CORN; SHOULD IT BE FOOD

The battle over corn's origins raged for nearly half a century, until additional genetic evidence showed that teosinte was the ancestor of modern corn. And thus, a corn truce was called, and there was peace in the land.

Recently, genetic studies have provided evidence that corn came directly from teosinte, but it's less clear how the focus of cultivating the plant changed from stalk to kernel. What we do know is that it likely took just a few genetic changes to transform the hard-shelled teosinte seeds into something that could nourish a civilization.

Over time, the nomadic people who cultivated teosinte started selecting the characteristics of the plants they liked best. Eventually, they set their sights on making the kernels as tender and plentiful as possible. Each teosinte kernel is covered in a rock hard shell called glume that renders it basically inedible to humans. The glume on the kernels of teosinte keeps the seed intact as it travels through an animal's digestive system or overwinters on the ground for months. Very useful for the plant, but not whoever's trying to eat it.

Ancient cultivators most likely began selecting seeds of teosinte with the softest glume. These days, the glume is the part of the corn on the cob that gets stuck between your teeth. Another big step in making corn out of teosinte involved boosting the starch content in the kernels. Corn is about 73% starch by weight, which is much higher than teosinte’s kernels, and it's what makes corn a great source of fast calories. Scientists still don't know a lot about early cultivation of corn; they're still investigating how corn developed multiple rows of kernels per ear and how its solid cob you can really grab onto among other things.

All these modifications demonstrate that corn would not have evolved into what it is today had humans not begun tampering with it. In fact, because it lacks a mechanism for distributing its seeds, modern corn is utterly incapable of reproducing on its own without assistance from humans. So, as a result of these ancient farmers' painstaking labor, humanity now has a fresh, arduous-won cereal crop! But even after the human designers of corn had produced a starchy, tasty grain, more work was required to make it as nutrient-dense as possible. Because, as you may recall, corn was never the best choice for food to begin with. Corn continues to be one of the least nutrient-dense staple crops.

Despite the fact that it includes many of the nutrients we require, many of them aren't in a form that the body can easily absorb. However, the Mesoamerican pre-Columbian people who cultivated corn also created a method called nixtamalization, which allowed corn to become more than just a side dish and the foundation of millions of people's diets.

Nixtamalization entails boiling the maize kernels before allowing them to soak in an alkaline mixture of water and wood ash. Following cooking, the kernels are washed several times to get rid of the outer shell and any extra alkaline solution. The outcome is a nixtamal slurry that was pounded into a soft dough that can be used to make tortillas and tamales. It turns out that treating it with calcium hydroxide did more than just improve the taste. Nutrients that could save lives were being unlocked. The nutritional issues with corn that we discussed were mostly resolved through nixtamalization, as you can see. It enhances the amount of dietary fiber, calcium, and iron that is bioavailable—that is, how much of it you can really absorb—in the grain. But most significantly, it also makes niacin, also known as vitamin B3, more bioavailable. Being a coenzyme, niacin is essential for the body's other enzymes to function. Among other crucial duties, it is essential for converting food into energy, producing lipids and cholesterol, and generating and repairing DNA.

Corn was first consumed in Mesoamerica by European settlers, who also took it back to Europe. However, when it was widely consumed as a staple crop there, those who grew and consumed it skipped the nixtamalization stage. As a result, they developed the illness pellagra, which is characterized by dementia, mouth sores, rashes on the skin, and diarrhea. Niacin deficiency was the root cause. To be clear, it's completely OK to consume corn that has not been nixtamalized. We frequently carry it out. Who, after all, doesn't enjoy corn on the cob?

Pellagra only becomes an issue if you don't get any other sources of niacin in your diet, such as by eating exclusively non-nixtamalized corn. Therefore, eating primarily corn would have made the Mesoamericans who developed nixtamalization ill, preventing it from ever replacing other foods as the basis of their diets. And as a result, it never would have become such a significant part of ours. Despite all odds, corn evolved into a food that was first edible, then abundant, delicious, and nourishing. that order.

Take a minute the next time you're eating a taco to reflect on the several coincidences that led to the arrival of the corn tortilla on your plate.