Is Corn Healthy or Not? 5 Myths About Sweet Corn Busted
By Matthew Thompson, Associate Food Editor for EatingWell Magazine
Sweet corn is one of summer's simplest, purest pleasures. A fresh-picked ear, grilled to caramelized perfection and lightly buttered, offers incredible, complex sweetness, an intoxicating texture and plenty of nutrition benefits to boot.
But many people have convinced themselves that sweet corn is bad. That's a shame. It's easy to take a few real nuggets of fact and use them to come to a distorted conclusion about this super-delicious summer veggie.
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In Barry Estabrook's feature in the July/August issue of EatingWell, "Sweet Summer Corn," he set the record straight about this misunderstood vegetable. Here are some of the biggest myths about corn that he dispels:
Myth #1: Most sweet corn is genetically modified.
Truth: A lot of people mix up "sweet corn," the vegetable you buy to eat, and "field corn"-the virtually inedible commodity crop used to make everything from livestock feed to ethanol to high-fructose corn syrup. While most field corn is genetically modified, most sweet corn is not. Last year only 3 to 4% of the sweet corn grown in the U.S. was GMO. Food-giant Monsanto hopes to change all that this summer, however. For the first time, farmers are planting Monsanto's newly approved, genetically modified Performance sweet-corn seeds. A representative from the company wouldn't divulge how much will be planted this year. One way to try to tell whether the sweet corn you're holding is GMO is to ask the farmers you buy from if they plant GMO corn. (Syngenta's Attribute and Monsanto's Performance are the two varieties sold in North America.) Another way: choose USDA organic corn. GMO crops are forbidden under organic standards.
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Myth #2: Corn is fattening and sugary.
Truth: An ear of corn has about the same number of calories as an apple and less than one-fourth the sugar. In other words, it can be one of the healthier foods at the cookout! Just remember: while sweet corn is healthy, some of the toppings people like to put on it aren't. So don't assume an ear of corn slathered in butter and doused in salt is still a healthy option.
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Myth #3: Cooking corn makes it less nutritious.
Truth: Antioxidant activity, which helps protect the body from cancer and heart disease, is actually increased when corn is cooked.
Myth #4: Corn has no healthy benefits.
Truth: Sweet corn is loaded with lutein and zeaxanthin, two phytochemicals that promote healthy vision. A midsize ear also offers a helpful 3-gram dose of dietary fiber.
Myth #5: The best way to choose corn is by the color of the kernels.
Truth: Although corn lovers often profess to have favorite varieties, farmer Kevin Smith, interviewed by Estabrook for the story, says variety is far less important than freshness. "Any corn can be ruined if it's old," he says. Nor is color a key to quality. Yellow, white, bi-color-it doesn't really matter. Preferences vary from region to region. Avoid corn with dry, pale husks and silks that are desiccated where they enter the cob. If pricked, kernels should squirt whitish juice. As for choosing the best-tasting corn, abide by Smith's "one-day rule." Don't buy a cob that's more than 24 hours out of the field.
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Do you think corn is healthy?
By Matthew Thompson
Matthew Thompson is the associate food editor for EatingWell Magazine.
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