How much is a bowl of wholegrain maize meal?

Ten percent of South Africans go to bed hungry every night, malnutrition is rife and more than a quarter of all children are permanently stunted by the age of five; physically and mentally.

Death of children from a vitamin A deficiency is tragically and unbelievably high.

And yet a very nutritious, filling and cheap food is grown in abundance; it is rich in beta-carotene, the precursor of vitamin A. But it goes almost entirely for animal feed. That gives it a stigma; South Africans would not eat it by and large even if it was readily available, which it isn't. We are talking about unrefined wholegrain yellow maizemeal.

If you could find it, unrefined yellow maizemeal would cost around R270/25kg. A very large, satisfying bowl of porridge would cost about 40 cents; perhaps one rand with milk and a little butter.

Carbophobia

Because healthy carbs are almost unavailable with a few exceptions and the readily obtainable starches are so fattening, there is a powerful dietary movement to eschew them all; the baby goes out with the bathwater, so to speak. Proponents advocate the use of ketones instead of glucose for energy.

• Four distinct keto diets
  

Three common exceptions to the rule exist; corn on the cob, unpolished rice and new potatoes; quinoa is also mentioned frequently. All are highly praised but few people are eating them either because they are expensive or they take a lot of chewing; that is viewed as time wasted.

There is now a deep-seated completely false belief that all grains, even those that are unrefined, will make you fat.

Whole grains like a large bowls of our polenta will help you slowly lose weight; that's the best way to do it^[9].

It's about how quickly those carbs are turned into blood glucose. Whole grain maize porridge is rich in fibre and still has its full complement of protein; the nutritious fat in the corn too.

They all help to reduce the GI and will not spike blood glucose; nevertheless insulin-resistant folk should check their sugars after breakfast. Strip out the fat, fibre and some of the protein means you are left only with the very glycaemic refined meal, known as the endosperm; a recipe for obesity, type 2 diabetes and hypertension.

What is a true wholegrain?

Grains consist of three distinct parts, each important in its own right; the bran, the germ and the endosperm. Yet universally two of these portions are extracted from our food and sold for animal feed.

• Terminology used in a grain of wheat
• Why is whole grain better?
  

How much is a bowl of wholegrain maize meal?

Well that's not the whole truth; the sweat off his brow whilst cleaning, freezing and milling the grain should be costed into the equation. The butter probably cost more than the maize meal too.

From the farmer

Direct from the farmer yellow maize fetches R4/kg in South Africa. It then needs to be cleaned and frozen for two weeks, stored in air-tight containers. It will keep indefinitely; and finally ground. For those unusual people with their own mill (I do not personally know another) and who don't cost in their time, the price of a large bowl of wholegrain yellow maize meal is a measly 16 cents.

To that of course one needs to add the cost of milk, cream or honey. Fat is necessary to aid in the absorption of the important nutrients like beta-carotene in the gut.

• Excessive sugar drives dementia and stroke
• Glycemic index of honey
  

It makes a very satisfying meal; nothing else is needed. It will provide ample satiety right through until lunch because of the large amount of fibre, fat and protein. These delay stomach emptying giving one a sense of fullness.

Bulk price of polenta

Ultra-refined white super maize meal sells for around R270/ 25kg bag. There is no reason why wholegrain yellow "polenta" as it is called in Italy should cost any more.

But it is viewed as a "health food" and so the markup is likely to be astronomical.

At Hilton Reko

At Hilton Reko we sell 600g tubs of wholegrain yellow maize meal for R10; all of the bran, germ and endosperm are present in their correct ratios. There is no separation of the parts.

• An electric mill for every baker
  

At google

Google gives several brands priced from R25 to 75 per kg. It's not possible to tell whether they have been refined or not; assume they have.

Why are millers adverse to selling whole grains?

Three reasons come to mind.

1. Once the grain has been cracked the nutritious oils begin to go rancid; it has a limited shelf-life and should be considered a perishable product.
2. There is little profit to be made from unprocessed foods.
3. The market has been successfully duped into believing that refined and then enriched grains and cereals are better. The public at large no longer wants to purchase true wholemeal. The porridge takes longer to cook.

• Best way to cook wholegrain maizemeal
  

Protein in maize meal

Yellow maize contains significantly more protein than white. A large bowl of wholegrain porridge with 1/2 cup of milk has about 3 grams. A 5-year old child requires about 20g per day.

No grains contain all the essential amino acids but with the milk this porridge would fit the bill.

Vitamin A

We choose yellow maize meal chiefly because of the beta-carotene, also known as previtamin A. It gives the grain its rich colour.

If every child in South Africa was given a large bowl of yellow whole grain maizemeal it would save at least 42 lives every day from the beta-carotene alone.

• Beta-carotene is also called previtamin A
  

Potassium in whole grain yellow maize meal

Yellow maize meal has a 60 times better potassium to sodium ratio; and that's before adding copious amounts of salt to tasteless white super pap and putu. This has a profound effect on lowering blood pressure.

• Salt versus potassium blood pressure debate

A bowl of wholegrain maize meal also contains salt naturally but far less since the full flavour of the phytonutrients is retained after minimal processing; grinding but no sifting out of the germ and bran.

How much is a bowl of wholegrain maize meal?

How much is a bowl of wholegrain maize meal? It is remarkably inexpensive; work on about one rand for the porridge including half a cup of milk.

There is no reason why starving children should not have three helpings per day.

Add half a cup of cooked chickpeas (R2.50; 15 grams of protein), a green and a helping of butternut; the problem of hunger and stunting of children would be almost completely alleviated.

An added apple a day would keep the doctor away; citrus or other fruit.

The big fat lie

Under international law millers can extract up to 40% of the goodies and still label their product as "wholemeal." Below is an example of this deceit with wheatflour, the best there is commercially available but far cry from any truly unsifted product.

I have never seen anything even close to this with corn; there is only super-refined maize meal in South Africa readily available on grocery store shelves.

So what is a bowl of whole grain maize meal worth?

Each bowl of maizemeal porridge costs 16 cents before adding milk, cream or honey but it's worth so much more; protection against raised blood glucose, a wonderful feeling of a full stomach and a defence against cancer, particularly of the breast and prostate.

And because of the high potassium content it helps to keep blood pressure down.

Frankly diabetic

If you are frankly diabetic you will need to test your blood glucose an hour after a large bowl of whole grain yellow maize meal; you may have to limit the portion size.

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