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Healthy eating: nutritious indigenous foodsyou may never have heard ofUnhealthy 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, processedgrains and meat, has been blamed for a rise in global obesity and diet-relatedillnesses such as diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. #s awareness of healthyeating has grown in the west, sales of once obscure grains such as uinoapronounced keen-wah ha/e skyrocketed. +he ancient 0superfood0from eru has afluffy te1ture, and is lauded for its health benefits. Unusual among grains, uinoa ispacked with dietary fibre, iron, magnesium and phosphorus. 2t is gluten-free, easy todigest and contains all nine amino acids. #mid growing concern that unhealthy eatinghabits are crowding out healthier traditional crops,$ood +ank! +he $ood +hinktankhascompiled a list of indigenous fruits and /egetables that should be championed.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/dec/23/healthy-eating-foodhttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/dec/23/healthy-eating-foodhttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/marktranhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/16/vegans-stomach-unpalatable-truth-quinoahttp://foodtank.org/news/2013/08/twenty-five-indigenous-fruits-and-vegetables-promoting-health-all-over-thehttp://static.guim.co.uk/static/3a21a6225712e7df59854c0749abc6cffcf00ef2/common/images/logos/the-guardian/titlepiece.gifhttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/marktranhttp://www.theguardian.com/profile/marktranhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jan/16/vegans-stomach-unpalatable-truth-quinoahttp://foodtank.org/news/2013/08/twenty-five-indigenous-fruits-and-vegetables-promoting-health-all-over-thehttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/dec/23/healthy-eating-foodhttp://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2013/dec/23/healthy-eating-food

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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 essentialminerals 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 asthe black-eyed pea, it is drought resistant and hardy and thri/es e/en in poor soil. #llparts of the cowpea crop, including the lea/es, are consumed as all are rich innutrients and fibre.

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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 #siancountries, where it is sometimes called the bitter gourd or karela. +his warty-lookingplant thri/es in tropical regions and is belie/ed to be the world0s most bitter fruit. +hebitter melon has cancer-fighting properties, researchshows, and has long been usedas a herbal remedy for a range of ailments including type ' diabetes.Pamir mulberry

Dried amir mulberries forsale 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 wheatand barley. +he amir mulberry was animportant food source during the second worldwar, and can be eaten raw, dried, whole, ground or as a 9am.

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/fruithttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130312134920.htmhttp://www.diabetes.co.uk/natural-therapies/bitter-melon.htmlhttp://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/presidi/dettaglio_presidi.lasso?-id=2437http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/presidi/dettaglio_presidi.lasso?-id=2437http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/fruithttp://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130312134920.htmhttp://www.diabetes.co.uk/natural-therapies/bitter-melon.htmlhttp://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/presidi/dettaglio_presidi.lasso?-id=2437http://www.slowfoodfoundation.com/pagine/eng/presidi/dettaglio_presidi.lasso?-id=2437

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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 eatthem raw or roasted or bury them in mud for months to enhance their fla/our. +he nutsare similar to the chestnut in appearance and taste and grow on towering, butincreasingly rare, pines in the region0s rainforests.

Yacn

+he crunch bunch : dried;acn root slices. hotograph! aul

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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. 2thas e1cellent nutritional and medicinal /alue because of its superior mineral andantio1idant content. 2n Uruguay, the guayabo is readily adapted to shallow soil and amountainous en/ironment, allowing it to thri/e, e/en in the wild.

Perinaldo artichoes

$lowering erinaldoartichokes, particularly tasty with sea food. hotograph! #lamy

+his thistle, which has a tasty centre, is nati/e to the &editerranean and was culti/atedin ancient %reece. 2ts edible flower bud is a good source of fibre, /itamin 6, folic acidand minerals. +his /ariety of artichoke is drought resistant.

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