Hello everyone. This week, I would like to tell you about the teff seed, which I have heard about frequently lately and which you have probably all seen through various advertisements, especially on social media. So, does teff seed lose weight as said? First of all, I would like to point out that not only teff seed, but no food alone has a slimming effect, and this issue needs to be approached more holistically. So teff seed alone does not make you lose weight. Now, let's examine together what teff seed is.
Teff seed, also known as khaksir or taf in the world, is a poppy-seed-like grain produced in Ethiopia. It is a grain used in Ethiopia, especially in making injera, a bread unique to Ethiopia. Ethiopians use this bread with vegetables, meat, eggs, etc. They consume it by using it as a plate underneath. Teff seeds are planted once a year, but since the seeds are very small, they can be planted in a large area with one hand. Even though we have just heard its name, it has the distinction of being one of the first seeds planted in the world. This seed, which has just been discovered and started to be grown in Europe and America for a few years, has just started to be heard in our country.
Teff seed is also in the grain group such as wheat, barley and rye. Grains are easier to digest in the body than other food groups. It is rich in nutritional fiber, vitamins B and E, antioxidants, and minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium. When obtaining whole grain foods, the loss of nutritional value is less compared to refined flours. The whole grain group contains soluble and insoluble fibers. Soluble fibers balance blood cholesterol and may lower the glycemic response after meals. In other words, we can roughly say that it may reduce the response of foods to raise blood sugar. We can say that insoluble fibers reduce the transit speed in the intestine, reduce the contact of carcinogenic substances with intestinal cells and prevent their absorption. The most important feature that distinguishes teff seed from wheat, barley and rye is that it does not contain gluten. It is a grain that can be consumed by individuals with gluten intolerance or people with celiac disease. When we examine the glycemic index (speed of raising blood sugar) of Teffin, we see that it is much lower than wheat but similar to rye. The protein it contains It is also higher in terms of quantity than other grains.
Teff seed has a high fiber and nutritional content because its structure is very small and can be used directly as a whole grain without any refining process. When we examine its nutritional content, teff seed, which is similar to wheat, shows similar protein content compared to other grains. Its most important feature is that, as I mentioned before, it does not contain gluten. It is also rich in calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and copper.
Now let's talk about the products sold as teff seed tea in the market. It is a product that promises to lose weight by drinking it on an empty stomach in the morning, which is generally promoted by famous and thin social media users with the motto "I drink it, you can drink it safely too." However, this tea, which is sold as teff seed tea and whose website says the benefits of teff seed, does not contain anything. For a tea with mixed ingredients such as cherry stem, safflower seed, tragacanth gum, mate leaf, gunpowder tree bark, other than teff seed, there is no warning on the sales site about individuals with health problems. What we dietitians always say is to stay away from mixed herbs. Even though we know the contents of such plants and the effects they will have separately, it is always beneficial to stay away from such products as we do not know the effects they will have when combined.
The properties of teff seed that I mentioned above are still valid when consumed alone as a grain group, but they are on the market. This does not apply to the teas we see. Moreover, the effect of these types of teas sold with the promise of losing weight is due to the other plants contained in them. In other words, the reason why it is sold as having teff seeds is the sales and marketing technique. Like golden strawberry, goji berry, quinoa and chia, teff seed is a food that has been created to abuse people's desire to lose weight. More precisely, it is a food that has been around for years but has increased in popularity during this period. Teff seed can be consumed as a grain due to its rich nutritional content. However, I definitely do not recommend consuming it in tea form.
My humble suggestion is to consume teff seeds grown in our country instead of consuming teff seeds in your daily diet. You will be advised to choose wheat that is similar. Remember that you do not need teff seeds or any other food alone to lose weight.
Hoping that the diets that started on Monday continue, I wish you a healthy week.
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