Popcorn is one of America's most popular snacks, whether it is the kind provided in movie theater buckets or the type you manufacture at home. Even if you consider yourself a regular grain enthusiast, there is a lot you do not know about this famous cuisine, especially when it comes to your health.
If you enjoy this poppable food, you may not be aware of a startling popcorn side effect: eating popcorn may help lower your risk of cardiovascular disease.
"Popcorn is a whole grain, which means it's high in fiber and polyphenols. Popcorn's fiber aids in the removal of cholesterol from the body, lowering levels of this material that can be damaging to heart health, "Balance One Supplement licensed dietitian Trista Best, MPH, RD, LD, explains.
"Polyphenols are plant chemicals that protect the body from free radicals. We are assisting our body in clearing itself of free radicals and poisons that can cause cellular damage and eventually chronic illnesses when we ingest them through whole food sources, "she continues.
In fact, according to a 2014 study published in Nutrition, Metabolism, and Cardiovascular Diseases, people with the most significant levels of polyphenols in their diets had a 46 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease than those with the most insufficient amounts of polyphenols in their diets.
So, how much of a polyphenol boost do you receive from eating popcorn? Researchers from the University of Scranton discovered that a single serving of popcorn not only has over 70% of the RDA of whole grains but also has more polyphenols per serving than fresh corn or any of the fruits the researchers compared the snack to, according to research presented at the American Chemical Society's (ACS) 243rd National Meeting & Exposition in 2012.
However, you should not expect to get all those heart-healthy benefits from just any popcorn, especially if you are eating the oil-popped, butter-drenched variety sold in buckets at your local movie theater. "This effect is eliminated if popcorn is made with butter and oil," explains Best.
A large canola oil-popped popcorn serving at AMC Theaters has 980 calories (about 78 minutes of running), 44 grams of fat (including 3.5 grams of saturated fat), and 2400 milligrams (about twice the weight of a small paper clip) of salt, which is more than the most significant limitation of what the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers safe for an adult to ingest in one day. Given the links between high-fat diets and excessive sodium consumption and heart disease, the oil and salt in this otherwise healthy snack can quickly convert it into a wrong decision for your heart.
Furthermore, those jumbo-sized movie theater servings may lead to overeating, leading to weight gain, a known risk factor for heart disease. Even individuals handed stale popcorn who loathed its flavor ate 33.6 percent more when given a large container than those shown a medium-sized one, according to a 2005 study published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.
So, if you are going to eat this snack, make sure it is air-popped, season it with spices rather than salt or high-fat toppings, and restrict yourself to a few cups at a time.