Industrial Corn Essay

Industrial Corn May Be Linked to America’s Obesity Epidemic

Industrial Corn May Be Linked to America’s Obesity Epidemic Imagine for a moment and picture Americans as huge walking genetically modified stalks of corn. Every corn stalk contains various ears of corn hanging as limbs. Each ear of corn is filled with abundant kernels. Each kernel filled with starch. Well, welcome to the new bodies of Americans, because it has been said “you are what you eat.” With the mass yield production of industrial corn, which has been genetically modified, corn can be found in virtually every food item in the local American grocery store. From items such as: canned foods, fresh fruits, processed meats, breads, cereals, drinks and snacks (Pollan, 2006). All of these foods are consumed daily because eating is essential for survival. There is no escape, humans must eat to survive. Therefore, because survival is fed on consumption of food and most all foods consumed by the average American, in one way or another, contain corn and corn is high in starch, which leads to the idea that industrial corn has a link to the obesity epidemic in America, however with alternative shopping and a diet exercise regimen America can beat this epidemic together. Corn is high in starch and starch is a type of carbohydrate. When the body consumes carbohydrates the carbohydrates are broken down into glucose and released into the blood stream as sugar where in the end the sugar is converted into body or cell energy. What happens when the body consumes more carbohydrates than it can break down? The unused or unbroken down carbohydrate is stored in the bodies muscle tissue and is then converted into fat (Modern Anatomy and Physiology, 2004). Studies who that a low-carbohydrate diet can lead to weight-loss and in studies it has been showed that a low-carbohydrate diet can improve HDL