Why Don’t We Care If Jimmy Cracked Corn?

You might remember the old children’s song Blue Tail Fly with the words “Jimmy Cracked Corn and I Don’t Care”.

Did you ever wonder why he didn’t care? Corn is a good source of fiber, vitamin B1, folate Vitamin B5 Vitamin C, Phosphorous, Manganese as well as a nutrient called beta-cryptoxanthin?

I seriously doubt that while singing the song Burl Ives thought about all the nutritional value of corn and the sweetness of this grain when he first preformed this song in the US way back in 1840.

Let’s learn a little bit of what some of these nutrients within corn have been known for.

Corn is rich in folate:

In addition to helping lower the risk of a heart attack, vascular disease or stroke, folate rich diets have also been associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer and known to help prevent birth defects as well. Some studies have shown that Americans can reduce the number of heart attacks suffered each year by 10 percent when 100 percent of the daily value of folete is consumed.

The risk of lung cancer may be another disease significantly altered by consuming foods rich in beta-cryptoxanthin, the orange red carotenoid found in corn. A 27 percent reduction in lung cancer risk was found in those eating a higher amount of crytpoxanthin rich foods. This information came from a study of sixty three thousand adults followed for eight years in Shanghai, China.

When current smokers from this same group were evaluated, those who also consumed high amounts of these same foods seemed to have a much lower risk of lung cancer when compared to smokers who consumed a smaller amount of these foods.
Among corn, butternut and winter squash, tangerine, and pumpkin are a few other foods rich in beta cryptoxantin.

The nutrient Thiamin is also in corn and necessary for good mental function and brain cell health. By using Thiamin the brain makes a neurotransmitter called acetylcholine that is vital for a good memory. Studies have shown that if one maintains a healthy level of acetylcholine a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s disease is possible.

Other studies have shown the ability to measure powerful phytonutrients and antioxidant activity of different foods, assigning them a rating formula with a higher number the better the activity.

To give you a little perspective, Bananas measured 65, Broccoli 80, Spinach 81, Apples 98 and Corn 181.

Most of the corn eaten in the standard American diet these days just like wheat is usually processed so much that the -powers at bay- feel they need to enrich the grain because so many nutrients are lost in the processing procedure.

So, make sure to eat whole grains to get the most nutritional value.