Popcorn full of anti-oxidants

Salty snacks like popcorn and certain cereals may be healthier than previously thought thanks to their unusually high antioxidant content.

New evidence presented at a meeting of the American Chemical Society (ASC) indicates that some snacks and cereals have “surprisingly large” amounts of antioxidants called polyphenols.

Whole grains in cereals, crackers and salty snacks are responsible for the polyphenol content, which is high enough even after baking to rival established antioxidant sources, according to the poster presentation.

“We found that, in fact, whole grain products have comparable antioxidants per gram to fruits and vegetables,” said lead researcher Joe Vinson, a chemist at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania.

Among the snacks, popcorn is heading the list with the highest level of antioxidants. Vinson told Bakery and Snacks that the antioxidant content of popcorn was as much as five times higher than the nearest snack rival.

Whole grain snacks were found to have slightly lower levels of antioxidants than cereals. Processing and baking often reduced significantly the quantity of antioxidants in finished products.

Tortilla chips, for example, came in with ten times less antioxidants than popcorn despite the high corn content. Vinson said alkaline treatment during processing was responsible for bringing down the polyphenol numbers.