Nutritional value of corn

Corn is an indispensable food on people’s daily tables. Let’s learn about the nutrition of corn.

Introduction of corn

Corn is the seed of the grass plant maize. It is native to Mexico and Peru in Central America and was introduced to my country in the 16th century. It has a cultivation history of more than 400 years.

At present, it is planted all over the country, especially in the northeast, north China and southwestern provinces. Flint corn is widely planted in the northeast, while dent corn suitable for milling is mostly planted in north China, which is inferior to flint corn in quality.

Corn is a good health food among coarse grains, and eating corn is very beneficial to human health.

Corn endosperm is rich in starch, protein, lipids, minerals and vitamins. Corn embryo is particularly large, accounting for 10%-14% of the total weight, and contains a lot of fat, so oil can be extracted from corn embryo. Because corn contains more fat, it is easy to go rancid during storage.

Corn can be ground into flour or made into rice. There is no grade of corn flour, only the difference between coarse and fine. Corn flour can be used to make steamed bread, silk cake, etc. The protein in corn flour does not have the ability to form gluten elasticity and has poor gas retention performance. It needs to be mixed with flour to make various fermented snacks. The broken rice made from corn is called corn residue, which can be used to cook porridge and stew rice. The very tender corn that has not yet matured is called "corn shoots", which can be used to make dishes. Some new special corns have appeared on the market recently: fruit corn, glutinous corn, and popcorn.

Nutritional value of corn

1. Corn has a high cellulose content, which can stimulate gastrointestinal motility and accelerate fecal excretion, and can prevent and treat constipation, enteritis, intestinal cancer, etc.

2. The vitamin E contained in corn can promote cell division, delay aging, lower serum cholesterol, prevent skin lesions, and reduce arteriosclerosis and brain function decline;

3. Researchers pointed out that the progesterone and zeaxanthin contained in corn can fight against eye aging. In addition, eating more corn can inhibit the side effects of anti-cancer drugs on the human body, stimulate brain cells, and enhance brain power and memory.

4. According to foreign medical data, the incidence of cancer is generally low in areas where corn is the staple food, which may be due to the fact that corn is rich in magnesium and selenium, which inhibits the growth of tumors. In particular, corn also contains a lot of glutamic acid, which has a brain-boosting effect. It can help and promote the breathing of brain cells. During physiological activities, it can remove waste from the body and help eliminate ammonia in brain tissue. Therefore, eating corn regularly can improve brain health.

Effects of corn consumption

Corn is mild in nature, sweet and light in taste; it enters the spleen and stomach meridians.

It can benefit the lungs and calm the mind, strengthen the spleen and stimulate the appetite, and promote diuresis and relieve stranguria; it has certain effects on preventing cancer, lowering cholesterol, and strengthening the brain.

Corn is suitable for people

It can be eaten by most people, and is especially suitable for people with spleen and stomach qi deficiency, insufficient qi and blood, malnutrition, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary heart disease, cardiovascular disease, obesity, fatty liver, cancer patients, memory loss, habitual constipation, chronic nephritis edema, and middle-aged and elderly people.

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