Most people naturally assume that corn is a good diets food, but you should be cautious in adding it to your diet plans.
It's hard to imagine watching a good movie without some buttered pop corn or a great barbeque without corn on the cob, but it may be time to rethink these popular choices.
What a lot of people want to know is...
Should corn be included in diet plans?
Unfortunately, as much as 60% of corn in the United States is genetically modified. In fact, the numbers may be higher because it is hard to get solid statistics on such a controversial topic. This practice of genetic modification of corn began as a way to allow farmers to grow a bigger crop and make more money because the crops could now fight off insects that were resistant to insecticides.
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.
The plain fact is that we do not know if any GMO foods are safe. Everyone is an involuntary guinea pig. In April 2007, a researcher from Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, UK, announced that rats had intestinal problems after eating genetically engineered potatoes.
In humans, too, intestinal problems are not uncommon. Doctors frequently treat people with irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive issues. It's not too far fetched to consider processed foods and GMO foods play a part in these problems.
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 diet plans?
How Carbohydrates Affect Weight Loss
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.
How does microwave popcorn help or hinder a healthy diet?
Even organic microwave pop corn is not healthy for you. The bag is lined with the same chemical coating that is used in non-stick cookware and the pop corn contains preservatives.
What 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 with making food choices that fit in with your diet plans. 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 diet plans.
It's hard to imagine watching a good movie without some buttered pop corn or a great barbeque without corn on the cob, but it may be time to rethink these popular choices.
What a lot of people want to know is...
Should corn be included in diet plans?
Unfortunately, as much as 60% of corn in the United States is genetically modified. In fact, the numbers may be higher because it is hard to get solid statistics on such a controversial topic. This practice of genetic modification of corn began as a way to allow farmers to grow a bigger crop and make more money because the crops could now fight off insects that were resistant to insecticides.
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.
The plain fact is that we do not know if any GMO foods are safe. Everyone is an involuntary guinea pig. In April 2007, a researcher from Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, UK, announced that rats had intestinal problems after eating genetically engineered potatoes.
In humans, too, intestinal problems are not uncommon. Doctors frequently treat people with irritable bowel syndrome and other digestive issues. It's not too far fetched to consider processed foods and GMO foods play a part in these problems.
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 diet plans?
How Carbohydrates Affect Weight Loss
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.
How does microwave popcorn help or hinder a healthy diet?
Even organic microwave pop corn is not healthy for you. The bag is lined with the same chemical coating that is used in non-stick cookware and the pop corn contains preservatives.
What 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 with making food choices that fit in with your diet plans. 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 diet plans.
About the Author:
Saleem Rana recommends you learn more about diet from the free information offered by renowned nutritionist Isabela De Los Rios
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