Cut Corn in Your Diet

Cut corn in your diet and stay healthy as the cereal grain is rich in sugars and calories, suggest the US health experts.

Habit of having corn flakes in the morning, burger in afternoon, corn soup at night and processed foods and beverages anytime, anywhere, can aggravate the obseity problem.

High-fructose corn syrup, an economical sweetener which is replacing the old plain table sugar, is equally harmful and being used in soda, energy and juice drinks.

According to a report from the Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organisation, from soft drinks alone teens get 15 to 20 teaspoons per day of added sugars, which is some 11 per cent of their daily total caloric intake.

Moreover, soft drinks have become the third most common breakfast, replacing milk.

Expressing concern over this increasing consumption of corn, an agricultural economist and professor of nutrition at the University of North Carolina, Barry Popkin said, ”If the average American could cut just one soft drink or sugared water drink a day, they would immediately cut out 10 pounds a year.” Corn is not only affecting people’s health but also the health of livestock, which is being fed on this cereal grain, the US News and World Report said.

”Corn-fed beef tends to have more artery-clogging saturated fats than grass-fed beef,” Popkin said. Also, corn feed is lower in healthful substances like Omega-3 fatty acids.

The researchers also found that cattle, which are fed mainly on corn, suffer from high stomach acidity and develop problematic E coli 0157:H7 bacteria.

Though corn is not inherently unhealthy, however, its large scale production and lower prices are leading to rise in its demand. And, ultimately its over consumption is harming the health of all.

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