat 14mg, RDI 550mg

Vitamin K (phylloquinone) buckwheat 7.00 µg, wheat 0.3 µg, RDI 80 µg

Vitamin A (retinol) like all grains, none.

Buckwheat compared to Oats

Oats (Avena sativa) are another popular breakfast food.  Oat is a monocot and is similar to wheat in many ways.  Unlike wheat, oats do not contain gluten.  Oats, much like buckwheat, are meant to naturally lower total cholesterol levels and improve HDL to LDL cholesterol ratio.  

I use buckwheat to make kasha for my breakfast each morning, which is similar to how many people eat steel cut oats.  I tried eating oaten kasha for some time, but found I was getting hungry early in the day.  When I make kasha using buckwheat I feel full for longer, which is nice.

I fount a web page with the following comparison table of buckwheat and oats.  Once again buckwheat comes out as an impressively nutritious food.  These results indicate that buckwheat is more nutritious than oats.  

per 100g	Buckwheat	Oatmeal
Calories	343	68
Carbohydrates	71.5 g	11.67 g
Fat	3.4 g	1.36 g
Dietary fiber	10 g	1.7 g
Protein	13.25 g	2.37 g
Calcium	18 mg	80 mg
Iron	2.2 mg	5.96 mg
Magnesium	231 mg	26 mg
Phosphorus	347 mg	77 mg
Potassium	460 mg	61 mg
Sodium	1 mg	49 mg
Zink	2.4 mg	0.62 mg
Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)	0.425 mg	0.215 mg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)	7.02 mg	3.025 mg
Vitamin B5	1.233 mg	0.317 mg
Vitamin B9 (Folic acid)	30 mg	39 mg

Buckwheat Glycemic index compared to grains

I have a little trouble with blood sugar, so wherever possible I prefer foods that have a low Glycemic Index (GI) and Glycemic Load (GL).

I found a peer reviewed paper comparing the GI and GL of buckwheat, barley, millet, spelt, bulgur, and couscous.  GI and GL are often used to assess diet quality in relation to the risk of diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and cancer development.

The lowest GI was found for buckwheat (34.7±8.2%) and barley (31.3±13.4%). The GL for these groats was 8.1±1.9 and 8.0±3.4, respectively.  The GI for millet, spelt and bulgur amounted to 56.2±20.6%, 69.8±35.0%, 64.5±36.8%, respectively, while for couscous amounted to 99.0± 36.0%.  The highest GL was observed for couscous (24.7±9.0).

The groats tested in that study classified barley and buckwheat as low GI food, millet and bulgur as medium GI food, spelt and couscous as a high GI food.  The study concluded that buckwheat and barley should be chosen the most often among these products, while the intake of couscous should be limited, especially by people with diabetes.  

Buckwheat is comparable to egg protein

100g of egg (about two eggs) contains about 13 grams of protein, which is similar to the amount of protein in buckwheat.  Both buckwheat and egg are eaten by people who are into fitness, strength training, and body builders.  

The absorbability of egg protein varies depending on how it is cooked, and is cited in literature as being between 50% and 90%.  The absorbability of the protein in buckwheat also varies in literature, possibly due to cooking methods, and is often cited as being around 93%.  Both buckwheat and egg contain good levels of all of the essential amino acids and are considered to be complete proteins.  

Conclusion

Buckwheat is incredibly nutritious for a plant based food.  If more people in this country ate buckwheat as an every day staple food they would be healthier and stronger.  

Buckwheat would be a valuable staple food in the diet of anyone who does not eat animal based foods or does not eat may animal based foods.  Buckwheat is simple to store, it tastes good, and can be used in a wide range of ways.  

I used to eat wheatbix each morning for breakfast.  Then the local shops ran out and I could not buy it for a few months, so I switched to oats, and then to buckwheat.  Since switching to buckwheat I have gained strength, I have lost fat, I have gained weight (presumably muscle) and am now staying up in the 'healthy' BMI range, my cholesterol levels have dropped, my HDL to LDL cholesterol ratio is now in the ideal range, my blood sugar levels are more stable, and I am less hungry.  

I plan to write another blog post at some stage on growing buckwheat as a cover crop and (according to research) a nitrogen fixer.  There seems to be little academic research on this topic outside of Russia and previous Soviet nations, but what research I can find is fascinating.  

I find the limited research into buckwheat odd considering the economic value of buckwheat, the amount of people it feeds (the FAO says buckwheat is a major food crop in the world), and how incredibly nutritious buckwheat is.  Given how much more nutritious buckwheat is compared to most other grains, I find it odd how limited its consumption is in Western nations where it remains a specialty food rather than a daily staple.  I assume this is mostly due to political reasons.