This Tuesday, October 29, the "Gofio, Olympic Breakfast" project begins, which will bring the properties of this Canary Island superfood to educational centers, through informative talks aimed at students given by Mario Pestano, Spanish discus throwing champion and prominent Olympic athlete.
The first of the centers to receive Pestano will be the IES Agáldar in Gran Canaria. There, eighty 1st year ESO students will participate in the first presentation.
Gofio is rich in minerals, contains the nutrients of the cereal such as iron, magnesium, potassium, calcium and zinc. Also in vitamins, especially from group B, such as B1 and B2, as well as vitamins C, A and D. In addition, it is a product high in protein and carbohydrates, but low in fat.
It was the first settlers of the islands who invented this product. The first vestiges found of gofio were made with a mixture of fern roots and seeds with toasted and crushed wheat and barley grains.
With colonization, new foods arrived to the islands, especially after the conquest of America. With the arrival of millet, millet gofio became very popular.
A research work led by the University Hospital Complex of the Canary Islands (HUC), attached to the Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, endorsed gofio as a cardiovascular protector.
The main conclusion of this study is that older people who have consumed gofio for at least 40 years are associated with an increase in exercise capacity and a reduced risk of coronary artery disease.
The presentation of the "Gofio, Olympic Breakfast" project will feature the participation of the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero; the Minister of Health of the regional executive, Esther Monzón; the mayor of Gáldar, Teodoro Sosa; the general director of Administration of Centers, David Crego.
The one in Gáldar will be the first of a series of ten conferences that will be held in different educational centers in Tenerife and Gran Canaria.
