The Hemp Connection:
corn

I received notice yesterday that a new omega-3 product has hit the market. It's called"New Harvest", and it caught my eye because it is a vegetarian source of essential fatty acids. We have a lot of vegetarians reading our blog so I wanted to know more. This is what I learned by going to their website.

1. The manufacturer is Dupont Chemical.
2. The omega-3's are produced by using a specific type of yeast, Yarrowia lipolytica, to turn corn sugar into fat.

I do like the fact that companies are working to find alternatives for humans that do not involve depleting the world's fish supplies. And I do like the fact that this has potential to help vegetarians.

My problem with this product is that it appears to be a product of genetic engineering. I'm not convinced that this is a completely risk-free technology. And, given the fact that a very high percentage of our readers are either trying to conceive or are pregnant, I have to remember that any food or supplement choice we encourage here has the potential to affect at least two lives, only one of which has a choice in what they are exposed to.

I'm in the process of deciding for myself about genetic engineering. It is a relatively new technology and I don't believe it's been around long enough for us to be 100% confident that it is 100% safe. Each of you has your own opinion about whether or not you wish to incorporate these foods into your diets. It took enough work for me to find the answers to simple questions I had about this product, that I decided to simplify the process for anyone else who might have similar questions.

I also wish, instead of marketing their product as"yeast-based", DuPont had been more forthcoming about the fact that it's more accurately positioned as"corn-based".

One of the nice things about eating healthfully is that you also eat more economically, as you can eat the foods that are generally cheaper…which are the ones that are in season.

If you've seen some of the end of the summer bounty and felt remorse at not being able to buy more because you didn't know what to do with it, I found some great links with insructions for how to preserve some seasonal favorites to be used long after summer is gone.

How to freeze basil
How to freeze peaches
How to freeze corn on the cob
How to freeze peppers
How to freeze green beans

It's barbecue season. I don't need to look at the calendar or feel the temperature to know that. I simply have to look outside and see my neighbor Brett making dinner. The other night I stopped to chat and see what he was cooking. He had some corn on the cob, the way I like it, wrapped in foil and set on the back of the coals.

Brett asked me what I knew about corn, because he had been told that it was a food with no nutritional value. I was surprised when I Googled for more information to learn that this is a commonly held belief.

Corn actually has many nutrients in reasonable quantities, including fiber, protein, thiamin, folate (yup, folate), vitamin C, and magnesium. All of these are important for your health!

Corn may get its bad reputation from its oil, which, as you've seen in previous writings here, is pro-inflammatory. However, an entire cob of corn only has 1.2 grams. The problem with corn fat is when it's extracted, concentrated, and used to cook/add fat to other foods (e.g., Fritos). A fresh cob of corn is a great type of carbohydrate to add to a summer barbecue. To change the fat makeup, try one of my grilling favorites: brush with olive oil instead of butter and sprinkle with a bit of rosemary and Parmesan cheese.

One word of advice when shopping for corn: if avoiding genetically modified foods is important to you, be sure you by your corn from a purveyor who can document that their product has not been so altered. That's what you'll find at stores like Whole Foods and farmer's markets. The more we ask for what's best, the less demand we create for these types of products and the more we encourage genetically modified foods to not be sold.