Let’s Feed Somalia!Jess Britton

Biology 12

September 26th, 2011

As the drought in Somalia continues to cause famine, tens of thousands of people are dying. This is said to be

East Africa’s worst drought in 60 years. The people of

Somalia are in dire need of aid, and we must step up!

In order to do our part we will send a flour that is most suited to aid the people of Somalia. I want to send a flour that has

high nutritional value that these people need. But this flour must also be reasonably priced and

not too expensive!

My first question is which flour has the highest protein content

in order to aid in producing antibodies, hormones,

enzymes, collagen formation and tissue repair?

Secondly, which flour is rich in minerals that are essential to

the human body?

Next, is the fat content in the flour sufficient enough for the people of Somalia who are

starving?

Also, is the flour worth it’s cost? And could its nutritional value be

more important?

My Research!

My number one priority was to discover which flour was the most nutritious! In my research I found that the most nutritious flour by far was quinoa flour. With that information, I decided to discover why

quinoa had the highest nutritional value, and compare it to a flour more common:

wheat flour.

Quinoa Is More Nutritious!

This table displays how much more nutritious quinoa is

compared to wheat! I have put in blue the more relevant

points. Pay attention to the “% More than Wheat”

column!

Nutrient Unit of Measure Amount in Quinoa % More than Wheat

Food Energy Kcal 374 113%

Total lipid (fats) Gms 5.8 302%

Carbohydrates Gms 68.9 101%

Ttl monosaturated fat Gms 1.535 506%

Ttl polyunsaturated fat Gms 2.347 306%

Riboflavin Mg 0.396 360%

Folacin Mcg 49 110%

Potassium Mg 740 217”%

Calcium Mg 60 240%

Phosphorus Mg 410 123%

Magnesium Mg 210 169%

Iron Mg 9.25 256%

Zinc Mg 3.3 118%

Pantothenic Acid Mg 1.047 111%

Copper Mg 0.82 200%

Lysine Gms 0.734 181%

Methionine Gms 0.262 113%

Arginine Gms 0.918 130%

Tryptophan Gms 1.100 580%

In-Class ExperimentBy comparing the wheat flour with quinoa, we made some very interesting observations. When testing for

protein, quinoa’s results were negative. After researching I had discovered that quinoa is a whole grain that is non-

processed. This caused the proteins to stay trapped within the grain and not be easily tested like wheat which

is processed.

Simple Sugar Starch Fat Protein

QUINOA 1.5-2.0% + More fat than wheat flour.

-

WHEAT 1.0-1.5% + Less fat than quinoa.

+

Contrary to our experiment, quinoa has the highest protein content out of all the flours! It

has all 8 of the essential amino acids and contains lysine, a very

important amino acid!

And voila! The answer to question number one has been answered! Lysine is a very important amino acid that produces antibodies,

hormones, and enzymes; and it aids in collagen formation and

tissue repair! Quinoa is a valuable source of protein for those who do

not eat animal protein!

Quinoa is rich in minerals!

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

160%

180%

Ca Fe Mg P K Na Zn Cu Mn Se

Quinoa Flour

Wheat Flour

• This bar graph represents the % Daily Value of the minerals. Quinoa wins by far!!

FAT

• And once again quinoa shows up wheat!• Quinoa has more fat than wheat, but it’s

also the healthy kind of fat!• Quinoa, like wheat, contains unsaturated

fats which have double bonds and less hydrogen. This makes it easier to be digested compared to saturated fats.

• The people of somalia need food they can easily digest and thrive off of!

Now for the difficult question!Cost vs. Nutrition

Nutritionally, quinoa knocks wheat right out of the ball park! It’s nutrient content is much higher than any other flour. But the downside to quinoa

is the fact that it’s costly!

Due to limited budgets from the Canadian government I have researched a way to maintain most of the nutritional value of quinoa, but also

limit the cost!

Quinoa/Wheat Flour

By mixing 25% quinoa with 75% wheat you still maintain a complete protein

meaning all 8 essential amino acids are still present! This way you are paying for less quinoa, but receiving the nutritional

value as well!

In conclusion, quinoa is the most nutritious flour because it is a complete protein, is rich with

minerals, and contains unsaturated fats! In order to avoid the costly

prices I have come up with a solution by combining quinoa flour with wheat flour. This is the answer

to sending aid to Somalia!

Work Cited"Activities | African Relief Fund." African Relief Fund | African Releif Fund Supporting the Needy. Web. 26

Sept. 2011. <http://www.arf.org.uk/?cat=9>.

"African Drought Crisis." Helping Hand for Releif and Development. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://helping-hand-online.blogspot.com/2011/07/african-drought-crisis.html>.

"A Lesser-known Grain, Chenopodium Quinoa: Review of the Chemical Composition of Its Edible Parts." Welcome :: Greenstone Digital Library Software. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://www.greenstone.org/greenstone3/nzdl?a=d>.

"BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In Pictures: Somali Drought." BBC News - Home. Web. 26 Sept. 2011. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_pictures/4802458.stm>.

"Grain Information -- Amaranth, Barley, Buckwheat, Corn, Flax, Kamut,Millet, Oats, Popcorn, Quinoa, Rice, Rye, Spelt, Triticale and Wheat." AAOOB Storable Foods , Long Term Storage Foods for Every Budget. Bulk,Wholesale. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://www.aaoobfoods.com/graininfo.htm>.

"Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Quinoa, Uncooked." NutritionData.com. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/5705/2>.

"Nutrition Facts and Analysis for Wheat Flour, White (industrial), 10% Protein, Bleached, Enriched." NutritionData.com. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/cereal-grains-and-pasta/9256/2>.

"Quinoa Nutrition and Benefits." Grain Free And Gluten Free: Healthy Grain Free Flours, Ideas And Recipes. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://www.grain-free-gluten-free.com/quinoa-nutrition.html>.

Ross, Will BBC. "BBC News - Somalia Famine: UN Warns of 750,000 Deaths." BBC - Homepage. 25 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-14785304>.

"What Is Quinoa Flour?" WiseGEEK: Clear Answers for Common Questions. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-quinoa-flour.htm>.

"What Is White Whole Wheat Flour?" WiseGEEK: Clear Answers for Common Questions. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-white-whole-wheat-flour.htm>.