Corn
Level 3 — ContestedIn Winter's Dictionary3 sources
Corn is a other — Used in maple, nut, root beer flavorings; many food products
Also: Zea mays, Corn Sugar, Dextrose
What it does
Used in maple, nut, root beer flavorings; many food products
Where you'll see it
Bourbon, breads, cheeses, cereals, jellies, processed meats, peanut butters, sherbets, whiskeys, American wines, ginger ale, hams
What the research says
May cause allergic reactions including skin rashes and asthma.
[ultra-processed-people] Refined glucose; one of van Tulleken's flag ingredients ('a little spice extract or some dextrose and you'll try to figure out — is this UPF?'). Falls in the modified-carbohydrate family absorbed too quickly to engage satiety.
[metabolical] Dextrose is free glucose; while less hepatotoxic than fructose, it generates rapid glucose spikes that raise insulin, drive de novo lipogenesis when mitochondria are overwhelmed, and contribute to glycation and oxidative stress. Refined and absent food matrix, it bypasses the protective fiber gel.
Regulatory status
- US FDA: ASP
Sources
- Metabolical (Lustig) — Chapter 7: compared to fructose, [glucose] is a walk in the park… but it raises insulin and drives obesity
- Ultra-Processed People (van Tulleken) — Chapter 20: What to do if you want to stop eating UPF: some dextrose and you'll try to figure out — is this UPF?
- A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives (Winter): May cause allergic reactions including skin rashes and asthma