Diet Plans: Why Corn Is Not Safe

By Saleem Rana

Although it may seem that corn is a good food to add to your diet, there are some good reasons why it would not work well in 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.

This question seems to be coming up more and more often...

Does corn help or hurt diet plans?

Although it has been estimated that about 60% of crops are genetically modified, this is only a conservative figure and the numbers are much more likely to be higher. The practice was implemented to produce a bigger crop so farmers and national revenues from the agricultural sector were higher. Genetically modified corn could now kill insects that had become resistant to pesticides.

Sweet corn, also called Bt-corn, has been genetically modified so that it secretes a poison that kills insects.

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.

Well, because the introduction of GMO (genetically modified organism) foods is still relatively new, we're in a way being used as "guinea pigs" in a massive experiment (Yikes!). In April 2007, Arpad Pusztai, from the Rowett Research Institute in Aberdeen, UK, announced that experiments had shown intestinal changes in rats caused by eating genetically engineered potatoes (and I don't know about you, but I'm not happy about anybody trying to mess with my intestines).

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?

Carbohydrates And 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.

What role does microwave popcorn play in a healthy diet?

Well even the organic varieties contain preservatives (of course to keep them in the bag) and have been shown to contain the same chemical coating in the bag that is used on non-stick cookware (double YIKES!). I would stay away from this stuff.

How about air popped popcorn?

This is the best choice, but it should only be eaten occasionally. Since pop corn is a grain, it is a carbohydrate, and having too many carbohydrates will not assist in weight loss.

Here is the main takeaway from the article: one, stay away from GMO corn; and, two, include corn as a grain and not as a vegetable when making 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

What You Should Know About Diet Plans

As you've probably noticed, there are many different diet plans to choose from. When choosing a diet system, understand that one may work better than the other. Stopping early and not giving a diet program an honest try is why most people fail to lose weight. If you want any diet program to work, failing to follow the exact instructions that they provide may lead you to failure. So if you're looking for a diet plan that can work for you, here are some tips and strategies you can follow.

A lot of experts advocate a vegetarian diet, claiming it to be the ultimate food regime. There are many variations of this, of course, ranging from a basic vegetarian diet where you simply avoid meat to a vegan diet where you stop consuming any animal products at all, including eggs and dairy. Numerous examinations indicate that vegetarians have a lower risk of heart disease and some cancers. While you should beware of eating an overabundance of carbs, also be sure to eat plenty of protein. A balanced diet is the key to a successful diet experience; you can make this happen with a balanced vegetarian diet and by implementing the nutrients required.

Many people who go on a diet focus many on reducing fat. When choosing a low fat weight loss program, you need to be aware that some fat is still required, along with a balanced diet. Rather than avoiding fat altogether, the best approach is to stick as much as possible to healthy fats, which you can find in many oils such as olive oil, flaxseed and fish oils. Nuts and legumes offer healthy fats as well. The saturated fats that are not a healthy product and should be eaten as little as possible, their ingested when eating animal products or trans fats.

There are many fad diets, such as the Cookie Diet, the Ice Cream Diet and others with catchy names. These techniques reach out and grab you because they sound tasty, but the portion which you are allowed is quite small and unsatisfying, while the rest of the diet is restrictive. These diets should be approached with caution, as you may not be getting all of the nutrients you need if the recommended number of calories per day is too low. The cookies you are offered in these diets most often are not as fulfilling as you might think, usually on the small side and not very gratifying. The ability to "cheat" on your diet can be a very rewarding thing, if you pick an ordinary, sensible diet you will have a little more room to do this.

To diet properly, you must eat healthy foods, and maintain an exercise regimen in order to reach your goals. This article has only presented a tiny amount of information on the topic of losing weight. By approaching this with the mindset you will lose the weight you desire to, you will succeed. So set your goals, and no matter what weight loss program you are on, be committed 100%.By Wilson Resturbee.

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