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Fiber-Rich Corn Offers Digestive, Uh, Benefit

Kernels act as 'snowplows' in intestine

By Nick McMaster,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 24, 2009 5:07 PM CDT
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(Newser) – Corn is an American staple—it helped the earliest settlers survive and has provided us with bread and meal ever since. Recently, though, corn has been portrayed in a more unfavorable light, whether as the source of high-fructose corn syrup or the recipient of ethanol subsidies. From a nutritional perspective, corn still deserves a place on your plate, writes Jennifer LaRue Huget for the Washington Post.

Corn is a whole grain composed of soluble and insoluble fiber, both of which offer nutritional benefits. Soluble fiber ushers cholesterol out of the body, while insoluble fiber "scrapes the sludge out of our gastrointestinal tracts," LaRue Huget writes. "Those big kernels are like snowplows, scooping stuff up as they move through your intestines. When the kernels leave your body, so does a lot of material your body doesn't need."

In this Sept. 27, 2007 file photo, a farmer shows two corncobs of genetically engineered corn MON810 by U.S. company Monsanto, right, and two normal corncobs on a field in Badingen, Germany.
In this Sept. 27, 2007 file photo, a farmer shows two corncobs of genetically engineered corn MON810 by U.S. company Monsanto, right, and two normal corncobs on a field in Badingen, Germany.   (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner)
Corn stalks are seen near New Berlin, Ill., in this Tuesday, June 19, 2007 file photo.
Corn stalks are seen near New Berlin, Ill., in this Tuesday, June 19, 2007 file photo.   (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, FILE)
FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2007 file photo, a mellow corncob of bio-engineered MON810 corn of U.S. company Monsanto on a field near the village of Badingen, north of Berlin.
FILE - In this Sept. 27, 2007 file photo, a mellow corncob of bio-engineered MON810 corn of U.S. company Monsanto on a field near the village of Badingen, north of Berlin.   (AP Photo/Sven Kaestner, File)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 11 comments
riffran
Aug 25, 2009 7:42 AM CDT
I take it ketchup was a NO NO!.....lol....ya know speaking of mussles haven't made paella in a while, hot damn get the clams...hmmmmm
riffran
Aug 25, 2009 7:10 AM CDT
the pictured corn is the fully mature ear, most likely destination is a feed mill where it would be ran through a hammermill, and used as feed for livestock. When used as ear corn , or roasting ears or "elote"....they are picked a bit on the still immature side....a good indicator is a still light green to golden and still soft corn silk......we used to do a LOT of fresh ears by not shucking them and coating them in natural clay and putting them near a campfire...Fresh steamed in the shuck....yummmmmmmmy..
brawne
Aug 25, 2009 7:02 AM CDT
Very good point Jay. about fifteen years ago I drove an old Porshe north to south across Mexico. Everyday some lovely person fixed the stupid thing and fed me and my friend. What fabulous corn--and everything else. Other than the Federales it was a great trip. And I learned to speak Spanish in three weeks after years of unproductive study. But I speak French and German so as Mum says--I have an ear. Language is the great equalizer. Americans have no idea that everyone learns to speak English, but we bother with nothing. Want to keep dementia at bay? Sign up for Italian. Nothing works your brain like language. My first language was actually French. And then I lived in Berlin. English is hard--much harder than you think.

 
nutrition • corn • whole grains • corn syrup • digestion • fiber

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