[Sca-cooks] Corn and vampires

[Terry Decker]

Pellegra is a vitamin deficiency disease most commonly connected with a lack 
of niacin in the diet.  The niacin in maize is not readily absorbed by 
humans.  Eating maize as the primary foodstuff can result in a niacin 
deficiency and produce pellegra.  Cooking maize in an alkaline liquid 
(nixtamalization), usually lime or lye water, makes the vitamin content 
including niacin more absorbable during digestion.  It also has the benefits 
of softening the hard outer shell of the grain, making it easier to grind, 
and of chemically altering the cornmeal so that it can form a dough.

American Indians also avoided many dietary deficiency diseases by growing 
and eating a wide range of foodstuffs.

Bear


Interesting. I thought it was going to go into deeper detail, but I couldn’t 
find those other episodes. How *did* the American Indians avoid pellagra? Is 
this what soaking maize in lye helps with?

Stefan