Microwave popcorn is a convenience food. Americans eat 54 quarts of popcorn every year. It’s easy with a sealed bag containing dried corn, cooking oil, seasoning and artificial flavoring, placed into the microwave and heated until the corn stops popping. Sounds simple enough, right?! But what is hiding in this convenient, easy to pop bag of popcorn.
Let’s start with the common LISTED ingredients in microwave popcorn
Popping corn
Partially hydrogenated soybean oil
Salt
Natural and artificial flavoring
Soy lecithin
Color added
Nonfat milk
Propyl gallate
TBHQ
Corn: As of 2012, 94% of non-organic corn is genetically modified. 60 countries have completely banned GMOs but here in the USA, labeling requirements have been up to the discretion of each state. This issue has been brought to Congress and we will debate this as a country.
There are 85 GMO related bills in 29 states on the topic of GMO labeling. 3 states in the USA have passed laws requiring food companies to label their products if they contain GMO ingredients.
Partially hydrogenated soybean oil: Is an unnatural man-made fat (from one of the most unhealthy oils-soybean oil) that causes cellular dysfunction. This dysfunction can cause cancer, autoimmune disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, heart disease, bone degeneration, increased levels of “bad” cholesterol and decreased levels of “good” cholesterol, reduces immune function, creates reproductive problems and causes interference with our body’s ability to utilize omega-3 fats.
Soy Lecithin: Soy is higher in phytoestrogen than any other food. Phytoestrogens are plant based estrogen that mimic the estrogen in our body. Consuming high amounts of phytoestrogen, is the leading cause of breast cancer, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, infertility and low libido.
•Soy is also the king of cell Goitrogens (thyroid suppressors).
•Phytlates found in soy block mineral absorption.
•Also found in Soy, Trypsin inhibitors, inhibits proper digestion of protein.
•93% of Soy is genetically modified.
Propyl gallate: a food, cosmetic and pharmaceutical preservative that may cause cancer, stomach and skin irritation, allergic reactions that impact breathing, also kidney and liver problems.
TBHQ (tertiary butylhydroquinone): TBHQ comes from petroleum and is related to butane. This can be toxic and also cause nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ear, delirium and collapse. It is shown to cause stomach cancer in lab rats, fragment DNA and cause damage to humane lung and umbilical cells. In children it can cause anxiety, restlessness, and intensify the symptoms of ADHD.
UNLISTED ingredients in microwave popcorn
Diacetyl: is a chemical, synthetic butter flavor. This is the delicious smell that bellows out of the bag as soon as you open the popped bag of corn. People at the popcorn factories develop “popcorn lung” and even frequent popcorn poppers can develop lung problems from inhaling this chemical.
Dr Mercola reports, “Researchers conducting test-tube studies revealed that diacetyl has several concerning properties for brain health. Not only can it pass through the blood-brain barrier, which is intended to help keep toxins out of your brain, but it can also cause brain proteins to misfold into the Alzheimer’s-linked form known as beta amyloid. It also inhibits mechanisms that help to naturally clear the dangerous beta amyloid from your brain.
It’s not known at this time whether eating diacetyl-containing foods (it’s used not only in microwave popcorn but also in other snack foods, baked goods, pet foods, some fast foods and other food products) increases your risk of Alzheimer’s, but the finding that it may contribute to brain plaques linked to Alzheimer’s at very low concentrations is concerning, to say the least.“
Proposed legislation in California would ban Diacetyl and a congress women from Connecticut requested that the FDA ban Diacetyl until its effects are better understood.
PFOA (Perfluorooctanoic acid): a man-made chemical that lines the popcorn bag. It is mostly used in the process of making Teflon and similar chemicals (known as fluorotelomers).
PFOA can stay in the human body for long periods of time. Studies have found that it is present at very low levels in just about everyone’s blood in the United States.
Studies in humans have found that people with workplace exposure to PFOA have higher risks of bladder and kidney cancers, thyroid issues, high cholesterol, and infertility.
Some studies have looked at people affected by PFOA from a chemical plant in West Virginia. These studies have looked at both workers at the plant and community residents. The most recent study linked an increased risk of testicular cancer to PFOA exposure. The chance of having testicular cancer tended to increase as the level of exposure to PFOA increased.
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