The American diet is significantly deficient in fiber. The average U.S. resident eats only about 14 g of fiber a day, even though the Institute of Medicine recommends daily intakes ranging from 21 to 38 g for adults. Popcorn and other plant foods can help address the gap.
Identification
Dietary fiber comes only from plant foods, including grains, fruits and vegetables. When you eat popcorn, your body absorbs glucose, vitamins, minerals and other vital nutrients through the intestinal wall and into your bloodstream. The soluble fiber, or complex carbohydrate cell walls of the corn, remains in your intestines to promote wellness in a number of body systems.
Fiber Content
One cup of either oil-popped popcorn or cheese-flavored popcorn delivers 1.1 g of dietary fiber. The same size serving of air-popped popcorn contains 1.2 g of fiber, while a 1-cup portion of caramel-coated snack popcorn with peanuts has 1.7 g of fiber. The fiber content of popcorn doesn't meet criteria of 2.9 to 4 g for a good source of fiber, but it does make a contribution to daily intake. For example, adult women need at least 30 g of dietary fiber a day for optimal health until age 50 and children should eat 10 g plus one more gram for each year of age. The 1.2 g of fiber in a cup of air-popped popcorn delivers 7.5 percent of a 6-year-old's daily fiber requirement, but meets only 4 percent of his 29-year-old mom's needs.
Effects
As the soluble fiber from the cell walls of the corn is released into the intestines during the digestive process, it begins combining with bile acids, the enzymes that help you digest your food to create a gel. This gel travels through your bowels and is passed out of the body in your stools. Your liver recognizes the need to produce more bile acids and pulls cholesterol from its storage area to do so. The liver then absorbs more cholesterol from the blood passing through it and uses that cholesterol to replace lost stores.
Benefits
As your blood cholesterol level drops, your risk of coronary artery disease, heart attack, heart failure and stroke also drop. Soluble fiber also reduces the rate at which your body absorbs glucose and other nutrients from your digestive system. This slower absorption helps control your blood glucose level, and may reduce your risk of developing diabetes.
Warning
Toddlers and preschoolers can easily choke on popcorn, especially if they eat un-popped kernels. Make sure your child can safely handle small, hard food particles before offering popcorn. When popping corn at home, discard any un-popped kernels.
References
- Cleveland Clinic: Fitting Fiber In
- Institute of Medicine: Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein and Amino Acids
- Continuum Health Partners: Bowel Function & Dietary Fiber: The Top Twenty Fiber Foods
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: National Nutrient Database
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: Fiber Facts
- University of California, Davis Nutrition Department: Some Facts About Fiber
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