Monday, March 26, 2012

Popcorn: The Wonder-Snack!

 

Popcorn: The Wonder-Snack!


At the scientists recently reportered that popcorn actually delivers more antioxidants  (polyphenols) than fruits and vegetables. 

Popcorn Has a Higher Concentration of Antioxidants (Polyphenols) than Fruits and Vegetables.

  • Polyphenols are more concentrated in popcorn, which averages 4 percent water, while polyphenols are diluted in the 90 percent water that makes up many fruits and vegetables.

Give The Hulls Some Love

  • The hulls of the popcorn  (the part that tends to get stuck in the teeth) actually has the highest concentration of polyphenols and fiber!

The Perfect Snack Food

  • It's the only snack that is 100 percent unprocessed whole grain. One serving of popcorn will provide more than 70 percent of the daily intake of whole grain. The average person only gets about half a serving of whole grains a day, and popcorn could easily fill that gap.

Prepare It the Healthy Way: Air-Popped is the Best.

  • Air-popped popcorn has the lowest number of calories. Microwave has twice as many calories as air popped. About 43% of microwave popcorn is fat, compared to 28% if you pop the corn in oil yourself.. Cooking with oil is the worst - it has twice as many calories as air-popped popcorn.
  • Stay away from "movie-theater" style or "kettle corn" popcorn.  The slathering of butter and salt in movie theater popcorn or sugar loaded "kettle corn" is loaded with fat and calories. 

Not a Replacement For Fruits and Vegetables

  • Popcorn can't 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.

Add Nutritonal Yeast To Kick Up The Nutritional Value

  • One ounce of nutritional yeast contains 14 grams of protein and 79 calories. Nutritional yeast is a  great alternative to animal-based protein.
  • Nutritional yeast contains a high amount of fiber, containing more than seven grams per ounce. Diets high in fiber can help eliminate constipation, assist in lowering cholesterol, reduce the risk of colon disease, and protect against high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.
  • Many brands of nutritional yeast also contain vitamin B12, which is essential for red blood cell production. B12 maintains the myelin sheath that insulates nerve cells, making it a vital part of normal nerve function.
  • Low sodium alternative to salt.


Source: American Chemical Society (ACS) (2012, March 25). Popcorn: The snack with even higher antioxidants levels than fruits and vegetables.