Summary: A research team from Pennsylvania's University of Scranton has found that popcorn has more antioxidants than other fruits and vegetables. The presenter of the findings, Joe Vinson, said that "popcorn may be the perfect snack food." Earlier research found polyphenols (a type of antioxidant) in popcorn; however, in this study, scientists measured the exact amount of the polyphenols. They found that popcorn contains about twice as many polyphenols as fresh sweet corn or fruit per serving. Polyphenols are divided up to 90% in most fruits and veggies because of all the water, but popcorn only contains about 4% water. The study also proclaims popcorn is a whole grain. Vinson said "It's the only snack that is 100 percent unprocessed whole grain. One serving of popcorn will provide more than 70% of the daily intake of whole grain. The average person only gets about half a serving of whole grains a day, and popcorn could fill that gap in a very pleasant way." Vinson says not to replace fruits and veg with popcorn because they have many other important nutrients. He also said to stick with plain, air-popped corn to be healthiest because all the butter you put on it is going to offset the nutritional benefits.
Critique: I LOVE popcorn and I've always thought popcorn to be a pretty healthy snack (as long as it's not smothered in salt or butter or flavorings or chocolate). It's really cool that just one serving will get you 70% of the recommended serving of whole grains. That's also important to me personally because I have to eat gluten-free so this would be a good way for me to get my whole grains. I think that it's really interesting that popcorn has that many antioxidants. As a side note this article made me really start craving popcorn...
Impact: Hopefully this will persuade people to eat popcorn more. This will help them get their whole grains and their antioxidants.
Source: http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/popcorn-contains-more-antioxidants-fruits-vegetables-super-snack-205100980.html
I personally love popcorn - and the fact that it's now healthy is even better. Usually, when one goes to the movies and gets popcorn, all of the nutrition is lost under the melted butter. Nonethelesss, I am more likely to eat unbuttered popcorn versus an apple. (I too feel like popcorn now.)
ReplyDeleteSo I wasn't entirely sure what antioxidants were - I knew that the general idea was that they get out the bad toxins in your body - but now I realize that they are good things to have in your body. Plus, I love whole grain things like wheat toast and cereal. I just thought popcorn was corn in popped form; I didn't think it was a grain. Overall, good blog! I actualy learned something from this one!