How Quinoa Helped My Mom to Reverse Her Diabetes Diagnosis

by Michelle Beadle Holder, PhD

Have you heard about National Family History Day? The day is celebrated during Thanksgiving when family members of all ages typically come together. It is an opportunity to celebrate life and talk about important family matters related to health. To get the ball rolling, I decided to share a bit about my family health history and the lessons I’ve learned about the power of the plate.

Diabetes: An Inevitable Family Disease?

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I learned that eating whole grains could be beneficial for my health and the health of my family. During this period, several family members were on their journey with diabetes.

Unfortunately, one family member lost her life to complications due to type 2 diabetes. This person was my great-aunt, Auntie Tatty—a matriarch in our immediate and extended family.

While losing our aunt was a personal and familial loss, diabetes-related death is a major epidemic that expands beyond my family. Public health reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that diabetes is among the top 10 leading causes of death for black women, black men, and the larger US population.

Is diabetes part of your family history?

While it was painful to lose my aunt to the disease, there was hope.

Diabetes had taken the life of my great-aunt as well as many other family members. However, my mom did not see diabetes as natural and inevitable. Rather, she saw diabetes as something that she had the power to reverse and prevent, beginning with the plate. So in 2008, when my mom was diagnosed with pre-diabetes she took steps to prevent the disease from taking her physical life and her quality of life.

Diabetes is not inevitable in our family. It does not have to take our physical life or quality of life.

A picture of me and my mom.

Quinoa: One of Mom’s Tools Against Diabetes

One of my mom’s first steps to greater health involved creating a self-care plate that included a variety of whole grains like quinoa.

Quinoa, pronounced KEEN-wah, is an ancient grain or seed that is native to South America. Many ancient foods like quinoa were unknown to the public in part because of the market domination of high-processed and less nutritious refined grains like white rice.

Given the increased rates of diet-related diseases like type-2 diabetes, companies have searched the globe to find nutritious grains used in ancient times. They have found many seeds and grains that have been long enjoyed by people of color, like the native people of South America.

A Superfood for a Superwoman

Over the years, quinoa and many other whole foods have been cultivated and branded as ancient superfoods. The term superfood is part of a marketing strategy that draws attention to the nutritional quality of foods like quinoa to make a profit.

But money aside, let’s make a quick comparison of quinoa with other grains. A cup of cooked enriched white rice has fewer calories (205 kcal) per cup than quinoa (222 kcal). However, quinoa has more fiber, protein, and other nutrients. One cup of cooked quinoa has 8 grams of protein which is almost twice that of enriched white rice.

Quinoa is also higher in fiber content than both brown and white rice. Given its relatively lower carbohydrates and high fiber content, American Diabetes Association has listed quinoa as a food that is great for blood sugar management.

As a self-identified strong black woman who has given birth to two sets of twins, and worked multiple jobs to care for her family and extended family, my mom’s most admirable demonstration of strength is taking care of her health.

Trust me, she needed her strength. We live in a world that does not prioritize health, especially prevention as health care. High-processed and low nutritious foods are all around us, especially in the places where black people live. Some have used terms such as food deserts, food swamps, and food apartheid to draw attention to the unequal access to healthy whole foods in predominantly black and brown communities.

My mom lives in a black neighborhood where many of the full-service supermarkets have moved out of the community. Somehow she found a tiny health food store that was within walking distance to her home, and it was there where she would able to buy her first bag of quinoa.

My Slow Embrace of Quinoa

In addition to food access, there is the issue of taste and a matter of personal priority and readiness to make a change.

Despite quinoa’s many health benefits, I must admit that I was not at all thrilled when my mom introduced it to the family. I was horrified and a bit angry that my mom would alter our traditional Jamaican dishes like rice and peas (red kidney beans) by adding quinoa to the meals. There was just something about the texture that I had to get used to. Even though my mom thought she was smart about hiding quinoa in rice and peas, it was quite evident to us that she had messed with our beloved dish.

Now let’s talk about health as a personal and familial priority. I was not diagnosed with diabetes and neither were my siblings. So as far as we were concerned, eating quinoa was not something that we needed to eat or suffer through.

So while health was a priority for my mom in the early 2000s, it was not for me or my siblings.

Let me talk for myself.

I was much more concerned with flavor and tradition.

However, my mom refused to let the immediate pleasures of the plate affect her health. She was willing to try new grains that would nourish her body and extend her years on this earth. She was determined and persistent despite our many complaints. And, man, did we complain.

Looking back now I feel so bad for my mom. For many years, she was alone fighting to stay alive.

Fortunately, over time my taste buds would change. I have come to love quinoa and so have my siblings.

Cooking Quinoa

One benefit of quinoa is that it cooks quickly, much in the same way as white rice. However, since quinoa has more fiber and nutrients, it is a better alternative to white rice.

Quinoa is very versatile. It can be used to make veggie burgers, added to hardy salads or soups, and even used to make cereal and bread. Trust me, my mom has made almost all the different types of dishes.

Like mother, like daughter, I have also made many quinoa dishes in my lifetime.

I’ve made quinoa dishes that draw upon the flavors and core principles of Jamaican food culture. For example, I love making quinoa with jerk and curry seasoning. I also enjoy combining quinoa with other seasonal vegetables like sweet potatoes during the fall and winter months. I sometimes make ital quinoa dishes. Ital is the Jamaican word for vital foods that are largely plant-based or vegan.

Have you thought about your family history of diabetes lately? What foods on your plate have other family members or friends shared to promote the prevention of diet-related diseases?