PENN YAN— At long last, buckwheat is receiving its due as a legitimate Superfood, packed with nutritional value and essential to truly healthy diets.

”Buckwheat is making many of the lists of Superfoods cited by physicians and nutritionists,” said Cliff Orr of The Birkett Mills, a marketer of buckwheat products. “Today, there’s a real emphasis on health and nutrition and buckwheat has always had an extremely powerful story to tell in this area. In the past, the recognition was somewhat limited, but that’s all changed now because the word is out.”

Indeed, buckwheat’s nutritional story is powerful starting with its unique protein characteristics that make it unsurpassed in lowering cholesterol.

Moreover, buckwheat has more protein than rice, wheat, millet or corn and is high in essential amino acids, lysine and arginine, which are often deficient in major cereal crops.

Perhaps more noteworthy is its ability to reduce and stabilize blood sugar levels, thereby contributing to the prevention of diabetes.

A Canadian study (University of Manitoba, 2003), published in the Journal of Chemistry, supports this claim. The study found that buckwheat seeds lowered blood glucose levels (up to 19 percent) in diabetic rats.

To the millions of Americans who suffer from Celiac disease, gluten-free buckwheat is a dietary essential. Celiacs have difficulty digesting the water-soluble protein, “gluten,” found in wheat, barley, rye and other popular cereal grains and flours. Pure buckwheat contains no gluten and is safe for Celiacs.