Is it possible to be allergic to Quinoa?

[Spagblog]

I have had some weird pains in the past. I get a stomach ache and kidney ache for no apparent reason.

I wondered whether it was linked to what I ate. Both times I had eaten Quinoa.

Tonight I had quinoa for tea, and I don't know if it psychosymatic, or something else, but my throat felt funny and I couldn't face eating anymore.

[Peachy]

Could well be then.

If its affecting your throat DO NOT risk eating it again- allergies going into the throat can be fatal and frankly, whilst I am sure you like Quinoa very much it just is not worth it. Allergies can be progressive and the next step could be anaphalaxis.

[Spagblog]

After my bath last night I had the funny aches and cramps and went to bed with a hot water bottle. I feel fine this morning, but have decided to avoid Quinoa from now on. What a strange thing to be intolerant of!

[Sciolist]

In the last few days on another thread someone said that you need to wash Quinoa carefully before using it as there may be a chemical residue - I woudl guess that is more likely to casue a problem than quinoa itself.

[Spagblog]

Mmm, I did rinse it, but maybe I need to be more thorough. My DH ate the same meal and is fine.
I just can't understand what it has in it that my body doesn't like?

[Sciolist]

It was FlamingToaster who said (on 29 Feb):

quinoa is an extremely nutritious glutenfree grain and comes out very like couscous. There's lots of interesting information here: www.quinoa.net/ There are some recipes on there as well. One thing you have to be very careful of is that you wash it extremely thoroughly because it is covered with saponin, which is bitter and is there to stop animals eating it. You have to wash this off - some sites say thorough washing under running water is enough, others say pour boiling water over it. The saponin comes off and looks soapy- don't soak the quinoa (i.e. don't leave it soaking in water) as this can allow the saponin to get into the actual seed. I once had one of the only two migraines I've ever had after eating quinoa - I reckon I didn't wash it enough!

[Kewcumber]

why on earth would you go to such lengths to eat something so vile? Spagblog - you have the perfect excuse to avoid it - take the opportunity with both hands and run, girl, run, as far and fast away from the quinoia as your legs can manage.

[snozmum]

My son gets hyperactive on Quinoa pasta (a mixture of rice/quinoa). He is very sensitive to a lot of things (is on the hyperactive no-salicylates diet) and is lovely and calm now but within minutes of eating the quinoa pasta he went loopy for at least 6 hours, back to throwing/shouting/kicking/fighting and generally hyperactive again. We are a very allergic family. And I rinsed it twice. Sigh...Can't find out anything about it on the net either.

[snozmum]

Found something on a salicylate-free website that said quinoa was not as safe a grain for allergic people as amaranth/ aramanth? Which is interesting (or do I need to get out more?). But does anyone have ANY idea what Amaranth/aramanth is?

[snozmum]

And someone on the salicylatesensitivity forum told me that quinoa is high in phenols to which some people are sensitive. Buckwheat is high in phenols too. And an allergy specialist (NHS) I spoke to said quinoa allergy is not common but does exist. Does that help at all?

[Papillon]

We had Quinoa for tea, it was an organic quinoa and i did not wash it. Maybe some brands need washing more than others?

[Steph3380]

I have had 3 episodes of SEVERE abdominal and lower back pain, leaving me crippled on the floor in my bathroom for at least an hour. All three times happened about an hour after eating my favorite comfort food, Quinoa salad w chic peas, scallions and zuccinni. I was so sad to admit it was the quinoa, so I went to my doctor and thought it was gallstones or a kidney infection. Ultrasound and blood tests came up negative. Well, after searching the web I finally found this page where you were talking about the rare quinoa allergy. Funny how it took this long to surface? I have been eating quinoa for 3 months now. I am 28, very fit and I eat right. I guess I should have washed it more, but I figured since it was pre-packaged and organic, a quick thorough rinse would be fine. Guess not :-) I have to say goodbye to my favorite grain and be thankful I don't have something serious like gallstones!!! Though the pain attacks were very scary.

[noonki]

my DS1 ezcema flares up whenever he has Quinoa... so stopped it,
interesting about washing!

[eval]

quinoa has a terrible effect on me, as well. i refused to believe it was actually the quinoa making me feel bad - but i am also allergic to gluten and quinoa is a good healthy, alternative grain and is really tasty with some simple seasoning on it's own, or when baked in breads and such. so, i had been tring it out. i am typing this with pretty bad abdominal pain and a bit of a headache - i most recently purchased some gluten free bread made from quinoa and buckwheat. i thought if it was broken down and baked in bread, maybe i'd be ok. nope.

noonki, do you have a link to the page you were talking about that mentioned the quinoa allergy? i can't find much info on it. glad to see i'm not the only one who gets these symptoms from it!! i thought i was going crazy.

[nightcat]

millet is also very nutritious and becoming more available

the problem with all grains is that most of them will be treated against moulds and possibly rodents

[Darlow]

I had a quinoa salad at about 1300 yesterday and was at work throwing up every ten mins from about 1530 until I had nothing left to throw up, it was horrible. This has happened to me before years ago, but thought nothing of it - I thought may be I had not washed the quinoa properly.
Never again!!

[Winda]

I am sorry that my English is not very good but I want to you tell my experience to quinoa.
Yesterday (10 September 2009) I was eating in the restaurant of Ikea in Delft (Holland) and had a meal whit rice and quinoa and it toasted very good. But just from the first bite I had a strong feeling of pepper between the back of may nose and my throat, and it heards. First I did not no where it came from and the meal did not taste very spicy. I test every part of the meal separated. Every time I was eating quinoa the ?strong pepper fealing? came back and became stronger and more painful. So I think I better not eating quinoa anymore.

[Ylva]

Quinoa gives me the worst stomach cramps which last for about 8-9 hours. I won't touch it again.

Quinoa was recommended to me by a doula/nutritionist when I was pregnant with dd1. I really didn't like it at first and dh hated it so I didn't touch it for a while.

When I started weaning dd1, I gave Quinoa a second chance due to its celebrated nutritional value. I made some quite tasty Quinoa-based dishes such as chicken veg saladas etc. and we all (even sceptical dh) enjoyed the meals very much. Over a period of approximately 3 moths we ate Quinoa once a week and I didn't have any adverse effects.

The first time I started feeling really ill was when I tried a portion of dd1's Plum "Four grain muesli with strawberry and banana", which contains Quinoa. I thought that it was maybe not good for adults to eat food designed for infants and didn't think about it further.

The next time I prepared a Quinoa dish I developed awful stomach cramps which lasted for 8 hours. I tried eating Quinoa again a few weeks after that and the same thing happened. I gave it one more chance when making lunch for dd1 and had the same bad experience so now I know for sure that I cannot eat Quinoa anymore, though I rinsed the Quinoa for about 2 mins and had bought organic produce. I won't be eating it again and am reluctant giving Quinoa to dd1 from now on. Brown rice and past will have to do for us.

[fatsatsuma]

Oooh this is interesting. I've only eaten quinoa once. A few hours afterwards I had stomach cramps and felt strongly for some reason that it was a reaction to the quinoa. I really haven't wanted to touch it since, although I still have a packet in the cupboard.

I don't have any other food allergies and wouldn't usually jump to conclusions like that, but something made me sure that it was the quinoa which had caused the stomach cramps.

Sounds like quite a lot of people have had a similiar reaction. I didn't know about the washing thing, so maybe that's why I had the stomach cramps.

[Lola37]

I've had reactions to quinoa 3 times now. I keep trying it b/c I know it's supposed to be very healthy and a good alternative to rice/pasta. I will never eat it again though! Every time I have really bad stomach cramps; diarrhea, vomiting, it's awful! And yes, I rinsed it well and just tried different brands, wanting to be able to eat it. Too bad, because I do like it!

[2ndFydl]

Wow--I thought I was the only one. The last four times I ate quinoa, I developed severe abdominal cramps for the rest of the day and was quite uncomfortable. I no longer eat quinoa, which makes me sad because I really like it and it's so nutritious.

[MANU2]

j'ai mangé du quinoa pendant plusieurs années mais depuis 6 mois, chaque fois que j'en mange, maâm un peu, j'ai des douleurs d'estomac intense durant out la durée de la digestion. mon ventre se gonfle jusqu'à quintupler de volume. rien à faire pour apaiser la douler. je n'y croyais pas au début mais cette fois c'est sur, c'est bien le quinoa qui délenche ça.

[ppeatfruit]

Yes from this thread i deffo think it is possible to be allergic to quinoa!! Everyone is different and react in different ways to varying foods IMO and E yr blood type has a lot to do with it.

[LittleCheesyPineappleOne]

Yes, I am. Or at least I have oral allergy syndrome and I get exactly the same symptoms with quinoa (itchy swollen throat) as I do with the fruit and nuts I can't eat.