This food may help fight heart disease, diabetes, cancer

What is Blue Corn?

Blue corn was among the oldest varieties of the corn. It has been used by the Pueblo Indian tribe in the Southwestern United States from 1540. Blue corn is different from yellow or white corn as it is open-pollinated so it’s growth is not as easily measured. It has 30 percent more protein than the average hybrid corns.'

Is Blue Corn Healthy?

A new study carried in rats suggests that eating blue corn helps in protecting against metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.

The researchers of Universidad Veracruzana and Instituto Tecnologico de Veracruz in Mexico found the animals are fed a high-sugar and high cholesterol food that was received from blue corn extract. It had a significantly smaller increase in abdominal fat as compared to the abdominal fat gain in the rats that did not receive the extract.

"Anti-obesity food materials are always in demand, and this study brings out not only the significance of blue maize in controlling adiposity, but also the potential role of cholesterol in the development of obesity," said by Sampath Parthasarathy, from the University of Central Florida in the US.

Blue Corn Uses and Processing

 

Blue maize varieties are innate to the Southwest American and Central South America. Blue maize has recently gained popularity in the US as an ingredient in tortillas, pancake mixes, cornbread, cereals and corn chips. As similar to the white and yellow maize, blue maize can be eaten raw, boiled, baked, fried and cooked for use in soups. Dispensation of blue corn flour for the production of tortillas may result in major losses of anthocyanins.

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