Corn oil is a type of edible oil which is used widely for cooking. It is healthy and can be used for other applications as well.Corn oil is derived out of the germ of corn. The germ is known to be the part of the seed that is germinating.
It is extremely nutritional. It is also called the maize oil, and you can use the oil for cooking. You may use refined as well as the unrefined form of the oil.
The unrefined form is healthy as it contains an immense amount of phytochemicals that helps in boosting the plant health. However, it is suggested that you use only the refined form for cooking.
Corn oil is healthy as it contains polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs ). It also holds low saturated fats.
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Health Benefits Of Corn Oil
Corn oils blend very well with a proper healthy diet. It comprises of many good fats and effective antioxidant for your body.
These fats plus the antioxidants help you stay fit and in shape. Some of the benefits are listed below:
1. Corn Oil For Your Health
A. Tocopherols
The oil is an essential source of tocopherols. These tocopherols are responsible for providing Vitamin E to your body.These are also an amazing source of antioxidants and it helps your body in lowering down rancidity development.
B. Maintains Healthy Cholesterol Profile
Corn oil possesses sterol compounds that are extracted from the plant. This substance has similar structure like cholesterol.
These are also called as phytosterols. The presence of the sterols is in abundance in the oil. These plant-derived compounds help in reduction of absorption of cholesterol in your body.
If you add corn to your diet, then it is seen to have reduced the level of harmful LDL cholesterol. Also, the oil comprises of healthy polyunsaturated fats.
This helps in lowering the cholesterol level in your blood. Thus, it was proven that corn oil is very much effective in maintaining the cholesterol level in your body by lowering the over-hyped blood cholesterol.
C. Takes Care Of Your Heart
Corn oil also looks after your cardiovascular health, provided a decent amount of intake is done. The oil consists of linoleic acids and many polyunsaturated fatty acids which take care of the well-being of your heart.
D. Sustains A Healthy Blood Pressure
The presence of PUFAs in the oil contributes to its special attribute, which is lowering the high blood pressure.
It is proved that foods with PUFAs are effective in cutting off your blood pressure to a reasonable margin. It is proven that these compounds lower the cholesterol levels in both men and women by a certain large value.
Thus, the oil helps in taking care of the blood pressure.Almond Oil also has great health benefits. It is good for the heart and regulates blood pressure.
2. Corn Oil For Beauty Benefits
A. For Your Skin
The oil is a brilliant emollient. It helps in giving you a radiant and supple skin. The presence of linolenic acid the essential vitamins like Vitamin D helps the skin to seep in the oil fast and brings in an extremely effective result.
Thus, it makes your skin glowing and wrinkles free by preventing dryness.Moringa Oil is also good for the skin. It gives you a flawless look.
B. For Your Hair
Though corn oil is not idealized to be as hair oil, yet, it can be used for hot oil therapy for your hair. It helps in bringing strength and shine to brisk hair. Also, it helps in conditioning your hair.
3. For Your Pets
Corn oil can also be very helpful for your pets. Pets like dogs, cats and horses are seen to have effective results. Application of the oil on your dog or cat will bring a smooth fur and coat to it.
You can also feed your horses with this oil. This will help them have a rich coat and give them more energy. However, you should keep this mind that corn oil has rich sources of omega-6 fatty acids.
Thus, your animals should have a healthy diet with the abundance of omega-3 fatty acid supplements so as to compensate the excess omega-6 in its body from corn oil.
Side Effects Of Corn Oil
Corn oil is not toxic in nature. We know nothing in excess is good news. Similarly, if corn oil is taken in excessive quantities, it too can give you many issues.
1. Toxicity Of Organs
Corn oil is modified to help preserve it against pesticides and herbicides. If you consume genetically modified corn oil, then it can give you toxicity of many of your organs like kidneys, liver, heart, various glands, etc.
2. Cancer
Corn oil consists of omega-6 fatty acids in abundance. It is proven that this can accentuate the cancer cells in your body.However, if an adequate amount of omega-3 is taken, then it can compensate the situation to a certain level. This is because omega-3 helps in prevention of cancer. You must be careful that the extra amount of omega-6 is removed from your diet.
3. Arthritis And Acne
Increased percentage of omega-6 fatty acids can also lead to acne and arthritis.
4. Obesity
Corn oil can also give you a hike in your body weight if not taken proportionately.
5. Cholesterol
You know that corn oil helps in maintaining the cholesterol level in your blood. However, if the consumption of corn oil is exceeded a certain value, then it can result into increased cholesterol. It can also give you many heart diseases.
Properties Of Corn Oil
Corn oil holds many therapeutic properties apart from all its goodness in the cooking aspect.It is rich in vitamin E. Thus; it works as a powerful antioxidant. The oils possess the ability to lower down harmful LDL blood cholesterols if consumed in a decent limit. Thus, we can call it an anti-cholesterol.
It is hypotensive in nature. That means it helps reduce high blood pressure in hypertensive patients. The oil provides important fatty acids like that of linolenic acid.
Now, this is essential in your system because it helps in many of your immunity related issues. Thus, it is called an immunostimulant.
Also, this linolenic acid is extremely useful for the healthy functioning of your organs like the kidneys,the liver andthe heart.It also takes care of the reproductive as well as your digestive system. Hence, we can also call it as a tonic for your system.
It can also be used widely for:
Skincare – You can use the oil as a moisturizer for your skin. Thus, it acts as a good emollient.
Hair care – The oil can give you silky and soft hair which is highly manageable. It is extremely beneficial for conditioning your hair to obtain that healthy luster.
Nutritional Information
Corn oil is rich in its nutrients. You can get a list of the nutritional content of the oil from the list below:
Fatty Acids
- 12.9% of saturated fats
- 54.6% of polyunsaturated fats or PUFA
- 27.5% of Monounsaturated fats or MUFA
b. Trans Fatty Acids
This is an unfortunate property of the oil that it comprises of fatty acids, unlike many vegetable oils. But, the content of trans fats is less.A rough calculation says that a 100g corn oil may contain a little of 0.3g of trans fatty acids.
c. Vitamins And Minerals
0.14% of Vitamin E. Corn oil gives you an odd of 71% of the Daily Vitamin Value.
A very less amount of:
i) Choline – An approximate value of 0.2 mg in 100g of oil.
ii) Vitamin K – Almost a rough value of 1.9 micrograms in an odd 100g of oil. It makes up almost 2% of the Daily Vitamin Value.
d. Phytosterols
Phytosterols in your body are synthesized with the help of corn oil to be used as supplements. Naturally occurring corn oil comprises of almost 1% of phytosterols, and yes it is quite high.
Also, unrefined corn oil has higher quantities of phytosterols. Among all kinds of phytosterols namely campesterol or stigmasterol, corn oil has one principal phytosterol called sitosterol.
A derivative of sitosterol is responsible for reducing the cholesterol from your body. The derivative is called as beta-sitosterol.Corn oil is healthy cooking oil, and you can use it for deep frying. It offers many health benefits in small amounts.
Precautions
Any major precautions are not to be taken in case of corn oil. We must keep only a few things in mind.
The consumption of the oil should be in a rational margin so as to save you from different issues that we have discussed already.
The oil should be kept in a cool place where there is no access to sunlight.
