All About Buckwheat Nutrition and Why It's Such a Healthy Carb

If you're looking for delicious ways to improve your health and your weight, start making whole grains a priority in your diet.

While whole wheat, brown rice and oatmeal all make good choices, venturing out and trying a new grain — such as buckwheat — can open up a whole new culinary world. Buckwheat is a small, triangle-shaped grain used to make soba noodles, blintzes and pancakes. It also makes a good pilaf or tabbouleh.

Buckwheat is a healthy carb and a good source of fiber and magnesium.

A half-cup of cooked buckwheat contains:

• 77 calories
• 0.5 g fat
• 0 mg sodium
• 16.7 g carbs
  • 2.3 g fiber
  • 0.8 g sugar
• 2.8 g protein

A half-cup of raw buckwheat groats contains:

• 300 calories
• 2 g fat
• 0 mg sodium
• 56 g carbs
  • 2 g fiber
  • 0 g sugar
• 12 g protein

As an unprocessed grain, buckwheat groats are a healthy source of carbohydrates. In fact, 80 percent of its calories come from carbs, per the USDA.

Your body uses the carbs in foods like buckwheat as a source of energy to support normal body function and physical activity, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM). Buckwheat also contains fiber, a type of carb, that can help you feel full, less likely to overeat and regulate digestion.

A 1/2 cup serving of cooked buckwheat groats contains nearly 3 grams of protein. What's more, unlike many other sources of plant-based protein, buckwheat is a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids, according to the Whole Grains Council.

Buckwheat is also very low in fat, with a half gram of total fat in a 1/2 cup cooked serving. However, cooking it with oil or butter can add fat.

Buckwheat contains a number of essential vitamins and minerals your body needs for good health, including B vitamins, magnesium, copper and zinc.

The B complex is a group of eight vitamins that help turn the food you eat into energy, per the NLM. Magnesium maintains nerve and muscle function and supports a healthy immune system, according to the NLM.

Copper supports the blood vessels, nerves, immune system and bones while zinc supports a healthy immune system.