More Popcorn, Please
Monday, August 6, 2012 at 5:27AM
Popcorn’s reputation as a healthy snack got a big boost recently. Researchers at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania found that this favorite movie snack has more polyphenols (a class of antioxidants) than many fruits and vegetables. They reported that, on average, a serving of popcorn gives you up to 300 mg of polyphenols compared to 160 mg per serving for fruits. The new findings, presented at this year’s national meeting of the American Chemical Society, included the discovery that those annoying little popcorn hulls that get stuck in your teeth actually have the highest concentrations of polyphenols and fiber. The researchers also noted that popcorn is good for us because it is 100 percent unprocessed whole grain. However, lead researcher Joe Vinson, Ph.D., cautioned that popcorn isn’t such a healthy snack when doused with butter (especially the fake butter you get with movie popcorn). You’ll get the most nutritional mileage out of your popcorn if you air-pop it yourself (microwave popcorn has twice the calories of air-popped and kernels popped in oil has double that many).
Reader Comments (8)
"microwave popcorn has twice the calories of air-popped" ???? Assuming they're both popped without oil, is that really true? I wonder why?
I heard that the polyphenols s that are so abundant in that part of the kernel are not broken down by the body, thus, there is no benefit. Is this true?
I buy organic NON GMO popcorn whenever I can and pop it in a small amout of coconut oil sprinkled with sea salt and ground chia. My favorite snack.
it needs to be organic though right? I react to regular popcorn (eczema) no matter how I cook it.
Please let us know how it fares when cooked with olive oil? I've also read that microwaved popcorn in the bags has some pretty lethal chemicals involved. It is on the top ten list of things we shouldn't be eating.
Well, it shouldn't be a calorie issue as much as a benefit from the "polyphenols" issue. There are a lot more bad things that people stuff themselves with every day!
http://homeremedies1.com is committed to health!
Candice,
I'm glad you mentioned that. I just bought some natural popcorn this last weekend and was going to cook it up for my boy because I used to love my Mom pop it the old fashioned way and he hasn't seen that yet, but.. he suffers from severe eczema already. I didn't even consider that natural popcorn might affect him!
Does organic popcorn affect your eczema at all?
I enjoy cooking popcorn as it is like a war zone when it's popped. I hope there will be a flavor that or a butter that can be used with popcorn and can still be a healthy snack. Thou an iodized salt would do.