Corn, often known as maize, is one of the most widely consumed cereal grains in the world. It is the seed of a grass family plant, native to Central America but cultivated in various variants all over the world.
Although refined corn products are also widely consumed and regularly used as ingredients in processed foods, popcorn and sweet corn are the most popular forms.
These include cornmeal, corn flour, corn syrup, corn oil, polenta, tortillas, tortilla chips, and cornmeal.
Equally a cereal grain, whole-grain corn is as nutritious due to its high fibre content and plenty of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
The most common colour of corn is yellow, but it also occurs in a spectrum of other hues, including red, orange, purple, blue, white, and black.
Carb:
Like all cereal grains, corn is mainly made up of carbohydrates.
Its primary carbohydrate is starch, which makes up 28–80% of its dry weight. Sugar is also present in corn in tiny amounts (1%–3%).
The low-starch variety of sweet corn, sometimes known as sugar corn, has a higher sugar content—18% of the dry weight—than other varieties. Mostly sucrose makes up the sugar.
Despite having sugar, sweet corn doesn't have a high glycemic index (GI), scoring low or medium
The GI is a gauge of how rapidly carbohydrates are broken down. High-ranking foods on this index could result in an unhealthful blood sugar increase.
Fiber:
Corn has a considerable amount of fibre in it.
A medium bag of movie popcorn (112 grammes) has about 16 grammes of fibre.
For both men and women, this amounts to 42% and 64% of the Daily Value (DV), respectively. The fibre content of various varieties of maize varies, although it typically ranges from 9 to 15% of the dry weight.
Protein:
Corn primarily contains insoluble fibres such hemicellulose, cellulose, and lignin.
Corn is a respectable source of protein.
The protein content varies between 10-15% depending on the type.
Zeins, which make up 44–79% of the total protein composition in maize, are the most prevalent proteins in that crop.
Zeins' overall protein quality is subpar because they are deficient in a number of crucial amino acids.
Zeins are used in the manufacture of adhesives, inks, and coatings for pills, candies, and nuts, among other industrial products.
grain oil:
Corn has a 5-6% fat level, making it a low-fat food.
But corn germ, a plentiful byproduct of maize milling, is high in fat and is used to make corn oil, a typical cooking ingredient.
Linoleic acid, a polyunsaturated fatty acid, makes up the majority of refined maize oil, with the remainder being made up of monounsaturated and saturated fats.
It has a longer shelf life and may be beneficial at lowering cholesterol levels because it also contains considerable amounts of vitamin E, ubiquinone.
minerals and vitamins:
Several vitamins and minerals may be present in corn in reasonable amounts. Notably, the quantity varies greatly depending on the type of maize.
Generally speaking, sweet corn is higher in numerous vitamins than popcorn, which is richer in minerals.
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