Friday, March 13, 2009

Corn-based food is unhealthy


Pundit George Will has joined the ranks of those who have noticed that the U.S. government’s treatment of corn is wrecking the health of Americans.

Ever since Nixon, government policy has been to sell large quantities of calories as cheaply as possible -- especially calories coming from corn. Now, a quarter of the 45,000 items in the average supermarket contain processed corn, often in the form of high-fructose corn syrup.

The result? Rates of chronic diseases like cancer and Type 2 diabetes are much higher today than they were in 1900. Type 2 diabetes is an $100 billion a year consequence of, among other things, obesity related to a corn-based diet. Four of the top 10 causes of American deaths -- coronary heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer – have well-established links to diet as well.

source

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm intrigued by the way you link things.
Can you provide me with scientific research to back you up?

Why?

Because we see the same increase of diseases here and we don't eat corn. Not even 1% of what americans consume each year.

And even more interesting is that a bit of doubt is slipping in if there might be a misconception about cause in diabetes and obesity.
Obesity can be caused by diabetes II, instead of being the cause.
I'm one example of that.
My weight was 55 kg when I got diabetes, I had no cholesterol problems, I was healthy, very healthy... but still: diabetes struck. And with it a growing weight over the years.

And I've never eaten corn.

ahlock said...

I'm also as intrigued as you as to how you get the figure that less than 1% of Americans consume corn?

Can you also provide your source of information?

And, if you ever did bothered to read the article again, you will not miss the fact that 45,000 food items in an average supermarket contain processed corn. Can you claim you never touch them? Not even 1% of Americans touch them?

I've provided the source of this article, and if you did have a look inside, you'll find some interesting informations such as, high fructose corn syrup is used to sweeten Coke and Pepsi, among other carbonated drinks. Never had a coke in your life?

Among other products that contain corn, or corn by products, are:-

* Many baby foods
* Bakery products (breads, rolls, biscuits, doughnuts, pies, cakes, cookies, pretzels, etc.)
* Brewed beverages (bourbon, beer, ale)
* Carbonated beverages (high fructose corn syrup)
* Cheese spreads and cheese foods
* Prepared cereals
* Condiments (ketchup, steak sauce, chili sauce, mayonnaise, tartar sauce, salad dressings)
* Chewing gum
* Baking powder
* Prepared mixes (pancake, waffle, biscuit, cake flour, puddings)
* Gravies and sauces
* Canned soups and dehydrated soup mixes
* Coffee “creamers” and designer coffee drinks
* Sweetened condensed milk
* Cordials and liqueurs
* Most commercially prepared desserts
* Fruits (commercially canned, candied, frozen, pie fillings, jams, jellies, marmalades, preserves) * Fruit “drinks” and some fruit juices are sweetened with corn by-products
* Frostings and icings
* Oriental foods typically contain cornstarch as a thickener
* Cornmeal
* Powdered sugar
* Tortillas
* Distilled vinegar
* Grits
* Some shortenings
* Many distilled products-gin, vodka, whiskey
* Instant coffee
* Infant formulas
* Many fried foods are fried in corn oil
* Candy (Corn is present in virtually all candy, particularly when a smooth texture is present at room temperature)
* Ice cream, sherbets, and sorbets
* Marshmallows
* Meats (cured meats, luncheon meats, sausages, bologna, bacon, ham, wieners)
* Pickles, if sweetened
* Peanut butter is often sweetened with corn by-products
* Frozen seafood
* Instant iced tea mixes
* Sweetened ice tea
* Table salt if commercially prepared (but sea salt)
* Low calorie sweeteners
* Most snack foods
* Caramel coloring
* Frozen or dried eggs
* Flavoring extracts
* Canned vegetables
* Gelatin desserts
* Some nutritional supplements, unless labeled otherwise
* Fruit pectin
* Popcorn
* Corn oil
* Cornstarch
* Monosodium glutamate
* Sorbitol (in candies and toothpaste)
* Prepared mustards
* Hominy
* Margarine
* Wine coolers

How Corn is Used in Some of these Products:-

Beer

Beer manufacturing is a process of treating malt to convert and extract the barley starch to fermentable sugars using the amyloytic enzymes present in malt followed by yeast fermentation. However, demand for lighter, less filling beer, especially in the U.S., has permitted use of more refined carbohydrate sources of two types:

a) dry adjuncts, primarily dry milled corn grits, broken rice, refined corn starch, and more recently, dextrose.

b) liquid adjuncts, namely corn syrups
Cake Mixes Cake mixes use a pregelatinized corn starch that will form a paste in cold or warm water. In baked goods that use yeast for rising, dextrose is used as a yeast nutrient.
Candies Corn syrup is used in hard candies to provide a body giving them chewiness and a desirable mouthfeel without excessive sweetness. Candies that are coated use a pyrodextrin corn starch for the coating.
Carbonated Beverages - Coke High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) blended with sucrose in a 50/50 blend is sweeter than the same concentration of sucrose. The use of HFCS in carbonated beverages is common throughout Canada and the U.S.
Cookies Corn starch, corn flour or dextrose may be found in cookies.
Corn Flakes The flaking grits are cooked to a rubbery consistency with syrup, malt, salt and flavouring added. After tempering, the cooked grits are flattened between large steel rolls, followed by toasting in travelling ovens to a golden brown colour.
Corn Starch Corn starch is derived from the wet milling process and is an important manufactured product. Some uses depend on the properties in the dry state, but most applications relate to its properties as a cooked, hydrated paste.
Corn Meal Corn meal is a popular dry corn product because of its long shelf life. It is used to produce an assortment of chemically leavened bread and fried products like corn bread and muffins.

Instant Coffee & Tea Maltodextrins are derived from the wet milling process. They are a dextrose equivalent product of complete solubility but little or no sweetness. Maltodextrins are sprayed on instant tea and coffee to keep the granules free flowing. This solution is also used in instant soup mixes or other packages where the contents must be be kept free flowing.
Mars Bar & Twix Bar Many candy bars contain corn syrup.

Pharmaceuticals

Aspirin - an oxidized starch paste, which dries to a clear, adherent, continuous film, is spread in a thin layer over the aspirin.Intravenous - some IVs consist of dextrose and water solutions.

Antibiotics - preferred carbohydrate sources are corn syrup, dextrose, corn starch, lactose and sucrose. Cornsteep liquor was early found to provide a ready source of soluble nitrogenous nutrients plus unknown growth factors that stimulate antibiotic production.

Over 85 different types of antibiotics are produced using corn.
Snack Foods - Corn Chips & Doritos These snack foods are generally made from whole corn (cornmeal). The high starch content of cornmeal and flour is important in giving a high puff in preparation of extruded (pressed) snack products in which a delicate corn flavour is desired.

Toothpaste Sorbitol, which is produced from the corn sugar dextrose, is used in toothpaste as a low-calorie, water-soluble, bulking agent.
Whiskey The major carbohydrate in the production of whiskey is corn.A typical Canadian whiskey is made from a mixture of about 90% corn, 5% rye, and 5% barley malt.
Yogurt Some of the different brands of yogurt use corn syrup as a sweetener.

Melissa said...

I agree - that stuff is bad for you. Almost everything on the market today has it in it. Very frustrating.

Martha said...

Eating anything in excess for that matter is the real cause of certain diseases. I think eating corn per se has nothing to do with that

Anonymous said...

At what point are people going to do a little research and figure out what is good for you, and what isn't? If you are eating you meals out of a can or box, guess what... you will eventually get sick. Fresh Veggies, lean proteins (Beef, Pork, Chicken, and lots of fish). North America is brain washed by corporate America, and the government has allowed this to happen. I am afraid that most of the USA and Canada are too stupid to understand what you should be putting in your body.

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