Amaranth and Eggs

I ran out of bread and had only eggs and some Swiss chard in the fridge. I drew inspiration from a brunch a few weeks back at a Swiss bakery where I had eggs and spinach. I ended up with this plate. Not one to eat eggs often, these eggs have proven to be especially tasty. They are organic eggs that are sold by a woman's cooperative in a neighboring state. And the chickens are fed with amaranth that would be otherwise be thrown away. Some cursory investigation has found that the eggs have a lower amount of cholesterol. I happily finished my meal and started reading about amaranth. And that's where the questions started.

The Whole Grains Council promotes amaranth as a healthy addition to your diet. It's praise for it includes that it's a protein powerhouse, good for your heart, and gluten free. Thought to be originally from Peru, it is commonly available in Mexico. In Mexico, a candy like bar made from amaranth is commonly available.

My initial search yielded that amaranth can have adverse impacts on chicken when used as a feed. However, further research turned up sources that not only refuted those impacts but actually highlighted amaranth's beneficial impacts on chicken. The difference appears to be in the handling of the amaranth. While raw amaranth as chicken feed could be problematic, cooked or autoclaved amaranth is a safe feed for chickens.

I can go back to eating these eggs once in a while without guilt.