Corn is a food that everyone loves. Fresh corn, when boiled directly, is fragrant, glutinous, and delicious. Old corn can be stored for a long time and can also be used to make porridge and soups. It is a very healthy food. However, once corn is processed into more appealing popcorn, it becomes a junk food. Why is that?
Sweet and savory popcorn
Why is corn a healthy food?
Corn is one of the most common coarse grains. It contains a large amount of dietary fiber and various vitamins, which helps with weight loss, relieves constipation, and has the effect of controlling blood sugar and lowering blood lipids. Moreover, the vegetable oil in corn is an unsaturated fatty acid, which is more beneficial to maintaining vascular and brain health.
At the same time, the rich B vitamins in corn can promote the metabolism of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates. Corn also contains seven anti-aging agents for the human body. Therefore, for modern people who are used to rich and heavy diets, corn is undoubtedly a very healthy food with many benefits, so it is recommended that everyone eat more corn.
Why is popcorn not healthy?
Popcorn is made from processed corn, and its nutritional value does not change much. Moreover, due to the expansion, the air content in popcorn increases, making it even easier to digest and absorb after entering the human body.
The main reason why popcorn becomes a junk food is that although modern popcorn basically contains no lead, in the process of making it, sugar, creamer, preservatives, shortening, hydrogenated vegetable oil, and even dyes are often added to enhance the taste. These substances are very harmful to human cardiovascular and liver health.
Be wary of popcorn that is too fragrant
To save money, some street vendors use aluminum woks to pop corn and use vegetable cream made from hydrogenated vegetable oil instead of butter, and add all kinds of flavorings and colorings.
When heating popcorn in a microwave oven, the aroma released contains a substance called diacetyl. A small amount of this substance is not harmful to the human body, but frequent exposure to excessive amounts will definitely bring health hazards.
Relevant experts remind consumers that when using a microwave oven to heat popcorn at home, they should stay at least two meters away from the heating area. After heating is completed, it is best to open the package and let it ventilate to dissipate the smell before eating.
When processing popcorn, to make it sweeter and more fragrant, some vendors also add a lot of artificial cream. Director Ju Juan explained that the problem with artificial cream is that it contains trans fatty acids, which can easily cause obesity and harm cardiovascular and cerebrovascular health.
The harm of popcorn comes from a chemical food additive—diacetyl
The milky aroma of popcorn is not inherent to the corn itself, but comes from a chemical food additive called diacetyl mixed into the product. Because diacetyl has a creamy aroma, it is often used to make artificial cream, cheese, or baked goods and various snacks to increase the creamy aroma. A 2007 survey report released by the US National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health stated that some people developed lung disease after inhaling the smoke from eating microwave-popped popcorn for a long time. This lung disease is the same as that suffered by workers in popcorn factories. The main reason may be the use of additives such as diacetyl in the production process of popcorn, which causes bronchiolitis. Such as "obstructive bronchiolitis," commonly known as "popcorn lung."
Note! Main symptoms of "popcorn lung"
Popcorn lung, medically known as bronchiolitis obliterans, is commonly known as popcorn lung. It may be caused by diacetyl or the flavoring component diacetyl used in the production process of popcorn.
The main symptoms are acute onset, persistent dry cough, fever and other flu-like symptoms, shortness of breath after activity, chest pain, joint pain, a few patients have asthma, and occasional hemoptysis. The signs are bilateral mid and lower lung crackles, and a few patients may have no positive signs. X-ray shows multiple patchy shadows in both lungs. Anti-inflammatory treatment is required.
In mild cases, it can cause difficulty breathing and persistent coughing; in severe cases, it can lead to fibrosis of lung tissue, loss of function, and even death.
You can choose popcorn based on the following aspects:
High-quality popcorn has full grains and a sweet and savory taste. Its quality is greatly affected by the use of ingredients like butter. Inferior popcorn has uneven sweetness, thin grains, and its taste is greatly discounted due to the stingy use of ingredients during production. The color can also tell the difference: high-quality popcorn has a light champagne color from the butter, while inferior ones are the pure white of the puffed corn itself.
Rice eggs