While corn is not the most beneficial food you can find to help cleanse your colon, it does have properties that can help you toward good colon health. Generally, fiber is the major contributor to a clean colon. Adding corn to your diet may supplement a healthy diet and provide additional fiber for a clean colon. You should always consult a doctor before making changes to your diet for health purposes.
Properties of Corn
One of the main reasons corn can help you clean out your colon is that it does have fiber. While corn is a starch that breaks down into a sugar, it does have fiber content. One medium ear of corn has about 5 g of fiber, which is a start toward the 25 g of fiber that the American Heart Association recommends you consume daily.
How Fiber Works
In the simplest terms fiber like the type in corn works because it is not digested by the body. As a result, it passes through the digestive system and tends to pull other material with it, excreting everything accumulated from the body. In this way, the fiber in corn acts as a type of sweep that cleanses the colon. Fiber also has other health benefits, such as bringing a sensation of fullness that may reduce your caloric intake.
Corn vs. Other Fibrous Foods
Whole grains are generally regarded as the best types of foods for a clean colon, as they are naturally rich in fiber. Processed grains remove the outer layers of a grain, known as the bran and the germ, which happen to contain the bulk of fiber. For example, a one-half cup serving of white rice carries about 2 g of fiber, while the same serving of brown rice, which is a whole grain, provides about 5.5 g of fiber. High-fiber foods include beans such as garbanzos, which offer 12 g of fiber per one-cup serving, and black or pinto beans, which have about 19 g of fiber per serving.
Results
Any type of high-fiber diet, including one that incorporates corn, should help you cleanse your bowels through regular movements. A clean colon carries many health benefits, including the reduction in colon cancer, constipation, diarrhea and the buildup of toxins within the body.
References
- Undigested Corn: Keeping It Clean With a Colon Cleanse; Wong Darren; July 12, 2008
- WeHealNewYork.org: Dietary Fiber & Bowel Function; Warren Enker, M.D., F.A.C.S.
- WeHealNewYork.org: Dietary Fiber & Bowel Function -- Fiber Chart
- American Heart Association: Whole Grains and Fiber
- MayoClinic.com: Nutrition and Healthy Eating -- Dietary Fiber -- Essential for a Healthy Diet
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