Corn

Corn

Maize, also known as corn, is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The leafy stalk of the plant produces pollen inflorescences and separate ovuliferous inflorescences called ears that when fertilized yield kernels or seeds, which are fruits.

Scientific name: Zea mays

Family: Poaceae

Subfamily: Panicoideae

Order: Poales

Kingdom: Plantae

Category: Grains

Description

Corn, also known as maize, is a starchy vegetable that comes as kernels on a cob, covered by a husk. Corn is one of the most popular vegetables in the U.S. that sometimes gets a bad rap because it has a lot of natural sugar and carbs. But don’t overlook the health benefits of this versatile veggie.

There are six types of corn kernels: flint, flour, dent, pop, sweet, and waxy. Flour corn is mostly grown in the Andean region of South America and is used to make corn flour.

Corn is known to have sugar in the form of fructose, which contributes excessively to the visceral fat. This fat in turn causes weight gain and has a tendency to store fat around the liver, which increases the vulnerability of the belly to increase weight.