Nutritional & Therapeutic Values of Guinea Corn

Guinea corn, or sorghum, is a member of the grass family and can thrive in hot areas with little rainfall, providing nutrients for millions of people. Four types of sorghum are cultivated, grain and sweet being the ones used as food for people. By harvest, the berries dry to seeds that are used in many foods and provide beneficial phytochemicals--chemical compounds that occur naturally in plants--as well as other health promoting benefits.

Types

• Sorghum, or guinea corn, includes a variety of grain types. There are brown, black, red, and white grain sorghums as well as sweet sorghum used as a sugar substitute in place of maple syrup, molasses, and corn syrup. The sweet sorghum, amber colored syrup, also provides greater nutrients such as calcium, potassium, and iron. This sweet substitute is an all natural sweetener and provides a rich source of antioxidants.

Features

• Sorghum is comparable to wheat except it contains no gluten. Thus, it is an excellent source for individuals with celiac disease, autism, other gluten intolerance or food allergies. This grain is a highly complex carbohydrate, 72g per 1/2 cup, as well as providing 11g of protein. Sorghum is also an excellent source of fiber--primarily insoluble--and contains the minerals potassium and iron as well as the B1, B2, and B3 vitamins.

Benefits

• Sorghums provide a variety of health benefits. The brown sorghum is high in tannins that also contain high levels of active compounds with anticancer properties. As such, according to Michael Murray N.D., these sorghums are loaded with phenols that are able to block the initiation, promotion, and progression of certain cancers. Murray also states that antioxidants held within the grains have also been shown to inhibit cardiovascular disease as well as exhibit potent free-radical scavenging activity, especially in lung tissue. Also shown is the decrease of tumor growth, blood cell clumping, reduced blood cholesterol, and enhanced activity of vitamin C.

Select and Store

• Sorghum can be found in the gluten-free grains section of most whole food grocery stores. To insure that your grains remain fresh, tightly wrap and refrigerate or freeze them to protect the germ. Wrap sorghum grain tightly and store foods made with sorghum flour in a cool place and use them within a few months. Sorghum berries should be sealed in a glass container, away from air, moisture, and sunlight. Keep the glass containers in a cool dry area; this keeps the oils from going rancid. Kept in this manner, the potency of the grains' nutrients will remain.

Features

• Sorghum is a contender in becoming a viable wheat flour substitute for those who are gluten intolerant, but there is a shortcoming. A Purdue University study by food science professor Bruce Hamaker has found that within a single sorghum seed each protein body is surrounded by a tough inner protein wall. It takes the stomach enzymes longer to break down the wall to get to the nutritional proteins than other grains. It is shown that only 46 percent of the protein in sorghum that is consumed is digested, compared with 81 percent of the protein in wheat and 73 percent in corn. However, Hamaker notes that in a special sorghum variety, the protein body wall is structured differently, allowing protein to be digested more quickly by enzymes.