Many companies are running wellness programs to help their employees meet their health goals. There can be different kinds of health goals like: Weight reduction, weight gain, weight maintenance, and achieving healthier blood constituent profiles like having good blood levels of cholesterol, blood sugar, and others. Most wellness programs in companies promote weight loss but often times, does not really give the weight loss participants a clear guide to proper dieting, thus, some participants go on a crash-dieting program. In one company I know, the nutritionist made 40 gm-Fiber diet as the official diet plan for the participants. While every participant to the weight loss program is encouraged to follow it, it is expected that some may not be able to comply. The 40-gram Fiber diet has three major components: Four slices of whole wheat bread, 24 pieces of grapes, and 120 gm of corn. The rationale for such diet is to make fiber help in reducing fat absorption, and, to help the person feel full longer so she/he can minimize calorie intake. The 40-gram Fiber diet was never intended to increase fat burning. Aside from the three major components, the dieter can still take a calculated amount of other carbohydrate, protein, and fat sources. That was just to give you an idea that corn is truly a healthy component of a weight loss program diet. Aside from being able to help in increasing the feeling of fullness, the fibers in corn has other benefits to health; its soluble fiber may boost bone mineral content. In an animal study, the rats were fed one gram of fiber from a range of eight soluble and insoluble fibers. After 12 weeks of feeding, the soluble fiber from corn produced the most benefits. Corn soluble fiber increased the force required to break femurs by more than eight percent. The results from this when further proven can help make corn really an exciting healthy food. Long before the above new benefit from corn, this humble fiber food was known for its high contents of Vitamins (B1, Folate, Pantothenic Acid) and Mineral (Manganese). Folate is known to help lower the blood levels of an amino acid that can directly damage blood vessels. The essential nutrients in corn are also known to support lung health. The orange-red carotenoid (beta-cryptothanxin) found in corn, may significantly lower one's risk in developing lung cancer. In a large study in China, those eating the most cryptoxanthin-rich foods showed a 27 percent reduction in lung cancer risk. When current smokers were evaluated, those who were also in the group consuming the most cryptoxanthin-rich foods were found to be 37 percent lower risk of lung cancer compared to smokers who ate the least of these health-protective foods. While corn can give protection against complex disease, in its simplest form, this carbohydrate is rich in vitamin B1 (Thiamin) which is integral in the production of energy from foods we eat. Because there is no more doubt that corn can truly bring a lot of health benefits, try to make corn a staple in your healthy diet. You can eat corn as a substitute to your rice or bread. Soups can also be made healthier, when you put corn as an ingredient, and your green salads can be a lot crunchier with corn as toppings.
