Prof Vladimir Vuksan said research into the health benefits of eating the grain, Salba, for type 2 diabetics had produced some surprising results.
Significantly decreased blood pressure, reduced inflammation and thinned blood were some of the benefits discovered when a group of type 2 diabetics were given the grain for three months.
"Salba seems to possess important cardio-protective properties by reducing conventional and emerging heart disease risk factors that are associated with type 2 diabetes.
"We were pleasantly surprised by the results, but then had the problem how to explain this.''
The research group delayed publishing the results of their research for one year as they searched for answers, he said.
"We started analysing [the grain] and kept finding more surprises.''
Salba, which was first grown by the Aztecs in Peru, had six times more omega-3 fatty acids than salmon, six times more calcium than milk, three times more iron than spinach, the potassium content of one and a-half bananas, and three times the antioxidants of blueberries, Prof Vuksan said.
The tiny, nutrient-dense seed was easy to eat. It could be baked into bread or sprinkled on food and his own family kept a "Salba shaker'' on the table, he said.
"My kids say they have more energy on Salba.''
Salba had been known as "running food'' by the Aztecs as it gave Aztec messengers energy to run from village to village on a handful of grains daily.
Salba is not available for sale in New Zealand, but Yarrows Family Bakers have secured the Australian and New Zealand rights to use the grain in their breads.
Prof Vuksan gave a public lecture about Salba at the University of Otago this week.
