Popcorn
Where popcorn sits on the inflammation scale
Popcorn is not inflammatory on its own, but the version most people eat usually is. A popped kernel is a whole grain with nothing taken out of it: the hull, the germ and the starch all stay where they were. In one trial, adults who ate a whole grain diet for eight weeks ended with lower signs of low-level inflammation than when they ate refined grains.
The trouble starts with what goes on top. Cinema popcorn is popped in cheap oil and finished with a topping closer to margarine than to butter. Microwave bags arrive with the fat already inside, plus salt and a flavouring, and the bag is built as one sitting. Popcorn is also very light, so a large volume goes down before your hand notices.
Popcorn scores 5 out of 10 on the inflammation scale, and that number describes the bowl rather than the kernel. Popped at home in a hot air machine, or in a pan with a spoonful of olive oil and a pinch of salt, it belongs much lower.
The hulls are rough and pass through largely intact, so anyone with an irritable or inflamed gut tends to feel popcorn on the way through. It is also out during the elimination phase of the Autoimmune Protocol, an elimination diet used for autoimmune conditions, which removes every grain.
For everyone else the whole decision happens in the shop: buy the loose kernels, not the bag.
Popcorn on the AIP diet
Popcorn is not allowed on the Autoimmune Protocol. It is corn, and AIP takes out every grain during the elimination phase, corn among the strictest of them. The form makes no difference: kernels popped at home count the same as a microwave bag. If what you miss is something to eat by the handful in front of a film, plantain chips baked in coconut oil are the usual stand-in.
Benefits
- A popped kernel is a whole grain with hull and germ still on, which is rare in a snack
- Mostly fibre, and the kind that feeds the bacteria in the large intestine
- Fills you up better than crisps, for far fewer calories per handful
- Air-popped at home it needs no oil, so you decide how much fat goes in
Watch out for
- Cinema and microwave versions carry cheap refined oil, heavy salt and a butter flavouring
- It is so light that a huge portion goes down without registering as one
- The hulls are rough, and people with a sensitive gut often react to them
- It is corn, so it is off the table during the AIP elimination phase
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Frequently asked
Is popcorn inflammatory?
Plain popcorn is not. It is a whole grain, and diets built on whole grains push the inflammation markers a doctor measures in a blood test down rather than up. What causes trouble is the oil, the salt and the butter flavouring that come with the cinema tub and the microwave bag.
Is microwave popcorn worse than air-popped?
Considerably. The fat is already in the bag before you start, along with salt and a flavouring, and the bag is designed to be finished in one go. Air-popped kernels are the same food without any of that, and they cost a fraction of the price.
Does popcorn irritate the gut?
For some people, yes. The hulls are tough and pass through largely intact, which is fine for most guts and uncomfortable for others. If you have an irritable bowel or an inflamed one, popcorn is one of the first snacks worth testing without.
Can I eat popcorn on an anti-inflammatory diet?
Yes, if you pop it yourself. Kernels in a hot air machine or in a pan with a little olive oil fit fine a few times a week. The Autoimmune Protocol is the exception and removes it, because popcorn is corn and AIP takes out all grains.
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