KERNELS AGAINST CHOLESTEROL
Reduce cancer risk
Lower cholesterol
Boost energy levels
In Mitchell, South Dakota, right in the middle of the corn belt, residents pay homage to the harvest. Their shrine is the Corn Palace, a mansion built in 1892 that’s decorated—murals, minarets, towers, and all—with 3,000 bushels of corn.
It isn’t necessary to take corn that seriously, but it does deserve a place of honor at your dinner table. Because corn is high in fiber, it can help lower cholesterol. And because it’s very high in carbohydrates, it provides quick energy while delivering virtually no fat.
“Corn is really an excellent basic food source,” says Mark McLellan, PhD, dean of research for the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and director of the Florida Agricultural Experiment Station, both in Gainesville. “When combined with other vegetables in the diet, it is a good source of protein, carbohydrates, and vitamins.”
Corn, which is native to America, has been a staple food here since primitive times, with meal made from corn dating back about 7,000 years. Today, the United States is still one of the largest commercial growers of corn. But this humble food’s health benefits often get overlooked. It turns out that corn might be a powerful ally in the fight against cancer.
One study, conducted at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine in Los Angeles, found that an orange-red carotenoid found in corn, beta-cryptoxanthin, was protective against lung cancer. The scientist found that men who ate the most food containing beta-cryptoxanthin had a 15 to 40 percent reduction in lung cancer risk, compared with the men who ate the least.
Another study, this one conducted at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, found that a component of fiber that’s found in abundance in corn, inositol hexaphosphate, prevents the growth of colon cancer cells in test tubes. Researchers say it stops the cancer cells from dividing.
When you think of food allergies, the foods that probably come to mind are shellfish, peanuts, or other common offenders. But many people are sensitive to processed corn as well. In fact, cereals made from corn are among the top five allergy-causing foods.
What’s more, corn cereals are known for triggering flare-ups in people with irritable bowel syndrome, a condition that causes abdominal pain and cramping. Several studies have found that corn may cause problems in over 20 percent of people with this problem.
Corn is included in many products, so if you’re sensitive to it (or think you might be), be sure to read labels carefully before buying. For example, people who are allergic to corn might have to avoid foods containing corn syrup as well.
Corn contains a type of dietary fiber called soluble fiber. When you eat corn, this fiber binds with bile, a cholesterol-laden digestive fluid produced by the liver. Since soluble fiber isn’t readily absorbed by the body, it passes out in the stool, taking the cholesterol with it.
You’ve heard a lot about how oat and wheat bran can lower cholesterol. Corn bran is in the same league. In a study at Illinois State University in Normal, researchers put 29 men with high cholesterol on a low-fat diet. After 2 weeks on the diet, some of the men were each given 20 grams (almost ½ tablespoon) of corn bran a day, while others received a similar amount of wheat bran. During the 6-week study, those on the corn bran plan had a drop in cholesterol of more than 5 percent and about a 13 percent drop in triglycerides, blood fats that in large amounts can contribute to heart disease. Those who were given wheat bran showed no change beyond the initial drop caused by being on a low-fat diet.
The beauty of corn is that it provides a lot of energy while delivering a small number of calories—about 83 per ear.
Corn is an excellent source of thiamin, a B vitamin that’s essential for converting food to energy. An ear of corn provides 0.2 milligram of thiamin, 13 percent of the Daily Value (DV) for this nutrient. That’s more than you’ll get in three slices of bacon or 3 ounces of roast beef.
And since fresh sweet corn consists primarily of simple and complex carbohydrates, it’s a superb energy source, says Donald V. Schlimme, PhD, professor emeritus of nutrition and food science at the University of Maryland in College Park. “It ful-fills our energy needs without providing us with a substantial amount of fat,” he says. What little fats there are in corn are the polyunsaturated and monounsaturated kinds, which are far healthier than the saturated fats found in meats and high-fat dairy foods.
Corn on the cob is so easy to prepare, it’s essentially nature’s fast food. Just strip off the husk and corn silk, drop the ears in a steamer, and wait until it’s done a few minutes later. To maximize the taste, here are a few tips you may want to try.
Gotta wear shades. Heat rapidly converts the sugar in corn to starch, so buy corn that’s refrigerated or at least been kept in the shade.
Cook it right away. When corn sits around, its natural sugar turns into starch, giving up the natural sweet taste. So it’s best to cook corn soon after it is picked.
Hold the salt. When cooking corn in boiling water, don’t add salt. This will draw moisture from the kernels, making them tough and hard to chew.
Strip the kernels. When you have a craving for fresh corn but don’t want to wrestle with the cob, just strip the kernels off. Hold the cob upright in a bowl. Using a sharp knife, slice downward, cutting away a few rows at a time. When all the kernels are removed, scrape the dull side of the blade down the sides of the cob to extract the sweet, milky juice.
Make sure it’s mature. When you buy fresh corn at the supermarket, look for ears that have full, plump kernels. “Purchase corn at the optimum stage of maturity,” Dr. Schlimme advises. “Under those conditions, the level of nutrients is higher.”
To see if corn is ripe, puncture one of the kernels with your fingernail. If the liquid that comes out isn’t milky-colored, the corn is either immature or overripe, and you should pass it by.
Get the whole kernel. No matter how diligent you are when eating corn on the cob, you invariably leave a lot behind. To get the most out of each kernel, you’re better off buying frozen or canned corn. Or you can cut the kernels from the cob with a knife. Unlike eating it right off the cob, “you get more of the corn’s benefit by having a mechanical cut that takes the entire kernel off,” Dr. McLellan says.
Buy it vacuum-packed. While canned corn can be almost as nutritious as fresh, it loses some of its value when it’s packed in brine, a salty liquid that leaches nutrients from food during processing, says Dr. Schlimme. To get the most vitamins, look for vacuum-packed corn, which doesn’t contain brine. Corn that’s vacuum-packed (it will say so on the label) usually comes in short, squat cans, he says. Or choose frozen corn instead. Studies at the FDA showed that frozen corn is just as nutritious as fresh.
“Try raw corn,” says Allan Magaziner, DO, director of the Magaziner Center for Wellness and Anti-Aging Medicine in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. “It’s tasty and very healthy. And there’s almost no preparation needed—just husk and wash. If you boil corn, most of the nutrients end up in the cooking water. But if you must boil your corn, you can use that nutritious cooking water as the base for soup.”
In a large bowl, combine the beans, corn, peppers, tomatoes, onion, and garlic.
In a cup, stir together the lime juice, oil, and chili powder, and pour over the salad; toss well.
Makes 4 servings
Calories: 193
Total fat: 4.5 g
Saturated fat: 1 g
Cholesterol: 0 mg
Sodium: 283 mg
Dietary fiber: 8 g