Maize-meal porridge

Maize-meal porridge is a basic, nutritious starch to cook but made using the refined grain it is very fattening, tasteless and devoid of any real value; I would not call it food unless a person was in dire straits. It is corn's version of cake flour.

I love unrefined maize-meal porridge with butter and milk; the good wife prefers natural honey and yoghurt. Both ways it makes a delicious, nourishing breakfast. Cream too is fine provided you are eating a high fibre diet from diverse salads and whole grains.

It's the refined grains in any event that give us problems with high cholesterol; and the sugar that is universally added to ultra-processed porridges that have lost all their flavour.

Ingredients

Go for it

Depending on the mill you may get a small amount of the husk floating to the surface.

In Europe this would be called polenta; always check that it is true wholegrain.

Enjoy

Maize-meal porridge is traditionally enjoyed with a lump of butter and milk or maas; a thick, fermented yoghurt made by the Zulu people. They are often lactose intolerant so dairy products must first be soured before eating. Alternatively today we recommend using kefir, a probiotic that has a much wider range of friendly bacteria, viruses and yeasts.

How to make kefir is very simple; it takes only five minutes.

There is no need for sweetening but one could add a teaspoon of natural-honey. Certainly do not use sugar; too much carb.

• Excessive sugar drives dementia and stroke
  

What's so special about wholegrain cornmeal?

Retrogradation

All starches particularly if they are made from refined meal, are glycemic; they are digested in the gut by the enzyme amylase, starting in the mouth. They break down into glucose molecules which are then absorbed in the small-bowel and carried by the portal blood stream to the liver.

Cooling a starch after it has been cooked allows the molecules to retrograde; they curl into a configuration that makes it more difficult for the amylase to do its work. Consequently the sugars are produced slowly and there is a smaller effect on blood-glucose; literally, it is less fattening.

Starches that have been cooled and allowed to retrograde are also thus less threatening to diabetics; they do not produce the surge in blood glucose of refined carbs.

Consequently more of the starch passes through the small intestine undigested, reaching the colon where it acts as a prebiotic, providing nutrients for the teeming billions of bugs that turn it into very important short-chain fatty acids.

Maize-meal porridge, like many foods, also tastes better when allowed to cool and retrograde. For a greater understanding of this complex and important subject, read about the virtues of reheating resistant starch.

Hence we recommend cooking it in the evening for consumption the next day. Keep it overnight in an old cardboard Wonder Box.

A small helping of wholegrain maize-meal porridge that has been retrograded would be allowed on one of these four distinct keto diets; keep down the glycemic load.

The fat in corn

Corn or maize as we call it in South Africa, has 2.1 grams of nutritious fat per cup (164g); not a lot. Roughly one-quarter is excellent monounsaturated lipid and a half is a poly.

About a tenth of that fat is saturated; there is zero-cholesterol.

Enjoyed in whole maize-meal porridge, or a fresh ear of corn it makes for a very nutritiously breakfast; albeit deficient in some important amino acids, notably lysine.

Once extracted from the grain, because of the large proportion of polyunsaturated oils that fat becomes a highly inflammatory substance if used as a salad-dressing.

• Linoleic acid from sunflower and soybean oil promotes inflammation
  

To keep the fatty acids in our food in balance we should make sure we are enjoying those that have a high monounsaturated content; notably from the olive, avocado and purslane.

• Purslane plant
  

In addition we want to keep the omega-3 fraction high; flaxseeds and cold water fish are the cheapest and simplest sources.

• Grinding flax seeds
  

Traditionally

However once the kernel is split and oxygen gets in, the fats will start to go rancid. So traditionally farmers would grind their maize weekly and use it as soon as possible as a feed for themselves, their staff and animals.

Alas to their great detriment, most South Africans eschew the coarse whole grain in our maize-meal porridge, opting instead for the ultra refined option; it's made us one of the most obese nations in the world.

It's refined grains and sugar, not fat in the main that have made humans obese in the last few decades.

With 100% maize-meal now simply being unavailable, as with wheat, we have opted to buy a new grinder, the KoMo Mio^[2] that will handle small quantities of corn.

And now in 2024 an industrial new-generation mill that produces super fine meal.

Nutrients

Unrefined mealies are a good source of fibre, numerous B vitamins and many phytonutrients; especially lutein and zeaxanthin that help prevent adult-onset blindness.

Food that is mostly refined carbohydrate and low in dietary fibre is regarded as being of high risk to wellness§, limiting the production of those important short-chain fatty acids which protect the lining of the gut from toxic compounds.

One of them called butyrate, not only supplies energy for the epithelial cells lining the colon but reduces oxidative stress and inflammation, precursors of neoplastic change. It also inhibits the insulin produced in response to the glucose from your maize-meal porridge carried via the portal vein to the liver; it is helpful for diabetics^[1].

None of this is true of refined starches though; and the loss of fibre contributes to constipation and a poorly-fed microbiome^[3].

Diabetics and in fact all of us should strictly limit refined starches from our food. This wholegrain maize-meal is quite different.

Published data on various super refined maize-meals in South Africa is limited. So the following perhaps may not be strictly correct. The following points are noteworthy though.

• Most of the fat has been extracted from all varieties except Polenta.
• In particular the healthy monounsaturated fat content in comparison with 100% wholemeal is minimal.
  
• Some protein has been removed in the refining process.
• The price rises dramatically after milling, by around four times for most brands; and over 10x for Polenta, the only one that comes even vaguely close to the whole grain in terms of nutrition.
  
• There is little data but some may have been "enriched" with synthetic vitamins and minerals that were extracted in the milling.
  

Ferulic acid

Ferulic acid is a much-prized polyphenol used in extremely expensive skin care products. It is an antioxidant located solely in the bran; maize has the largest amount of the grains.

Ferulic acid reduces inflammation, signs of aging and evens out the skin's tone. As an antioxidant it mops up destructive free radicals produced during normal cell respiration.

Maize-meal porridge is an excellent source of this important phenolic compound. It is completely lost in the refining process.

About 12% of maize bran is particularly high quality amino-acids^[5]; about 1.5 percent of the protein in the kernel.

So the bran and germ contain nearly a quarter of the protein in the whole grain.

Obesity

Whilst whole grains have enormous benefits for us and are not fattening, if you need actually to lose weight you have to get your daily carbohydrate intake below 50g. Thus I would not recommend maize-meal porridge, even this wholegrain grits for the obese; or a very small helping.

A small stick of cinnamon helps with glycemic control.

Take perhaps only 2 tablespoons to keep the glycemic-load down; 1.6g of carbs per TBSP.

Why whole-grain is better is a question everyone should be able to answer.

South Africa will never be a humane and healthy society as long as millers are allowed to dominate the market with super-refined number one maize meal; much of the protein, vitamins and phytonutrients, the best parts have been extracted and sold off as pig food.

It should attract a sin-tax; same as sugar, alcohol and tobacco.

We continue to espouse the view confirmed many times by strong science that diets simply don't work; and people find them very frustrating. After one year only 5% have actually lost weight and many have put on; because they are not sustainable. Far simpler is to return to the meals our great-grandparents ate; whole grains and plenty of fruit and vegetables. Some meat, not excessive dairy products and unlimited legumes provide the protein; shun the ultra processed foods that cover 75% of grocery store shelves.

Succotash would typify those meals; corn and beans.

Weight loss medication

Those who enjoy mainly whole grains like this maize meal porridge will never be faced with the awful dilemma of whether to start weight loss medication or not; whatever changes you make have to be for life.

If you return to refined grains or stop taking the medication, all was in vain; the adipose just returns. Whether we live healthy long lives or suffer from the ravages of obesity is determined by our choices.

Maize-meal porridge

Maize-meal porridge is only worth making with freshly ground whole corn; if you can get it. Add some berries for extra benefit.

Humans are expected to eat ultra-refined white cornmeal; there is little nutritional information on it. One option is to enrich your grits with greens and other vegetables.

Our green journey has meant a life of experimentation and fun with different foodstuffs; and where possible, trying to grow as much of our own as we are able. Having discovered the vast benefits of 100% wholemeal from wheat, we are now doing the same with corn. An industrial mill has just been delivered and the mealies sourced.

But there is another issue at play; this is our first real attempt to find out for ourselves some answers on genetically modified foods. These mealies are coming are non-GM maize.

We have since 2022 sourced non-GM yellow maize; it's certainly more nutritious than the white and has greater flavour. The chickens also prefer it. The seeds planted in our green garden are yielding exceptional corn on the cob.

The mill below however produces extra-fine maizemeal with no separation of the three streams.

Nixtamalization

Maize in Mexico and some parts of Africa is cooked with either lime or wood ash. There are numerous nutritional benefits^[4].

• Increased availability of niacin; reduced risk of pellagra.
• Increased calcium availability.
• Increased resistant starch.
• Reduced mycotoxin contamination due to removal of the pericarp.
• Lower levels of phytic acid that inhibits iron and zinc absorption.

This is an area of interest for the future.

Semolina, grits and polenta

These terms are used interchangeably and confusingly.

Semolina is coarser, has a slightly sweeter flavour and a nutty aroma.

Polenta is ground finer and may yet be partially refined; sometimes using a stone mill. It is usually cooked with water or a vegetable stock and made into porridge. It may be sweetened with raw honey, apple compote or plum jam; or fresh fruit.

American grits is apparently ground in a different way.

Bramata is cooked with herbs like rosemary or thyme.

Is cornmeal the same as grits?

Yes cornmeal is the same as grits but they are milled in many different ways; producing varying grades of fineness.

As a general rule, the coarser the less likely it is to be refined.

But we have purchased a newly designed mill that yields very fine maize-meal; with no separation of the three streams. There will be an update on this page in the near future.

The only way to know whether your cornmeal is wholegrain is to contact the miller; the packaging is unlikely to declare "nothing but the truth."

Usefulness

I hope you have found this page about maize-meal porridge useful in your search for better health. Certainly the commonly used super refined grits eaten today does not supply the nutrients and energy that define a good food.

What is maize meal good for?

Refined maize meal is good for nothing. It's a junk food that makes us fat, diabetic and knocks years off our lives; and is one of the chief causes of stunting of South African children.

Ironically unrefined maize meal is one of God's great gifts to the planet. First appreciated by the Incas in Central America it is an amazing source of energy, important nutrients and wonderful flavour; but it is increasingly difficult to source. It certainly has a shelf life, so millers extract the fat.

You may have to purchase your own mill if you are serious about the benefits of maize-meal porridge.

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