, a sports dietitian with the Sanford Sports Science Institute, shares the ins and outs of this snack.Whole grains—oatmeal, barley, brown rice, teff, and yes, corn, to name a few—are rich in vitamins, minerals, and some even offer a little. Grains are also high in fiber, which has been proven to keep your ticker healthy, help maintain a healthy weight, and promote a healthy GI tract.
“Athletes, especially cyclists and runners, need the basis of their diet to be carbohydrates,” Kasparek says. “And the majority of those carbohydrates come from whole grains.” Popcorn is also a type of corn that’s not highly processed, Kasparek explains. “The less processing there is, the more nutrients are intact in the grain,” she says.
But when it comes to the nutritional value of your popcorn, it really depends on how it’s cooked and what you put on it.If you look at a no-frills bag of pre-popped popcorn, you get a lot of bang for your buck. Or, dare we say, penny for your pop. Popcorn is what Kasparek calls a “high-volume food,” meaning you can eat quite a bit for very few calories. Let’s take a look at the nutrition for a serving of pre-popped sea salt popcorn and a serving of microwave sea salt popcorn.