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July '07 Filed in: Food
Tonight I have to
go home and hoe the corn we planted three weeks
ago. We planted late so we can enjoy sweet corn
after the supply from the local farmers have
exhausted their supply. Corn has become the biggest
cash crop in America. There are huge surpluses each
year and the federal government spends billions of
dollars subsidizing the agro business that grow and
process corn. These companies are constantly
looking for new ways to "add value" to corn so they
can continue to turn this artificially low priced
commodity into higher priced products. Ethanol
anyone?
In his book Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan states we have more corn DNA in our bodies than even the Mexicans who call themselves "the people of the corn!" You see, every product they create out of corn, no matter how processed, is labeled "natural" because it starts out as corn. MSG is referred to on food labels as "natural flavoring" because it is derived from corn.
And then there is high fructose corn syrup. The average American eats about 42 pounds of this stuff a year. There is some pretty good evidence its not good for you. One of the biggest problems with high fructose corn syrup (other than it's just pure sugar with zero nutritional value) is that it doesn't trigger an insulin response. Insulin is required to transport sugar out of your blood stream, where too much can cause damage, and into your cells. Blood over saturated with sugar becomes acidic and damages whatever it comes in contact with. That's why diabetics are at risk for organ damage if they don't control their blood sugar. Obviously a can of Coke isn't going to burn your eyeballs out. But day after day, year after year, the micro damage can accumulate.
Bottom line, corn is good, corn products bad. I think I'll pop some corn after I'm done hoeing.
In his book Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan states we have more corn DNA in our bodies than even the Mexicans who call themselves "the people of the corn!" You see, every product they create out of corn, no matter how processed, is labeled "natural" because it starts out as corn. MSG is referred to on food labels as "natural flavoring" because it is derived from corn.
And then there is high fructose corn syrup. The average American eats about 42 pounds of this stuff a year. There is some pretty good evidence its not good for you. One of the biggest problems with high fructose corn syrup (other than it's just pure sugar with zero nutritional value) is that it doesn't trigger an insulin response. Insulin is required to transport sugar out of your blood stream, where too much can cause damage, and into your cells. Blood over saturated with sugar becomes acidic and damages whatever it comes in contact with. That's why diabetics are at risk for organ damage if they don't control their blood sugar. Obviously a can of Coke isn't going to burn your eyeballs out. But day after day, year after year, the micro damage can accumulate.
Bottom line, corn is good, corn products bad. I think I'll pop some corn after I'm done hoeing.
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