The Health Benefits of Corn

Corn An ear of fresh corn is a staple at cookouts during summer holidays, and frozen or canned corn is available year-round as a side dish or an addition to soups, salads, salsas, stir-fries, and pasta dishes. Because of its slightly sweet flavor and crisp, juicy texture, corn is a favorite of adults and children alike. But is there a nutritional benefit to eating corn?

Corn is high in fiber and contains important B vitamins, which have been shown to aid in the prevention of heart attacks and colon cancer and to help improve memory. Corn also contains zeaxanthin and lutein — phytonutrients that help promote the health of the heart and the eyes.
When purchasing fresh corn, look for green husks. Keep the husk intact while storing corn to maintain flavor and freshness, but you should really purchase fresh corn on the day you plan to eat it. To test the corn before purchase, peel back a corner of the husk and make sure the kernels are plump and tightly packed together. Pierce one kernel with a fingernail to check for plumpness — the raw kernel should exude a milky substance, which indicates that your corn will be plump and juicy when you bite into it!

Corn - A High-Fiber Food


Diets high in fiber-rich foods like corn - a cup provides 23% of the daily value for fiber - have been shown to lower high cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of colon cancer, and alleviate some of the uncomfortable symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.

In addition to its beneficial effects on the digestive system and the heart, the fiber found in corn can help stabilize blood sugar levels. If you have insulin resistance, hypoglycemia or diabetes, corn may help you balance blood sugar levels while providing steady, slow-burning energy. Studies of high fiber diets and blood sugar levels have shown the dramatic benefits provided by high fiber foods. Those who ate the diet higher in fiber had lower levels of both plasma glucose (blood sugar) and insulin (the hormone that helps blood sugar get into cells). The high fiber group also reduced their total cholesterol by nearly 7%, their triglyceride levels by 10.2% and their VLDL (Very Low Density Lipoprotein--the most dangerous form of cholesterol) levels by 12.5%.


Corn for Cardiovascular Health

Corn's contribution to heart health lies not just in its fiber, but in the significant amounts of folate, niacin, and magnesium that corn supplies.
Folate, which you may know about as a B-vitamin needed to prevent birth defects, also helps to lower levels of homocysteine, an amino acid that is an intermediate product in an important metabolic process called the methylation cycle. Homocysteine can directly damage blood vessels, so elevated blood levels of this dangerous molecule are an independent risk factor for heart attack, stroke, or peripheral vascular disease, and are found in between 20-40% of patients with heart disease. It has been estimated that consumption of 100% of the daily value (DV) of folate would, by itself, reduce the number of heart attacks suffered each year by 10%. Folate-rich diets are also associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer. A cup of corn supplies 19% of the DV for folate along with 18.9% of the DV for niacin, another B vitamin that may lessen cardiovascular disease risk by helping to lower high cholesterol. As for the magnesium in corn, magnesium is Nature's own calcium channel blocker. When there is enough magnesium around, veins and arteries breathe a sigh of relief and relax, which lessens resistance and improves the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. Studies show that a deficiency of magnesium is not only associated with heart attack but that immediately following a heart attack, lack of sufficient magnesium promotes free radical injury to the heart. Due, in part, to its relaxant effects, the magnesium found in corn has also been shown to reduce the severity of conditions like asthma and migraine, lower high blood pressure, and reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and diabetic heart disease. A cup of corn provides 16.4% of the DV for magnesium.


Lower Your Risk of Developing Lung Cancer

Consuming foods rich in beta-cryptoxanthin, an orange-red carotenoid found in highest amounts in corn, pumpkin,papaya, red bell peppers, tangerines, oranges and peaches, may significantly lower one’s risk of developing lung cancer. A study published in the September 2003 issue of Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention reviewed dietary and lifestyle data collected from 63,257 adults in Shanghai, China who were followed for 8 years, during which time 482 cases of lung cancer were diagnosed. Those eating the most crytpoxanthin-rich foods showed a 27% reduction in lung cancer risk. When current smokers were evaluated, those who were also in the group consuming the most crytpoxanthin-rich foods were found to have a 37% lower risk of lung cancer compared to smokers who ate the least of these health=protective foods.


Maintain Your Memory with Thiamin (Vitamin B1)

Corn is an excellent source of thiamin, providing one-third (32.7%) of the daily value for this nutrient in a single cup. Thiamin is an integral participant in enzymatic reactions central to energy production and is also critical for brain cell/cognitive function. This is because thiamin is needed for the synthesis of acetylcholine, a neurotransmitter essential for memory, whose lack has been found to be a significant contributing factor in age-related impairment in mental function (senility) and Alzheimer's disease. In fact, Alzheimer's disease is clinically characterized by a decrease in acetylcholine levels. Don't forget to make corn a staple in your healthy diet.


Support for Energy Production, Even Under Stress

In addition to its thiamin, corn is a good source of pantothenic acid as well as its aforementioned niacin-vitamin B3. Both pantothenic acid and niacin are necessary for carbohydrate, protein and lipid metabolism. Pantothenic acid is an especially valuable B-vitamin when you're under stress since it supports the function of the adrenal glands. A cup of corn supplies 28.8% of the daily value for pantothenic acid along with 18.9% of the daily value for niacin.