Being a team of foodies, we need to admit that the thought of quinoa related products never fails to garner lukewarm responses from us. However, we could not help but squeal with excitement when we heard about the launch of Dr. Q - a drink that is specially formulated to support women’s health. Here’s why we’re digging it!
Collagen for Skin Health
Honestly, Dr.Q makes us feel pampered with the addition of collagen. It’s no secret that collagen plays a crucial role in having firm and supple skin, along with replacing and restoring dead skin cells. Unfortunately, collagen production in the body decreases with age. This causes the structural integrity of the skin to decline, leading to a loss of firmness and elasticity of the skin. If you think it’s too early for you to start worrying about your skin health, think again! For things such as ultraviolet rays and stress can wreak havoc by producing free radicals in your skin. These free radicals can break down collagen fibers, causing your skin to thin. Moreover, collagen production decreases about 1% every year after the age of 25. We say prevention is always better than cure!
Folate for Reproductive Health
Apart from the collagen, we love the fact that Dr. Q contains the functional food-quinoa. Quinoa is an excellent source of folate, which is particularly important for women of childbearing age. Consuming sufficient folate before and during pregnancy can help women to protect their babies from neural tube defects (NTD) such as spina bifida and anencephaly*. Adequate intake of folate during pregnancy also reduces the risk of pregnancy-induced megaloblastic anaemia; which has many complications including a low birth weight of babies, and abruptio placentae [1].
Folate is not readily stored in our body. Hence it needs to be constantly replenished by consuming folate-rich foods like quinoa to maintain the healthy levels in the body.
* Spina bifida: where the spinal cord doesn’t close completely, and anencephaly: where parts of the brains are missing.
Iron for Relief during Menstruation
The product also earned brownie points from us due to the rich iron content in the quinoa (4 times higher than that of brown rice). For the uninitiated, adequate intake of iron aids in the relieving of menses-induced fatigue, moodiness, or mental fogginess. Since iron is mostly present in the blood, iron levels can dip during menstruation due to the blood loss (1 mg of iron is lost for every day of menstruation) [2]. If there are insufficient iron stores in the body, the body’s ability to produce haemoglobin decreases and lead to the menses-induced conditions listed above [2]. Hence, making sure one consume enough iron is crucial to replenish any lost iron and keep the energy levels up during menstruation.
Heart Healthy Fats for Heart Health
Quinoa’s anti-inflammatory nutrients also make it a great addition to a heart-healthy diet; this is wonderful for the ladies, as heart disease is currently the principal cause of death among women in Singapore [3]. Quinoa consists of 25 % of oleic acid (Omega 9) and 8% of alpha-linolenic acid (Omega 3) [4, 5]. Studies have shown that oleic acid can minimise the risk of heart diseases by raising the levels of high-density lipoprotein (good cholesterol) while lowering the levels of low-density lipoprotein (bad cholesterol). On the other hand, alpha-linolenic acid inhibits the production of pro-inflammatory substances, and thus reducing the risk of heart diseases [6, 7, and 8].
Here are some other interesting facts about Quinoa:
Dr.Q is now for sale in a bundle pack with Dr. Oatcare. Best of both worlds! Visit here for more details or to purchase.