The Truth about CORN
There’s nothing like a good piece of corn on the cob at your summer barbeque or your buttered popcorn to go along with your favorite movie, right? Or wrong?
This question seems to be coming up more and more often…
Isabel, are corn and foods made from corn allowable on The DSP?
Well, the answer is yes, BUT there are a few details you need to know first (you didn’t think I was just going to leave it at that, did you?)
It’s been approximated that about 60% of the corn, now in the U.S., is genetically modified (although, I do think this number is higher now). The practice of genetically modifying corn began in an attempt to make corn crops resistant to certain pesticides. This helps the farmer because they are then able to grow a larger crop because it is easier to fight off pests (they can spray the crops with pesticides and get rid of insects without damaging their crop).
Sweet corn has also been genetically modified (now called Bt-corn) so that it produces a poison which kills harmful insects. This means the farmer no longer needs to fight insects with insecticides.
Now although some of these may sound like a good thing (especially if you’re a farmer!), we need to consider how GMO foods respond in our bodies and what kind of long term effects they can have on our health.
Well, because the introduction of GMO foods is still relatively new, we’re in a way being used as “guinea pigs” in a massive experiment (Yikes!). In April 2007, Arpad Pusztai, from the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, UK, announced that experiments had shown intestinal changes in rats caused by eating genetically engineered potatoes (and I don’t know about you, but I’m not happy about anybody trying to mess with my intestines).
This actually doesn’t surprise me. It’s amazing to me how many more people now complain of things like irritable bowel syndrome and other nagging digestive problems. I’m not saying that eating GMO foods is the only cause for these conditions but I’m sure it’s a significant contributor (along with processed foods, but that’s a story for a different day).
Ok, so what if you’re able to get non-GMO corn? (Which it is difficult to know which brands and items are GMO and which are not) where does corn fit into your DSP meal plan?
First, your body reads corn as a grain, NOT a vegetable so if you are to include it into your meals, this will be the grain (carbohydrate) for your meal. So having corn and brown rice would be having 2 grains in one meal. This is not necessarily off limits and not “bad” in any way, just consider if you are someone who is sensitive to grains, you will lose weight faster by greatly reducing the number of grains you eat each day. You may want to take 2 – 3 weeks and follow the “no grain” meal plans in the Diet Solution manual and see if that helps break through any weight loss plateaus and/or helps your digestion.
What about microwave popcorn?
Well even the organic varieties contain preservatives (of course to keep them in the bag) and have been shown to contain the same chemical coating in the bag that is used on non-stick cookware (double YIKES!). I would stay away from this stuff.
How about air popped popcorn?
This is your best bet and can definitely be used as an occasional snack. But notice I said “occasional”. Remember most people lose weight faster by decreasing (not necessarily eliminating) many grains. Snacking on popcorn every day could and most likely will, impede your weight loss efforts.
I hope this information helps you to make a more informed decision at your next barbeque and at your next movie night. Remember, corn is not off limits by any means, just remember you’re looking for the non-GMO varieties and including it as a grain and not a vegetable into your meal plans.
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kwl website!
Great post. I actually try to stay away from all GMO products all together. If anyone need a list of all GMO foods in the USA. check out the link below:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food
James
Great article for those of us who love corn. Regarding the popcorn issues…about two years ago we went back to using a hot air popper and I use organic popping corn. The fumes from microwave popcorn were so irritating that I thought this can’t be good for you. Soon after there were lawsuits brought about by food workers (microwave popcorn producers) regarding health conditions caused by the chemicals used. Thanks for the insight.
Thanks for a good read! I’m with you on the GMOs and processed foods altogether. It’s not the way to go…
wow – i will be looking at the type of corn products i buy a lot more closely now. It’s sad to know that sometimes you really don’t have a clue what it is that you are actually eating – fantastic article!
Such an informative post! Thank you.
This makes me SICK!!! Literally! I cannot believe what they can get away with! No wonder we have so much cancer, and otherassociated illnesses nowdays. We are killing ourselves! I believe very strongly, Cancer is manmade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My Husband and two of my children are Diebetics so I already knew about part of the article that its a grain and counts as a carb. We have been counting carbs. for a very long time in this home. considering my Father,Uncle and Grandmother also had this horrible disase.
I had no idea there was such a thing as GMO products! I will seriously rethink my grocery order next shopping trip! Thank you to the man from my90dayfitness.com who supplied a very informative link. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_food
Best way to avoid stuff like this is grow a lot of your own veggies & fruits…Sad that for some people who do live in teh city and don’t have a lot of space can’t do so easily
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Kind of scary to read that. It seems to get more and more difficult to find natural products these days without paying a fortune for them.
Thanks – I, too, will read labels more closely.
Niya, I dare say that even if you grow your own, chances are that the seeds have come from GMO-based parents unless you’re really careful.
I am a middle school life science teacher. I thiught I found the perfect award for my students in popcorn. It was easy to pop in the microwave, the kids love it, and it is not a sugery snack…it comes from vegetables!
Now, with childhood obesity on the rise and all the chemicals, I feel I am really going to have to rethink what I can give my students as a reward. It has to be healthy and still feel like a reward to the students! HELP!!! I like to snack on baked sweet potatoe fries, but I can’t bake them at school and will the students think they are a reward?
Thanks so very much. What great information.
It’s amazing what we eat and have no idea all that you see is not natural. I will read labels closer from now on.
I get angry when I think about the amount of chemicals our government(s) – this is a global issue – put in our foods. The side effect of all this is a big giant boost to the medical economy.
Sad to think how much more important money is than what is being done to the average person with all these chemicals in our foods.
Thank you so much Isabel!!
As a nutrition graduate myself I was constantly frustrated with my lecturers views of butter, coconut oil, fat in general. They all taught the government food pyramid so that they could retain funding. They were all keen for processing foods to include certain nutrients (instead of folate-fortified bread why couldn’t we subsidise folate-containing foods such as leafy greens?) which I never liked the idea of, seeing as will still don’t know what else is in natural foods.
You are following a lot of principles that I once knew but have become isolated from through a hectic lifestyle. The only time I’ve ever been able to maintain a great figure is when I cut out processed food. But lately it seems like I forgot that and started to try starvation diets and overexercising. Thank you for reminding me what really works.
If you grow ( or want to start ) your own vegies & fruit & want to stay away from GMO’s ( as everyone should ) check out Baker Creek Seeds. They are heirloom, open pollenated & totally committed against GMO’s! They collect seeds from all over the world & are a great company. I have been ordering from them for about 6 years now & they have some great info on GMO’s. Their customer service is also GREAT!!
Great article! If you grow your own corn, you can find seed catalogs that test that their seeds are non-GMO. The trouble with corn is that it pollinates via wind, and can travel up to a mile. The non-GMO corn gets contaminated with the GMO corn, and keeps spreading. It’s a huge problem! I grow my own corn from seed companies that check each year for GMO contamination. The two companies I usually go with are Bountiful Gardens and Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds. You need about a 5′x5′ plot to get proper pollination so unfortunately it’s tough for apartment dwellers. I live in the suburbs of Minneapolis and have a backyard that I’ve turned into a garden that supplies most of our vegetables for the entire year. It’s surprising how much I have grown with just 160 sq ft of growing space. Last year I got over 1000 lbs of produce out of it!
This is so informative. I really like corn but about 4-5 yrs. ago a Dr. resticted it from my diet because of the mold it is suppose to have in it. But just lately I started eating it again about once a week. Popcorn almost daily. Well, NO more of that. Thanks a bunch.
Elise
Thanks for the great article and I love your diet plan! I’m a corn lover so will have to go careful. I’m a big fan of eating a varied diet so your information on this site is of great use. cheers!
like your average potato, the corn is a vegetable that is not always healthy, can cause problems on so many levels and it is to be taken moderately
I must say I have a thing for corn and its something I have been eating since I can remember. The problem now is everything seem to be genetically enhanced. Pretty soon you wont be able to eat anything unless you grow it yourself.
GMO corn is now at about 99% of all the corn grown in the U.S. today. Nice post!
You’ve touched on the tip of a huge iceberg here. Monsanto has made it impossible for farmers to grow corn that isn’t GMO. They prosecute small farmers who grow their own corn that isn’t from Roundup Ready seeds, because the pollen from Monsanto corn blows in the wind and cross contaminates the crops. Then they take them to court and prosecute them for growing Monsanto corn without having paid for it. They don’t allow heritage seeds to be harvested either. There is legislation that no longer allows this. You have to buy the seeds. And you guessed it… the only seeds are the GMO ones.
Also, about the microwave popcorn, not only is it a problem with the chemicals in it, but microwaving in general changes the molecular structure of the food and turns it into something that is unrecognizable by your body. Microwaved food is poison to the body. Microwave popcorn has a plastic liner in the bag that heats up and releases xenoestrogens into the food. Never microwave in plastic. Xenoestrogens mimic estrogen in the body and cause female cancers such as breast cancer etc.
Don’t eat anything that doesn’t occur in nature. Which means eat only whole foods. No Doritos! Sorry!