Scientists report that popcorn, which is a 100% unprocessed whole grain, contains more of the highly healthy antioxidant substances called polyphenols than fruits and vegetables, if it isn't dipped in butter, oil or salt.
The hulls of popcorn - the part that everyone hates for its tendency to
get caught in the teeth - has been found to have the highest
concentration of polyphenols and fibre. The levels of polyphenols
rivaled those in nuts and were up to 15 times greater than whole-grain
tortilla chips.
Joe Vinson
from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, who has been a pioneer
in analyzing healthful components in chocolate, nuts and other common
food items, presented these findings at the American Chemical Society's
(ACS) scientific society on Sunday.
Vinson said one serving of popcorn will provide more than 70% of the daily intake of whole grain needed by an adult.
"Popcorn may be the perfect snack food. It is 100% unprocessed whole
grain as against all other grains which are actually processed and
diluted with other ingredients - meaning only 51% of the weight of the
product is whole grain. The average person only gets about half a
serving of whole grains a day, and popcorn could fill that gap in a very
pleasant way," Vinson added.
Jyoti Arora, head of nutrition at
Artemis Health Institute, said popcorn's high content of fibre makes it
nutritious and healthy.
"Whole grains like popcorn are high in
fibre that helps in relieving constipation and leads to weight loss,
better blood sugar control besides keeping cholesterol levels under
check," Arora said.
Vinson, however, cautioned that the finding should not make people give up fruits and vegetables.
"Popcorn cannot replace fresh fruits and vegetables
in a healthy diet. Fruits and vegetables contain vitamins and other
nutrients that are critical for good health, but are missing from
popcorn," he added.
Vinson explained that the same
concentration principle applies to dried fruit, which holds a polyphenol
edge over regular fruit.
Previous studies found low
concentrations of free polyphenols in popcorn, but Vinson's team
conducted the first study to calculate total polyphenols in popcorn.
"The amounts of these antioxidants were much higher than previously
believed," he said.
Vinson cautioned that the way people
prepare and serve popcorn can quickly put a dent in its healthful image.
If cooked in a pot full of oil, slathered on butter or the fake butter
used in many movie theaters and poured on salt and eaten as kettle corn,
the end result could become a nutritional nightmare - popcorn suffused
with fat and calories.
"Air-popped popcorn has the lowest
number of calories. Microwave popcorn has twice as many calories as
air-popped, and if you pop your own with oil, this has twice as many
calories as air-popped popcorn. About 43% of microwave popcorn is fat,
compared to 28% if you pop the corn in oil yourself," Vinson added.
The new study found that the amount of polyphenols found in popcorn was
up to 300 mg a serving compared to 114 mg for a serving of sweet corn
and 160 mg for all fruits per serving. Besides, one serving of popcorn
would provide 13% of an average intake of polyphenols a day per person
in the US.
Fruits provide 255 mg per day of polyphenols and
vegetables provide 218 mg per day to the average US diet. Polyphenols
are more concentrated in popcorn, which averages only about 4% water,
while polyphenols are diluted in the 90% water that makes up many fruits
and vegetables.
courtesy:
by Kounteya Sinha
