Healthy eating: nutritious indigenous foods you may never have heard of

Unhealthy western diets should take a leaf from nutrient-rich indigenous fare. Do you know your amaranth from your yacn?

Healthy eating in Senegal. Staff clean niebe, or cowpeas, at a factory in Dakar. hotograph! Seyllou"#$ "%etty

Mark Tran-&onday '( December ')*( +he proliferation of the western diet, which is high in refined sugars, fats, processed grains and meat, has been blamed for a rise in global obesity and diet-related illnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. #s awareness of healthy eating has grown in the west, sales of once obscure grains such as ,uinoa -pronounced keen-wah. ha/e skyrocketed. +he ancient 0superfood0 from eru has a fluffy te1ture, and is lauded for its health benefits. Unusual among grains, ,uinoa is packed with dietary fibre, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. 2t is gluten-free, easy to digest and contains all nine amino acids. #mid growing concern that unhealthy eating habits are crowding out healthier traditional crops,$ood +ank! +he $ood +hinktank has compiled a list of indigenous fruits and /egetables that should be championed.

Amaranth

#maranth is a great source of protein, /itamins and minerals. hotograph! #lamy #maranth thri/es in hot climates and is typically consumed in +ogo, 3iberia, %uinea, 4enin, and Sierra 3eone. 2t is an e1cellent source of protein, /itamins and essential minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium and 5inc. Cowpea

6owpeas, more commonly known as black-eyed peas. hotograph! #lamy +his #frican legume is one of the continent0s oldest crops. &ore commonly known as the black-eyed pea, it is drought resistant and hardy and thri/es e/en in poor soil. #ll parts of the cowpea crop, including the lea/es, are consumed as all are rich in nutrients and fibre.

Bitter melon

+he bitter melon is related to the cucumber. hotograph! 3atitudeStock"#lamy 7riginally from the 2ndian subcontinent, this sour /egetable is popular in many #sian countries, where it is sometimes called the bitter gourd or karela. +his warty-looking plant thri/es in tropical regions and is belie/ed to be the world0s most bitter fruit. +he bitter melon has cancer-fighting properties, research shows, and has long been used as a herbal remedy for a range of ailments including type ' diabetes. Pamir mulberry

Dried amir mulberries for sale in 8horog, +a9ikistan. hotograph! 2nternational &ountain Society +his fruit grows in the mountainous terrain of the %orno-4adakhshan pro/ince of +a9ikistan, which is ill-suited for the production of more common grains such as wheat and barley. +he amir mulberry was animportant food source during the second world war, and can be eaten raw, dried, whole, ground or as a 9am.

Bunya nut

+he bunya nut, or #raucaria bidwillii, is nati/e to the #ustralian rainforest. hotograph! 6lear/iewimages"#lamy 4unyas are a traditional food for #ustralian #boriginal people, who sometimes eat them raw or roasted or bury them in mud for months to enhance their fla/our. +he nuts are similar to the chestnut in appearance and taste and grow on towering, but increasingly rare, pines in the region0s rainforests. Yacn

+he crunch bunch : dried ;acn root slices. hotograph! aul <illiams"#lamy #lso known as the eru/ian ground apple, this root crop has been grown in the #ndes for more than a millennium. +he ;acn resembles a sweet potato on the outside, but its crunchy flesh looks more like an apple or pear. +he tubers ha/e a high water content and can be grated and s,uee5ed through a cloth to yield a sweet, refreshing drink.

Guayabo

%ua/as ripening on a tree. 2t is belie/ed the term =gua/a= deri/es from the #rawak word guayabo, meaning =gua/a tree=, /ia the Spanish guayaba. hotograph! #lamy +he green fruit, nati/e to Uruguay and southern 4ra5il, has a sweet and sour taste. 2t has e1cellent nutritional and medicinal /alue because of its superior mineral and antio1idant content. 2n Uruguay, the guayabo is readily adapted to shallow soil and a mountainous en/ironment, allowing it to thri/e, e/en in the wild. Perinaldo articho es

$lowering erinaldo artichokes, particularly tasty with sea food. hotograph! #lamy +his thistle, which has a tasty centre, is nati/e to the &editerranean and was culti/ated in ancient %reece. 2ts edible flower bud is a good source of fibre, /itamin 6, folic acid and minerals. +his /ariety of artichoke is drought resistant.

!oin the conversation <e want to hear from you. Ha/e you tried these weird and wonderful /egetables? Do you ha/e any recipe suggestions? #re there other nutritional foods that deser/e a mention? ost your comments in the thread below or add to the debate on +witter>%dnde/elopment. 2f you ha/e any problems posting, or would prefer to comment anonymously, email us at de/elopment>theguardian.com and we0ll add your /iews to the thread.
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