Corn is used as a coarse grain, and many weight loss friends like to eat it, but I heard that the energy of waxy corn is close to 2 times that of sweet corn, and it is best not to eat it for weight loss, and I also heard that it raises blood sugar faster, and friends with high blood sugar are better not to eat it, is this true or false?
This article will explain the 8 questions you are most concerned about when you eat corn, and make it clear at one time, if you want to eat corn with confidence, you must read it.
1. Eat sweet corn or waxy corn for weight loss?
▲ Figure: Photo.com
Many popular science recommend eating sweet corn for weight loss, why does Mr. Gu say that you can eat waxy corn for weight loss?
The energy of sweet corn is 97 kcal/100 grams [1], this energy is between potatoes and rice, compared with potatoes and rice, its dietary fiber content is richer, nearly 4 times that of potatoes [2], dietary fiber can enhance satiety, so for friends who lose weight, sweet corn is a good staple food substitute. By the way, sweet corn also contains 26.6 micrograms of folic acid per 100 grams, which is also incomparable to white rice and potatoes.
The energy of waxy corn is as high as 165 kcal/100 g [3], which is 1.7 times that of sweet corn.
But if you particularly like to eat waxy corn, there is no need to give up, in fact, you can eat waxy corn with confidence, this is because: the edible part of waxy corn is 67.8%, a packaged waxy corn is about 200-220 grams, and the energy is 224 kcal-246 kcal.
We recommend that girls lose weight when eating at least 180 kcal staple food at each meal, a waxy corn energy is about 30% more than 180 kcal, for those who want to eat a few bites of staple food, eat a few more bites of protein and fat friends, a sticky corn as a staple food is still very suitable.
Besides, the energy of a sweet corn is a little lower than that of waxy corn, isn't it surprised to see this sentence.
This is true, because a sweet corn is heavier, generally around 350 grams, the edible part is 61.3%, and the energy is calculated to be 208 kcal.
In addition, compared with waxy corn, the skin and flesh of sweet corn are easy to separate, so that many people have eaten sweet corn cobs full of corn husks, which reduces the intake of dietary fiber and weakens the advantage of corn as a staple food instead of white rice and white flour.
So if you are losing weight, sweet corn and waxy corn can be eaten with confidence, but as a staple food, it is good to eat one at a time, and the sweet corn should be gnawed thoroughly, and the skin will be eaten to have a strong sense of satiety.
2. Eat sweet corn or waxy corn to control blood sugar?
Sweet corn is so sweet, is it not suitable for friends who control blood sugar?
Not really. Although sweet corn is sweet, the glycemic index (GI) of 20 minutes of cooking is only 48 [4], which is a typical low GI food. The GI of waxy corn is as high as 82 [5], because although the glucose and sucrose content of sweet corn that rises blood sugar quickly is nearly 7 times that of waxy corn, the content is only 5.4 g/100 g.
The carbohydrate in corn is starch, while the starch contained in waxy corn is almost all amylopectin, which raises blood sugar quickly. (Common forms of starch in food are amylose and branched, the structure of amylopectin is like a spring, and the structure of amylopectin is like a tree root with many forks, the latter has a larger contact area with digestive enzymes, which is easier to digest, so it raises blood sugar quickly.) )
▲Figure: Left straight chain and right branch chain [6]
Therefore, it is best to use sweet corn as a staple food for high blood sugar, but it does not mean that you can't eat waxy corn at all, for example, you can eat half a waxy corn and half a sweet corn at a meal, and then pair it with 1.5~2 fists of non-starchy vegetables and 1 fist of protein, so that blood sugar is not easy to soar after meals.
3. Is waxy corn indigestible when it cools?
▲ Figure: Photo.com
Waxy corn is very sticky, and you may think that it sticks together after cooling, and it is not easy to digest, but this is not the case.
The starch composition of waxy corn is almost all amylopectin, and the structure of amylopectin after cooking is very loose, which greatly increases the chance of digestive enzymes coming into contact with it, so it is easy to be digested, and this structure will not change even if it is cooled, so the waxy corn after cooling is still very digestible.
However, sweet corn with low amylopectin content and high amylose is easy to polymerize together again after cooling, resulting in a reduction in their contact area with enzymes, which is difficult to digest.
Therefore, it is sweet corn that is not easy to digest when it is cooled, and it is waxy corn that is still easy to digest, so friends with poor digestion are more suitable for eating waxy corn.
4. What color corn is more nutritious?
▲ Figure: Photo.com
The sweet corn that is usually eaten is mainly yellow, while the waxy corn is white. In fact, sweet corn also has white, waxy corn also has yellow and purple, and sweet corn and waxy corn also have white, yellow and purple colors.
Yellow corn is rich in β-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, all of which are beneficial to eye health.
Purple corn is rich in antioxidant anthocyanins, and friends who do not have high blood sugar and want to consume anthocyanins can choose purple corn.
By the way, whether it is purple corn or colored corn, it is the result of its own genetic changes, not artificial genetically modified.
5. Can corn be eaten raw?
The sweet corn and waxy corn that I usually eat don't taste good when eaten raw, but there is a sweet corn called fruit corn. Its skin is thin and tender, it breaks when you bite into it, it tastes refreshing and juicy, and it also has a strong natural fragrance, and this corn is also white and yellow.
However, its yield is low, so the price is relatively expensive, you see that a white fruit corn sold on a platform is about 8 yuan, you can buy some to try it.
▲ Figure: Screenshot of e-commerce
6. What kind of corn should not be eaten?
Moldy corn should not be eaten because corn is prone to aflatoxins after mold. This substance has been identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) of the World Health Organization as a Group 1 carcinogen, that is, it can cause cancer to humans.
The terrible thing is that the general boiling and steaming temperature cannot destroy this toxin, and the fresh corn kernels are knocked or cut by a knife, and they are easy to mold when placed in a humid refrigerator.
Therefore, fresh corn is best stored in the freezer, if the refrigeration is not too long, when the corn kernels are moldy, be sure to cut off the nearby corn kernels, and then rinse them with running water before cooking.
7. Do you add alkali to boiled corn?
▲ Figure: Photo.com
Some people say that boiling corn with alkali is more nutritious, because the niacin in corn is bound and cannot be absorbed by the body, while alkali can convert the bound niacin into a free form that can be absorbed by the body. However, niacin is widely found in a variety of foods, and we basically do not lack niacin. [7]
On the contrary, the intake of vitamin B1 and vitamin B2 in mainland adults did not reach the recommended intake [7]; And adding alkali will destroy these two vitamins, so it is recommended to boil corn without alkali.
In addition, it is best to cook it with one or two slices of corn husks, so that the cooked corn tastes more fragrant; After cooking, don't soak in water, but just take it out of the plate and put it for a while, so that the taste is better.
8. How to nibble corn more nutritious?
▲ Figure: Photo.com
When eating corn, the corn cob should also be gnawed off at all, and do not leave the yellow particles close to the corn cob, because it is the germ of the corn. Corn germ is not only sweet and tasty but also nutritious, it is rich in oleic acid and vitamin E. Oleic acid can increase the "good cholesterol" and reduce the "bad cholesterol" in the body, and vitamin E has a strong antioxidant capacity.
How can you gnaw so cleanly? You can cut off a row with a knife first, and then you can easily eat it line by row, which is not only more nutritious but also elegant.
By the way, you can't eat corn germ by eating corn nest head and drinking corn paste, because corn germ is rich in oleic acid, linoleic acid, and vitamin E, which are easy to oxidize rancidity, and the embryo should be removed when processed into cornmeal.
In addition, many corn nests and corn paste are made of very fine cornmeal, compared with whole corn, the dietary fiber of cornmeal is removed very little, which is a typical coarse grain to eat, and the health benefits are further reduced.
Today's interaction: Leave a message about corn-related doubts and food.
Bibliography:
[1]https://consumer.fda.gov.tw//Food/tfndDetail.aspx?nodeID=178&f=0&id=91
[2]https://consumer.fda.gov.tw//Food/tfndDetail.aspx?nodeID=178&f=0&id=136
[3]https://consumer.fda.gov.tw//Food/tfndDetail.aspx?nodeID=178&f=0&id=347
[4] https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/?food_name=corn&product_category=&country=&gi=&gi_filter=&serving_size_(g)=&serving_size_(g)_filter=&carbs_per_serve_(g)=&carbs_per_serve_(g)_filter=&gl=&gl_filter=
[5] https://glycemicindex.com/gi-search/?food_name=corn,+fresh&product_category=&country=&gi=&gi_filter=&serving_size_(g)=&serving_size_(g)_filter=&carbs_per_serve_(g)=&carbs_per_serve_(g)_filter=&gl=&gl_filter=
[6]https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Illustration-of-the-structure-of-amylose-and-amylopectin_fig1_341036116
[7] Monitoring report on nutrition and health status of Chinese residents (2015-2017)[M].People's Medical Publishing House,2021:84-85