Can eliminating one particular food from our diet drastically improve our overall well being?! It’s a challenge to Avoid This Popular Food for Better Health! I will present a few points about this everyday food and you can make a decision for yourself.
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Another health issue that sabotages our health is chronic inflammation. Read more about the What food triggers inflammation and the signs of chronic inflammation.
My Families Personal Story
I had thought we were “healthy”, we ate organic produce and meat, exercised regularly, and never ate refined sugars and flours. When food allergies kept increasing and asthma symptoms persisted, I knew we had to be missing something!
Diet changes were eminant …….. Our family loved a homemade cornbread made with organic crushed corn and sweetened with honey!!! Just writing it out makes me want to bake up a batch. My daughters have fond memories of having air popped popcorn on Sunday evenings when they were younger. The key ingredient is Corn – ugh!
When we found out that my daughters actually had a food sensitivity to corn, it was not an easy food to completely remove from our lives! If I didn’t see the health benefits almost immediately when we removed corn in I would not have believed it possible!
The health care practitioner we visited at an Integrative Health Clinic in Ohio told us that every person she has tested for a corn-allergy or corn-sensitivity also had asthmatic symptoms. This peaked my interest!
Learning About CORN
According to the Center for Food Safety, in 2019 up to 93% of corn in the United States is genetically engineered. “By removing the genetic material from one organism and inserting it into the permanent genetic code of another, the biotech industry has created an astounding number of organisms that are not produced by nature and have never been seen on a plate.” (1)
Siete Grain Free/Corn Free Tortilla Chips – Dipping Chips
The most popular type of corn that is consumed in United States by consumers is genetically engineered! People eat corn in products that do not even have it written on the label.
The Many Names of Corn
Corn comes in a many forms; from corn ground into flour and corn refined to be used as a sweetener.
Names of corn (just a few): cornmeal, cornflakes, corn oil, high-fructose corn-syrup, dextrin, maltodextrin, dextrose, crystalline fructose, ethanol, maize, cornstarch, and sorbitol.
Statista.com released a report in 2017 of a timeline of how much per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup in the United States from 2000 to 2016. “The U.S. per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup amounted to 41.4 pounds in 2016.” (2) It’s astonishing that this statistic is for one person consuming corn in the form of high fructose corn syrup, and it doesn’t include other forms of sugar (refined white sugar or fructose) they consume.
Corn Free: Enjoy Life Baking Chocolate Chips – Semi-Sweet
Please take a close look of why corn should not be a priority for most people. Avoiding this popular food would benefit our health!
8 Reasons to Avoid This Popular Food (Corn)
- Tooth Decay. Corn is high in sugar.
- It’s a Starch. If you are avoiding grains for health reasons, you’ll want to skip corn.
- Weight Gain. High in sugar and high in carbohydrates.
- Lacks amino acids. Consuming corn on a daily basis makes our bodies nutrient deficient.
- Increases blood sugar. Predisposes our bodies to late on-set diabetes and mood swings.
- Irritates the gut. Corn contains fiber cellulose making it difficult to break down in our gut properly.
- Coated in pesticides and herbicides. Chemicals tax our body’s organs and overall function leaving us with unwanted symptoms.
- Triggers inflammation. Corn is a grain that triggers inflammation in the gut and consequently throughout your body.
Is ALL Corn bad for our Health?
No! Sweet Corn dripping with butter is one of summer’s simplest pleasures! Check your local farmers market or farm stand for organic sweet corn. Enjoy herbs on your corn with a healthy side of chicken or fish.
Siete Corn Free / Grain Free Taco Shells – the best!!!!
The key is enjoying this corn without negatively effecting our bodies. Chose to buy corn that is NOT genetically engineered and eating it with moderation. You won’t gain weight if you indulge in one corn on the cob this summer.
Corn does contain some nutrient value! If you would like to see the merits of eating corn, check out Fun Facts About Corn by Dr. Mercola.
Should You Avoid this Popular Food?
Whether or not you chose to consume corn is a personal health decision. If you have existing gut issues such as gas, bloating, irritable bowel, or allergies, corn is not a wise choice for you! Every person has different health issues. If consuming organic, non GMO corn brings you no ill effect, than enjoy in moderation!
“Corn contains a class of proteins that your body can’t properly break down and which can lead to or exacerbate leaky gut and the growth of bad bacteria in your gut.” (3)
Our family still delights in eating corn even knowing it’s not the best for our bodies. Two to three times a year we toss locally grown organic popcorn in the air popper and enjoy it with melted organic butter and sea salt.
Since their are so many other choices of food that contain better amino acids and nutrients we focus on what we can eat!
Chime in with your thoughts and experiences with corn in the comment section.
Pursing Better Health Together,
Sources:
1 – Center for Food Safety, “About Genetically Engineered Foods”, 2018. All credits goes to www.centerforfoodsafety.org.
2- Statista, “Per capita consumption of high fructose corn syrup in the United States from 2000 to 2016.” 2017. www.statista.com
3 – Paleo Flourish Magainze “The Quick and Dirty Guide of Corn: Why it’s Not Healthy or Paleo” by Jeremy Hendon, 2018. www.paleoflourish.com.