After learning what ingredients are corn derived and then looking through the pantry, it seems as though most processed foods contain at least one corn derived ingredient.  Although one can argue that corn is a grain and not bad for you, remember that 85% or corn in the United States is genetically modified.  It just seems like a big science experiment, feed the population tons and tons of genetically modified corn and see what happens 30 years down the road.  I have always been taught to eat a well balanced diet and eating corn derived ingredients in every meal doesn't seem like the best idea to maintain a healthy diet.

Below is a list of ingredients that are potentially corn derived.  This is not a complete list, only a subset.  I am sure there are countless other ingredients that are corn derived that are not listed below.

baking powder - Not all baking powder's contain corn, but the most popular ones contain corn starch.

caramel coloring - caramel color is one of the oldest food colorings and is found in colas.  Caramel can be made using many food grade sweeteners and is often made from dextrose (corn sugar).

maltodextrin - is produced from a starch and in the US this starch is usually corn starch.  It is moderately sweet and almost flavorless and is used frequently in the making of soda and candy. 

dextrose - is also known as glucose or corn sugar.  dextrose is a simple sugar usually made from corn. 

Corn “anything” like corn flour, corn starch, corn gluten, corn syrup, corn meal, corn oil

hydrolyzed corn protein - Used as a flavor enhancer, people that are sensitive to MSG should avoid hydrolyzed corn protein due to the high levels of glutamate.

monoglycerides / diglycerides - is added to foods like ice cream, chewing gum to act as an emulsifier, helping to mix ingredients that normally wouldn't mix well like water and oil.  mono- and diglycerides are made from plant oils like corn or animal fats.

starch - added starch in foods most commonly come from corn but can come from other sources.

vanilla extract - some brands add corn syrup to the extract. 

Vegetable “anything” - Unless you know for sure, products like vegetable broth, vegetable shortening, vegetable oil could be derived from corn. 

xantham gum - is a food thickening agent that is produced from the fermentation of glucose (corn sugar), sucrose, or lactose.  Tooth paste commonly contains xantham gum.

Just for fun I reached into the pantry and pulled out a packet of fajita seasoning mix.  I flipped over the packet and here is the list of ingredients that make up the mix. 

Corn Starch

Maltodextrin

Salt

Sugar

Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

Spice

Chili Pepper

Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil

Citric Acid

Natural Flavor

Silicon Dioxide

Natural Smoke Flavor

Yeast Extract

Ethoxyquin

The first two main ingredients are corn derived!  Some other scary ingredients include MSG, Natural Smoke Flavor (whatever this is...), and Ethoxyquin.  After careful analysis it was decided the best place for the fajita seasoning mix was the trash can.

I am very excited to start growing my own hops.  I have been brewing beer for awhile and want to take my brewing to the next level by using my own hops.  Brewing your own all grain beer is a ton of fun and can save you money if you do it right.  I live in Maryland and researched what types of hops would grow well here.  I selected Centennial and Cascade hops based on this research.  The third hop variant I decided on was Summit.  Summit hops are somewhat new on the hop scene and were first bred in 2003 by a group of hop growers calling themselves the "American Dwarf Hop Association". Summit hops originate in the Yakima Valley in Washington State.  They have a flavor similar to simcoe hops, with citrus tones.  With an Alpha Acid range between 17.5% to 19.5%, the summit hops are going to make for a great bettering hop for the imperial IPA's I plan on brewing.  For those wondering, Alpha Acids are the chemical compound found in the resin glands of hops.  They are the source of hop bitterness and the Summit hop has a super high percentage.  To give you an idea on how bitter the Summit hops are, here are the alpha acid content of the other two hops I plan on growing.

Cascade 4.5 - 8% total dried weight 

Centennial 9 - 11.5% total dried weight 

I ordered my hops from willamettevalleyhops.com and was pleasantly surprised to find them selling Summit Rhizomes.  A hop Rhizome is a horizontal stem of a hop plant.  The rhizome is what you bury into the ground in order to grow your hop plants.  I will post later on when my shipment gets in and I have started growing my hops.  

source http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/ar/archive/sep03/tea0903.htm

The Preliminary Data for 2010 was recently released on January 11, 2012.  I downloaded the national Vital Statistics Report volumne 60, number 4 to get the top 15 causees of death for 2010.  Here is the link to the PDF.  I was suprised by how prevelant COPD was and didn't know it was the 3rd leading cause of death.  I always thought the top three were hearth disease, Cancer, and stroke.  I was also suprised about Alzheimer's disease. being number 6 on the list.  

1.  Heart Disease

2.  Cancer

3.  Chronic lower respiratory diseases (COPD) Includes: Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema

4.  Stroke / Cerebrovascular diseases 

5.  Accidents (unintentional injuries) 

6.  Alzheimer’s disease

7.  Diabetes 

8.  Kidney disease

9.  Influenza and pneumonia 

10.  Suicide

11.  Septicemia

12.  Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis

13.  Essential hypertension and hypertensive renal disease

14.  Parkinson’s disease

15.  Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids

Citation:

Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Kochanek KD. Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2010. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 

60 no 4. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2012.

After my previous post on 5 fast food meals with the most calories, I wanted to provide healthier options to those meals.  To cut down on calories and save money you should drink water when going out.  Tap water is usually free at fast food restaurants, and is a far better choice than high calorie, high sugar drinks like soda.  You will notice that I don't list any drinks in the meals below.  I am assuming you are drinking free tap water when going out to fast food restaurants.  

Here is where I pulled the numbers for this post. 

http://www.kfc.com/nutrition/pdf/kfc_nutrition.pdf

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf

http://www.bk.com/page_templates/whopperbar/pdf/nutritional.pdf

http://www.sonicdrivein.com/pdfs/menu/SonicNutritionGuide.pdf

http://www.steaknshake.com/media/pdf/Feb2011_NutritionalFacts.pdf