Yellow corn is rich in lutein and zeaxanthin, which is a powerful antioxidant to protect eyes. It can absorb harmful light entering the eyeball and help to protect eye health.
2. Promoting intestinal health Under normal circumstances, harmful bacteria and beneficial bacteria in the intestine maintain a balance, but when the beneficial bacteria decrease, intestinal diseases will gradually appear.
The isomaltooligosaccharides contained in corn is the best prebiotic, which is the food of probiotics and can promote the reproduction of beneficial bacteria in the intestine. At the same time, corn is rich in dietary fiber, which can also promote intestinal peristalsis, improve constipation and protect intestinal health.
3. Weight-reducing corn contains more crude fiber, which is 4- 10 times higher than polished rice and refined flour, which can enhance satiety; Magnesium can strengthen the peristalsis of intestinal wall, promote the body to discharge waste, and achieve the effect of slimming.
4. Regulating blood sugar Corn is rich in nicotinic acid, which is one of the components of glucose tolerance factor (GTP) and can enhance the effect of insulin. Therefore, the proper use of corn instead of staple food is helpful to regulate blood sugar.
5. Reduce cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Corn is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic acid, up to 60%. In addition, corn is rich in a variety of high-content vitamins.
The synergistic effect of linoleic acid and vitamin E can reduce the cholesterol content in blood, prevent arteriosclerosis, and have certain preventive and therapeutic effects on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia and coronary heart disease.
6. Anti-cancer and anti-cancer corn contains a variety of antioxidant and anti-cancer ingredients, such as vitamin E, glutathione, lysine, selenium, etc., which helps to prevent cancer and fight cancer.
Among them, glutathione can inactivate carcinogens and excrete them through digestive tract, accelerate the inactivation of aging free radicals and reduce the occurrence of diseases and even cancer;
Selenium can not only combine with harmful components such as heavy metals and free radicals in the body, promote the discharge of waste and prevent the occurrence of cancer, but also inhibit the development and spread of cancer cells.
The content of carotene in corn is more than five times that of soybean, and it also has an inhibitory effect on carcinogens. Its lutein can also prevent cancers such as colorectal cancer, skin cancer, lung cancer and uterine cancer, and zeaxanthin can also prevent skin cancer and lung cancer.
7. Anti-aging, improve metabolism Corn is rich in antioxidants such as glutathione, vitamin E and lutein, which can effectively improve the metabolism of human body, promote the excretion of liver toxins, inhibit redundant free radicals in human body, and have the effect of prolonging life.
2 The role of corn water and corn stigma The role of corn is so great that most people mainly eat corn kernels, but in the eyes of nutritionists, its effective components are far more than these.
1. Nitrosamine in corn water is a strong carcinogen, and corn flavonoids can reduce its damage to human cells and help prevent gastric cancer, but the content of corn flavonoids is relatively small, mainly in corn water.
2. Corn beard In the eyes of Chinese medicine, corn beard is a blind medicine and has a wide range of preventive and health care uses. Such as: cooling blood, purging heat, removing damp heat from the body; Diuresis, detumescence and increase chloride excretion; Accelerate blood coagulation and increase the number of platelets. Therefore, it can be used as diuretic and hemostatic.
3 How to cook corn When cooking corn, peel off the skin of the corn, leaving the endothelium and stigma of the corn. After washing, put it in a pot and cook it, which can maximize the yield of corn flavonoids. After cooking, you can eat corn and drink corn water (also called asparagus tea).
According to the research of Cornell University, the anti-free radical activity of sweet corn was increased by 22%, 44% and 53% after heating at15℃ 10 min, 25 min and 50 min respectively. In other words, the longer the heating time of corn, the better the anti-aging effect. When cooking corn, extend the cooking time appropriately.
How to choose different kinds of corn? Different colors and tastes of corn contain different nutrients.
Special effects of different corn Yellow corn contains lutein and zeaxanthin, which helps to protect eye health;
Purple corn is rich in anthocyanins, which has stronger antioxidant and anti-aging effects;
The contents of melanin, amino acids and selenium in black corn are much higher than those in ordinary corn, and the nutritional components are higher.
Sweet corn, protein, fat, vitamins are 1-2 times higher than ordinary corn, selenium is 8- 10 times higher, and amino acid content is also higher than ordinary corn. But its sugar content is high, so it is not suitable for patients with hyperglycemia.
The protein content of waxy corn is relatively high, which is rich in vitamin A and vitamin B 1, and the amylopectin content is very high, so it is not suitable for diabetics.
Old corn has high crude fiber content and low soluble sugar content, which is a very good choice for people who lose weight and have diabetes.
The best way to buy corn is to buy seven or eight ripe corn. Corn is too tender and has too much water; Corn was over-aged, with more starch, but protein decreased.
When picking, it can be pinched by hand, with tender meat, white color, good taste and rich nutrition. But too much pulp is too tender, and too old without pulp.