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Is Cornflour Healthy?

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Is Cornflour healthy?

Is Cornflour (cornstarch) healthy?

Cornflour commonly also well-known as Cornstarch, it is the finest ground version of corn kernels. While the yellow variety of maize flour is made from whole corn kernels, the cornflour is made from the endosperm of the corn kernels.

If asked to name its major culinary use, that’s thickening soups and gravies or to create delicious fried starters and baked goodies. Veg Manchurian, Manchow Soup, Sweet Corn Soup, Fried Baby Corn and Potato Nuggets are famous recipes you can associate with the use of cornflour.

5 Merits of Cornflour

1. It’s gluten-free and can be consumed by those who cannot afford to stock wheat and its products like refined flour, semolina etc. in their pantry.

2. Organically corn are rich in antioxidant thus may contribute towards building your health by reducing inflammation.

3. Surprisingly cornflour has pretty good amount of fiber too. Each tbsp. gives approx. 1 g of fiber. The same rationality applies to protein too – 1 g per tbsp..

4. It’s easy to digest because of the presence of insoluble fiber, thus benefits the gut.

5. It provides some amount of minerals as well.

3 Demerits of Cornflour

1. Cornflour is full of calories and carbs like refined sugar, thus a barrier to weight reduction. Those on weight loss diet must definitely not reach out for it.

2. The high crabs makes it a No-No for a diabetic meal as well. Its best avoided by those having fluctuations in blood sugar levels.

3. It is said that most of the cornflour is made from GMO (Genetically Modified) Corn, which may have high levels of pesticides and thus may be linked to numerous health concerns. Reading labels before buying the cornflour may help to make a wiser choice.

Is cornflour suitable for weight-loss?

Being high in simple carbohydrates they can lead to weight gain thus are not good for people with diabetes and obesity. Cornflour can make you prone to hunger and cravings. Making weight loss a big task. Cornstarch doesn’t add any nutritional value to foods other than calories which most of us get more than enough.

Is cornflour suitable for people with diabetes?

Being a refined source of carbohydrate it will raise your blood glucose levels immediately which in turn will be converted to fat.

Cornflour is high in glycemic index and is not suitable for people with diabetes and obesity.

Is cornflour suitable for people with heart problem?

Corn flour lacks fibre and fibre helps to lower down your LDL cholesterol. High consumption of corn flour can raise LDL which is a bad cholesterol. If the LDL gets oxidized in the body it can lead to atherosclerosis. Consumption of corn flour can cause inflammation in the body which is also responsible for heart problems.

Nutritive Value of cornflour

Cornstarch contains carbohydrate and very little protein. It does not contain fat. Corn flour is a poor source of vitamins and minerals because the nutrients are lost during processing. Therefore it does not add nutritional value to your food. It is gluten free and can be used as an alternative to flour thickeners. Corn flour does not contain fibre.

Nutritive Information for Cornflour

1 tbsp of cornflour is about 15 grams
RDA stands for Recommended Daily Allowance.

Energy - 44 calories
Protein – 1.1 g
Carbohydrate – 9.1 g
Fat – 0.5 g
Fiber – 1.2 g

Vitamins:
0.17 mg of Vitamin B1 (Thiamine) = 10.5% of RDA ( (about 1.2 to 1.6 mg for men)
0.09 mg of Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin) = 5% of RDA (about 1.4 to 1.9 mg for men)
1.17 mg of Vitamin B3 (Niacin) = 9.8 % of RDA (about 12 mg)
27.9 mcg of Folate (Vitamin B9) = 27.9% of RDA (about 100 mcg)

See full nutritional details of cornflour in Cornflour glossary click here.

Takeaway Note on Cornflour

Cornflour does have a few benefits to its credit, but its high calorie and carb count should not be overlooked. It is likely that these high counts may negate the other benefits. 1 tbsp of cornflour occasionally may not have an enormous impact on health. But regular consumption of cornflour in huge quantities is certainly not recommended.

Replace cornflour in your diet?

Foods that make use of cornstarch are not considered to be healthy, and people should consciously try to replace it with healthier options like whole wheat flour and oats flour wherever possible. You can also avoid adding corn flour to your soups or make a milk-based soups for a creamy texture. See below all the healthy flour options.

Whole Wheat Flour