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Too much corn is bad for you—and it’s in nearly everything we eat

While most of us are encouraged to "eat more fruits and vegetables," we probably don't realize just how much one vegetable has become part of our daily diet. Eating the whole form of the vegetable—which is also considered a grain—at a summer barbecue, as popcorn, or as corn flour has undisputed health benefits such as lowering one's risk of cancer, stroke, and heart disease. But most of us are consuming less whole corn and far more processed corn in the form of corn oil, corn starch, cornmeal, and high fructose corn syrup—which can contribute to adverse health outcomes including high blood pressure and high blood sugar, plus increased risk of obesity, fatty liver disease, colorectal cancer,…

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 Should I Eat Corn?

For something so delicious and fun to eat, corn comes with an impressive density of nutrients. A cup of boiled sweet yellow corn has 143 calories, 5 grams of protein and a surprising amount of potassium—9% of your daily value and almost as much as a small banana. A cup even packs 4 grams of fiber, which is 16% of the daily recommended value. There’s something extra special about corn fiber. It’s a prebiotic...

Articles of Interest

Is Corn Good for You? Registered Dietitians Set the Facts Straight

For a vegetable, corn sure does get the side eye from healthy eaters a lot. Ketogenic dieters steer clear of it because it has carbs. And isn’t pretty much all corn genetically modified? That can’t be good for you. That’s why registered dietitian Kim Melton, RD, is here to set the record straight.

This Is the Unhealthiest Vegetable You Can Eat

While corn is delicious and can provide myriad health benefits, like most things, it should likely be consumed in moderation. In contrast to corn, the Harvard study found that participants who ate high-fiber vegetables, like kale and string beans, were likely to lose weight over time. As such, filling your plate with green and leafy veggies is a good place to start.

All About Eating Corn: The Pros and Cons

Corn on the cob is a popular summer treat that many people enjoy and can be a very healthy choice. However, not all corn is as healthy or nutritious as you may think.

Breeding the Nutrition Out of Our Food

The sweet corn that we serve at summer dinners illustrates both of these trends. The wild ancestor of our present-day corn is a grassy plant called teosinte. It is hard to see the family resemblance. Teosinte is a bushy plant with short spikes of grain instead of ears, and each spike has only 5 to 12 kernels. The kernels are encased in shells so dense you’d need a hammer to crack them open. Once you extract the kernels, you wonder why you bothered. The dry tidbit of food is a lot of starch and little sugar. Teosinte has 10 times more protein than the corn we eat today, but it was not soft or sweet enough to tempt our ancestors.

Cash in on the health benefits of corn

The four main categories of corn are field, popcorn, sweet and ornamental. More than 200 varieties of corn can be found growing in the United States today. Corn is very versatile since the entire corn plant can be used. You can use the husks for making tamales, the silk to create a medicinal tea, the kernels for food and the stalks for livestock feed. You can find corn in products like tortillas, tortilla chips, cornmeal and corn oil. Miniature ears of corn, known as baby corn, can be used in appetizers, soups, chowders, stews and stir fry dishes. Baby corn is particularly popular in Thai and Chinese cooking.

Corn on the Cob Is Healthier Than You Think

Corn has an undeserved reputation as a fattening, carb-laden, genetically altered food. Add to that its association with high-fructose corn syrup and you may find yourself wondering if corn on the cob deserves a place at your picnics this summer. The truth is, older adults can — and should — indulge in this seasonal favourite guilt-free.

Dark Sugar

The decline and fall of high-fructose corn syrup.

Growing Corn Is A Major Contributor To Air Pollution, Study Finds

Corn is the largest agricultural crop in the United States. But you may not immediately associate air pollution with the endless fields of rolling green in Iowa or Illinois. That's a mistake, according to study author Jason Hill, an engineering professor at the University of Minnesota.

Health Benefits Of Corn, Nothing Corny Here

Corn is usually considered a vegetable but it is actually a grain, rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.

Here's what 9,000 years of breeding has done to corn, peaches, and other crops

The evolution of corn (maize) is a fascinating story. For a long time, scientists couldn't figure out where domesticated corn originally came from — it doesn't look like anything that grows in the wild. It took serious sleuthing by geneticists, botanists, and archaeologists to figure out that maize split off from teosinte grass some 9,000 years ago. (The two are surprisingly similar at the DNA level, differing by just a handful of genes.)

How a kernel of corn may yield answers into some cancers

Driving down a country highway in the Midwest can seem an endless ribbon flanked by green walls of corn, neatly planted in stately rows. But who would guess that a plant that feeds a planet might hold clues that could help us better understand, or perhaps cure, insidious human diseases?

Industrial corn farming is ruining our health and polluting our watersheds

First, we need to stop putting food in our gas tanks. The nation’s energy policy calls for so much ethanol that it consumes 40% of the corn produced in the United States. This large-scale diversion of corn has raised prices, distorted the market and had serious negative impacts on food choice and availability globally.

Is corn a fruit, a vegetable, or a grain?

The answer is more technical than you might think, and to fully understand it you’ll need a little primer on corn biology. So away we go!

Is Corn Healthy or Not? 5 Myths About Sweet Corn Busted

Sweet corn is one of summer's simplest, purest pleasures. But just how healthy is it? Here's the sweet truth.

Is Corn Healthy?

Corn is one of the most widely eaten foods in the world. It’s also incredibly versatile. You’ll find it in baked goods and breads, popped as a snack, grilled on the cob, fed to cows, used to fuel cars, and as the base ingredient for a huge range of processed foods and additives. But is corn good for you? And how do you choose the healthiest corn to eat?

Returning the ‘three sisters’ – corn, beans and squash – to Native American farms nourishes people, land and cultures

Today Native people all over the U.S. are working diligently to reclaim Indigenous varieties of corn, beans, squash, sunflowers and other crops. This effort is important for many reasons. Improving Native people’s access to healthy, culturally appropriate foods will help lower rates of diabetes and obesity, which affect Native Americans at disproportionately high rates.

This GMO Scientist Plays God with Your Corn

... in the United States alone, over 69 million hectares of land are used for genetically modified crops. That means that many if not most of America's agricultural staples—corn, soy, canola, and up to 70 percent of the processed foods they end up in—are now genetically modified. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are deeply rooted in the average American diet, no matter what side of the line you stand on.

Why Africa should 'stop eating one of its favourite foods'

Zambia's vice-president has called for a radical change in the eating habits of the nation, saying people should ditch the staple, maize meal, for more nutritious foods - a proposal akin to telling Italians to stop eating pasta. Maize meal is hugely popular across much of southern and East Africa - research shows that sub-Saharan Africa consumes 21% of the maize produced in the world.

Why is sweet corn not digested?

Sweetcorn is a complete softy on the inside! There would be no point in eating it if it wasn't.

Why our food is making us fat

We are, on average, 3st heavier than we were in the 60s. And not because we're eating more or exercising less – we just unwittingly became sugar addicts.

Resources

5 Myths About Corn You Should Stop Believing

Myth: Corn is unhealthy. No! Corn is a vegetable that contains nutrients, and an ear definitely counts as one of your daily servings of veggies, McDaniel says. The idea that corn is unhealthy likely came about because corn is high in starch, which is a carbohydrate. And "with the carb-phobia phase we went through over the last few years, that's probably where corn got a bad rap, along with the beloved potato," she explains.