Glutinous or sweet? The "corn dispute" escalates again!

Popular Science Times reporter Wu Qiong Recently, topics such as "Glutinous corn will cause blood sugar to soar" and "It is recommended to eat sweet corn when losing weight" have sparked discussion.

The most common varieties of corn on the market are sweet corn and glutinous corn. Glutinous corn, which has a soft and sticky texture and is easy to digest, is very popular among the elderly.

But the seemingly healthy corn also has some "pitfalls". Chen Haiyan, deputy chief physician of the Endocrinology Department of Shanghai Changzheng Hospital, said that many diabetic patients think sweet corn is very sweet and dare not eat too much. But the fact is just the opposite. Glutinous corn is a food with a high glycemic index. The calories of one sticky corn are equivalent to a bowl of 100 grams of rice.

The starch content of glutinous corn is as high as 70%-75%, and the starch contained is almost all amylopectin, which raises blood sugar quickly. Amylopectin has a larger contact area with digestive enzymes, is easier to digest, and raises blood sugar quickly. Therefore, when choosing corn, diabetic patients should try to avoid eating glutinous corn.

As a coarse grain, corn has high nutritional value and is the fat-reducing staple food of choice for many people who are losing weight.

Chen Haiyan suggested that from the perspective of weight loss, sweet corn is relatively more suitable because the energy of every 100 grams of sweet corn is about 97 kcal, which is only 60% of glutinous corn and lower than the energy of staple foods such as rice and steamed buns that we often eat.

Sweet corn tastes sweet because of its high soluble sugar content, but low total carbohydrate content, so its glycemic index is much lower than that of glutinous corn. "Sweet corn is also rich in dietary fiber, which can promote intestinal peristalsis, increase satiety, and help lose weight," said Chen Haiyan.