Popcorn is not usually considered to be a healthy snack or a cornerstone of a diet. When you think of it, you are more likely to imagine a cinema stall selling vast quantities of heavily salted and buttered popcorn than a fitness fanatic digging into a healthy serving of popcorn.
The Basics
Popcorn is made by heating the kernels of corn until they expand, or pop. As the corn kernels are hard on the outside, the moisture inside expands and the pressure inside builds until it bursts with the characteristic popping sound. While ordinary corn can pop, modern strains are specially cultivated for popcorn.
Nutrition
Popcorn is typically high in carbohydrates, although it is also relatively low in calories. In 100 grams of air-popped popcorn, the nutritional information breaks down as 382 calories; 77.9 grams of carbs, of which around 15 grams is fiber; 12 grams of protein; and 4.2 grams of fat.
Low-Carb Diet
Low-carb diets typically revolve around minimizing the amount of carbs that you take in. There is generally a distinction made between simple and complex carbs, based on the glycemic index, or the rate at which the carbohydrate is converted to glucose in the body. Simple carbs such as sugars are quickly converted, which leads to a large amount of energy in the body that will be stored as fat if not immediately used. Complex carbs such as grains are slowly converted, giving a more constant energy supply. Popcorn contains only 0.73 grams of sugar, making it a complex carbohydrate.
Ketogenic Diet
However, while popcorn may be permissible under a balanced diet high in lean protein and complex carbs, but low in simple carbs, it is still high in carbs. Strict. low-carb diets permit only a minimal amount of carbs of any kind. These diets rely on depriving your body of carbs so that it will burn your fat reserves for energy instead, a process known as ketosis. In these diets, the high-carb content of popcorn makes it unsuitable.
Considerations
While popcorn may not be an ideal component of a typical low-carb diet, you can still incorporate it in small amounts. Most diets incorporate cheat days or cheat meals, when you eat whatever you like to prevent your body from acclimatizing to the diet and reducing the effectiveness. Even ketogenic diets require a small amount of carbs to prevent you from converting muscle tissue for energy. Eating lots of low-fat carbs periodically is also necessary to stimulate insulin production, for which unbuttered popcorn is ideal. Popcorn is also very light, so while it may have a large proportion of calories and carbohydrates per 100 grams, that amounts to a very large amount of popcorn.
Member Comments