Popcorn a Hidden Source of Antioxidants, Study Says

Does Popcorn Provide a Healthy Snack?

By JOSEPH BROWNSTEIN
ABC News Medical Unit

Popcorn, the movie-accompanying favorite snack, can also be a good source of fiber and antioxidants, says a new study presented Tuesday.

In addition to the finding that cold, oat-based cereals provide the best source of morning milk-bowl-spoon-based antioxidants, the researchers found that popcorn provides more of the dietary fiber and antioxidants than any other snack food, according to findings presented at the meeting of the American Chemical Society.

"It's a whole grain, people don't think of it that way but it is," said Keith-Thomas Ayoob, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York in response to the study's findings. "It's a different form of corn, but it's definitely a whole grain."

Joe Vinson, a professor of chemistry at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania and the study's lead author, said there are a number of reasons for popcorn's nutritional value.

"The more processed the grain is, you're losing nutrients and antioxidants," he said. "The closer you can get to the plant, the better off you are."Read more...