Corn
Where corn sits on the inflammation scale
Corn is mildly inflammatory, and what makes it so is the form most people eat it in. Sweetcorn on the cob is a whole grain: fibre, water, starch and the yellow pigments lutein and zeaxanthin. In the trials where adults ate more whole grains, the inflammation markers measured in a blood test did not go up.
Most of the corn in a Western diet arrives as syrup, oil or refined flour. High-fructose corn syrup is the clearest case. It is linked to insulin resistance and to fat building up in the liver, and both of those come with low-level inflammation. Most of that work has been done in animals rather than people. Corn oil is the quieter one, cheap enough that it ends up in most fried and packaged food. That is why corn scores 6 out of 10 on the inflammation scale.
The gap between the forms is wider than it looks. Corn on the cob and frozen kernels are the whole grain, and plain air-popped popcorn sits close behind. Corn chips are refined corn flour fried in cheap oil and salted, which is a different food with a different effect.
Eat corn whole, a few times a week, and read the label on everything else. Whole kernels are hard for some people to digest, and the Autoimmune Protocol, an elimination diet used for autoimmune conditions, removes corn along with every other grain.
Corn on the AIP diet
Corn is not allowed on the Autoimmune Protocol. AIP takes out every grain during the elimination phase, and corn is one of the strictest, because it is among the grains people with autoimmune conditions most often report reacting to. It comes out in every form: cornflour, cornstarch, popcorn, corn oil and corn syrup all count. Grains return late, and corn is one plenty of people decide not to bring back at all.
Benefits
- Whole corn is a whole grain, and across the trials whole grains did not raise inflammation markers
- The yellow colour is lutein and zeaxanthin, the pigments that collect in the back of the eye
- A cob carries useful fibre, which feeds the bacteria in the large intestine
- Naturally free of gluten, so it works for coeliac disease
Watch out for
- Most corn in a Western diet arrives as syrup, oil or refined flour, and those are a different food
- High-fructose corn syrup is tied to blood sugar problems and the inflammation that follows
- Corn oil is heavy in omega-6 fat and cheap, so it ends up in most fried food
- Whole kernels are hard to digest for some people
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Frequently asked
Is corn inflammatory?
Whole corn is not the problem for most people. Sweetcorn on the cob is a whole grain, and in the trials where adults ate more whole grains, the inflammation markers a doctor measures in a blood test did not go up. What causes trouble is what corn gets turned into: syrup, oil and refined flour.
Is corn on the cob the same as popcorn or corn chips?
No, and the gap is wider than it looks. A cob is the whole grain with its fibre intact. Plain air-popped popcorn is close behind it. Corn chips are refined corn flour fried in cheap oil and salted, which is a different food with a different effect.
Is corn a grain or a vegetable?
Both, depending on when you pick it. Sweetcorn eaten fresh counts as a starchy vegetable. Left to dry on the plant, the same kernels become the grain that gets milled into flour, pressed for oil or turned into syrup.
Can I eat corn on an anti-inflammatory diet?
Yes, if you eat it whole. Corn on the cob or frozen kernels a few times a week fit fine. Where it stops fitting is the packaged end: corn syrup, corn oil and corn snacks. The Autoimmune Protocol is the exception, and removes corn in every form.
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