35 Amazing Facts about Corn | Amazing Facts 4U
- Corn is called maize by most countries, maize is an Indian word meaning “sacred mother,” or “giver of life.”
- An amazing fact is Corn is a domesticated grass that does not exist in the wild.
- Amazingly in ancient times, corn ears were only about the size of your thumb. Through selective breeding, humans massively expanded their size to what is considered normal today.
- An ear of corn is actually part of the flower and an individual kernel is a seed. On average, an ear of corn has 800 kernels in 16 rows. A pound of corn consists of approximately 1,300 kernels.
- The amazing fact is that there is one silk strand for each kernel of corn. One bushel of corn contains about 72,800 kernels and weighs 56 pounds.
- Amazingly the United States produces 40% of the world’s harvest making it the biggest maize producer.
- Corn is America’s largest crop and accounts for more than 90 percent of the total value and production of feed grains.
- Corn can be produced in various colors including blackish, bluish-gray, purple, green, red, white, and the most common yellow.
- Fresh corn on the cob will lose approximately 40% of its sugar in only 6 hours at room temperature storage (it is rapidly converted to starch).
- Never add salt to corn as it is cooking. It toughens it. Instead, for better tasting corn, try adding a little milk and sugar to the water.
- It’s amazing that Corn has a very high self-life. 1000-year-old kernels have been found to be in edible condition.
- Amazingly from one bushel of corn, we can get sweetener for 325 cans of pop, oil for two pounds of margarine, enough starch for a ton of paper, or 15 pounds of carbon dioxide “fizz” in soft drinks.
- The fact is one acre of corn removes about 8 tons of carbon dioxide from the air in a growing season, more than is produced by your car annually.
- The amazing fact is there are over 3,500 different uses for corn products.
- The main ingredient in most dry pet food is corn.
- Amazingly cornflakes are only about 8% corn.
- Corn is a major component in many food items like cereals, peanut butter, margarine, saccharin, snack foods, ice cream, toothpaste, and soft drinks.
- Corn is used to producing fuel alcohol. Fuel alcohol makes gasoline burn cleaner, reducing air pollution, and it doesn’t pollute the water. It is currently blended into more than 80 percent of the USA’s fuel supply.
- Besides use as food, Corn and its by-products are also found in many non-food items such as fireworks, rust preventatives, glue, synthetic rubber, lubricating oils, linoleum, abrasives, paint, dyes, laundry detergent, soap, aspirin, antibiotics, paint, shoe polish, ink, cosmetics, the manufacturing of photographic film, synthetic fibers such as Nylon and in the production of plastics.
- The amazing fact is that juices and soft drinks like Coca-Cola and Pepsi contain corn sweeteners. A bushel of corn can sweeten 400 cans of soft drink.
- As they age, corn cobs develop more starches and sweet corn is one of the few vegetables that is a good source of the kind of slowly digested carbohydrate that gives you long-lasting energy. It is an excellent source of dietary fiber. It also contains vitamin C and niacin and folate and potassium to balance the body’s fluids if you eat salty foods.
- Moderately rich in calories providing 90 calories/100 grams which are about 4% daily value. Fresh kernels are lower in calories than field corn. Sweet corn is composed of simple carbohydrates while field corn has complex carbohydrates.
- It provides about 10% of the daily Folate requirements /100 grams. Folates lower the homocysteine levels, higher levels of which are linked to increases in the risk of heart disease.
- The folate levels and the iron content keep the hemoglobin levels up in pregnant women and prevent neural defects in the growing fetus.
- Being Gluten-free can be consumed safely by people with celiac disease.
- It has good levels of dietary fiber about 5% daily value/100 grams. The fiber contents also lower the risk of colon cancer. The fiber alleviates constipation and issues with hemorrhoids. It maintains the healthy proliferation of friendly bacteria in the large intestine.
- It has good levels of many B complex vitamins and decent amounts of many vital minerals.
- It provides 6% of the daily requirement of Vitamin A and 11% of the daily requirements of Vitamin C per 100 grams.
- Cooking increases the levels of the antioxidants and beneficial compounds in sweet corn. In fact, it has been found that it raises the ferulic acid content by as much as 550%, with increases in levels of other antioxidants as well. Its excellent antioxidant effect destroys the free radicals that cause different cancers. Thus Ferulic acid is very effective against breast and liver cancer.
- Corn oil has been found to have anti-atherogenic effects on cholesterol levels. Cornhusk oil lowers LDL cholesterol since it reduces cholesterol absorption.
- The high fiber content and protein levels enable just the right pace of digestion leading to a steady absorption of sugars and preventing sudden spikes and drops, in people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
- Minerals like iron, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, and zinc ensure healthy bones.
- Boil fresh corn on the cob. Strain out the water. Add candy sugar to this water and drink. This relieves the burning sensation as well as makes the kidneys healthier.
- Corn relieves urinary difficulties, bladder, infections. UTI. It is a diuretic and flushes the entire urinary tract including the kidneys, bladder, prostate, and urethra.
- For urinary infection boil about 20 grams of corn silk in 500 ml water for about 10 to 15 minutes. Strain out the silk and drink this almost colorless water 2 to 3 times a day. You can use fresh or dried corn silk.
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