Tough Conditions Created This Ancient Himalayan Superfood

Tough Conditions Created This Ancient Himalayan Superfood
Dry Tartary buckwheat groats in a wooden spoon next to a bouquet of Fagopyrum blossoms. (Lipatova Maryna/Shutterstock)
Susan C. Olmstead
1/13/2023
Updated:
3/24/2023

Himalayan tartary buckwheat (HTB), known for its healing powers since ancient times, is now being cultivated in the United States. Deemed as a superfood due to its immense nutritional value, its unique healing compounds derive from the harsh conditions in which it was originally grown.

From its ancient origins in the tartan district of the Himalayan Mountains in China, HTB “has historically been used both as a tea and as a food for its healing powers,” Jeffrey Bland, who holds a doctorate in chemistry from the University of Oregon–Eugene, told The Epoch Times. “Over the millennia of the development of the plant, it developed a very significant immune system to defend itself against its environment.”

Bland, widely known as “the father of functional medicine,” is the author of “The Disease Delusion: Conquering the Causes of Chronic Illness for a Healthier, Longer, and Happier Life,” and the founder of Big Bold Health, which sells the “world’s first-ever commercial, certified organic, U.S.-grown harvest of Himalayan Tartary buckwheat.”
Himalayan Tartary buckwheat’s immune properties, Bland explained, are a result of the plant’s ability to make a series of substances called phytochemicals, specifically polyphenols or flavonoids.

“That portfolio of nutrients is produced in very high levels in Tartary buckwheat,” he said.

Despite its name, HTB isn’t related to wheat at all.

“It’s a fruit seed,” Bland says. “It has no genetic relation to wheat, so it has no gluten.”

Himalayan Tartary buckwheat contains:
  • Phytochemicals including rutin, quercetin, and the recently discovered 2-HOBA, also known as Hobamine
  • High amounts of protein
  • Magnesium
  • Zinc
  • Potassium
  • B vitamins
  • D-chiro-inositol, a molecule involved in blood sugar regulation and hormone balance
  • Soluble fiber and resistant starch

History

Himalayan Tartary buckwheat was cultivated in ancient China and is mentioned in the “Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine,” one of the original documents in Chinese literature on therapeutic herbs and plants, Bland said. It was brought to the Western world during the age of Marco Polo, and Europeans saw the benefits of cultivating the hardy plant.
When colonists first arrived in what would become the United States, one of the foods they brought with them, along with common buckwheat seeds, was Himalayan Tartary buckwheat, “because it was known to be so easy to grow and so hardy,” Bland said.

“This was seen by our colonial ancestors as a really important food product to bring to the new world. For the first 100 years in America, this was an important staple in our colonial diets.”

But the common buckwheat seed—the one that’s more familiar to Americans today—gradually edged out Himalayan Tartary buckwheat because the common variety has a higher yield per acre and a milder flavor, Bland said.

So, although Himalayan Tartary buckwheat has 50 to 100 times higher levels of immune-active substances than common buckwheat, its cultivation in the U.S. dwindled over the past 100 years.

That began to change when Bland surveyed U.S. farmers about four years ago to determine if anyone was growing Himalayan Tartary buckwheat. He found only one farmer who was: Sam Beer, a retired research agriculture professor at Cornell University.

Along with his wife, Lucia, Beer began to grow the crop on his small hobby farm in upstate New York after receiving some seeds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

“He found that the plant was beautiful,” Bland said, who described it as tall and elegant. “And when he harvested the seeds, he found that, lo and behold, it had these unique nutritional characteristics.”

The Beers milled the seed on their farm and sold it locally. About three years ago, Bland founded Big Bold Health and partnered with the Beers and a cooperative of upstate New York organic farmers to revive Himalayan Tartary buckwheat in the United States.

“It’s really been a fun project for us to bring this crop back to America,” Bland said.

Organic Methods Produce Hardier Food

“We are not treating Tartary buckwheat as a commodity,” Beer said in a video about the superfood. “We care about a host of particular compounds that it has and we also care about the way it’s farmed.”
Using organic methods not only keeps toxic chemicals out of our foods, but it also improves food’s nutrition, Bland said. Using herbicides and pesticides lowers stress on a plant, he said, which means it doesn’t need to mobilize a strong stress response.

Polyphenols and flavonoid levels are lower in plants that have been treated with agricultural chemicals than in those that have had to “make their own way in a hostile world,” he said.

“Food is medicine, right? That’s one of the principles behind it. It’s worth paying more attention to what you eat ... it’s worth investing time and money and eating good food because it’s directly related to your health,” says Greg Russo, one of the farmers involved in producing Himalayan Tartary buckwheat flour.

Himalayan Tartary Buckwheat Cornbread

(Reprinted with permission from Big Bold Health.)
Ingredients
  • 1 1/3 cups almond milk or buttermilk
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice (if using almond milk)
  • 1 cup cornmeal, medium grind
  • 1 cup Himalayan Tartary Buckwheat Super Nutrition Flour
  • 3 tablespoons coconut sugar—use more for a sweeter flavor
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon (scant) sea salt
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 2 eggs, beaten
Preparation
  • If using almond milk, combine it with the lemon juice and let sit for a few minutes to allow it to curdle a bit (this mimics buttermilk and improves leavening). This step isn’t necessary if you are using buttermilk.
  • Combine the milk with the cornmeal in a medium bowl and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray an 8 x 8 baking pan with your favorite oil (coconut oil, avocado, etc.) and set aside.
  • In a small bowl, mix the Himalayan Tartary buckwheat flour, coconut sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and add to the milk/cornmeal mixture. Stir in the eggs and coconut oil and mix well.
  • Pour into prepared pan and bake in preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Allow it to cool slightly before serving.
Tastes best when warm!
Susan C. Olmstead writes about health and medicine, food, social issues, and culture. Her work has appeared in The Epoch Times, Children's Health Defense's The Defender, Salvo Magazine, and many other publications.
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