With the New Year just a couple of days away, many of us are ready with a list of new year resolutions. Apart from regular physical activity and gaming, following a healthy diet is perhaps one of the most common resolutions for many of us. Leading names in the health and wellness industry believe that, a well-balanced diet plays a vital role in rejuvenating the body and fighting several physical and mental ailments.
How does cornmeal help your body?
The one major benefit of cornmeal over the regular wheat grain flour is that it is gluten free. Gluten free diet is extremely beneficial for those suffering from celiac diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, abdominal pain, and wheat allergies. Also, being rich in dietary fibers, essential amino acids, potassium, iron, zinc, niacin, and antioxidants make cornmeal a complete food in itself.
Dieticians are of the view that a cornmeal diet is the best way in which one can maintain a healthy nervous system, fight pellagra, control diabetes and hypertension, improve bone strength, and most of all reduce the risk of colon cancer. Moreover, if maintaining a healthy heart is your priority, then corn oil is the best way to reach this goal. Researchers have found that corn oil has an anti-atherogenic effect on cholesterol levels, which reduces the risk of several cardiovascular diseases. Also as this oil has an optimal fatty acid combination, it brings down the chances of heart attack and stroke.
Recently a study carried out at the Cornell University showed that the antioxidant properties present in corn are quite effective in fighting cancer-causing free radicals. The ferulic acid present in cornmeal is a good anti-carcinogenic agent and helps fight liver and breast cancer. Also unlike the case of other food items, cooking increases the amount of usable antioxidants in sweet corn, which is why it is highly recommended to those who have cancer.
Apart from helping you fight several diseases, corn flour is also good for the skin. It has a soothing effect on skin rashes and is one of the best replacements for carcinogenic petroleum ingredients present in cosmetics.
Challenges in the adoption of cornmeal diet
Despite having several health benefits, the emergence of GMO corns has raised several health concerns among the masses. For instance, around 90% of the corn produced in the US is of the GMO variety. Moreover, even though the GMO variety prevents yield loss to pests and is financially beneficial to the farmers – this variety of corn has lower nutritional quality and contributes to the bio-accumulation of toxins. Allergic reactions, antibiotic resistance, immunosuppression, and cancer are some of the common health risks posed by GMO corns.
Fluctuation in the corn price is yet another major issue which has brought down the sales of cornmeal. Climatic conditions like spring and summer rains along with El Niño affect lead to sudden rise and fall in the corn prices causing a huge demand and supply gap in the global market. Manufacturers on their part are trying to increase the adoption of cornmeal introducing innovative corn variants and organic corn-based food.
Looking for more information cornmeal market?
Order the 2016-2020 Report on the Global Cornmeal Market in the US
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