Why is corn so high in calories?

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iuali81
iuali81 Posts: 47 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I just logged 1 cup of frozen corn and it's 150 calories!! It's not that big of a deal, but I just expected, with it being a vegetable, that it woudl be much lower. I had no clue corn was so high in calories.
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Replies

  • Lissakaye81
    Lissakaye81 Posts: 224 Member
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    corn has lots of natural sugar, hence corn syrup, you only partially digest corn, less if its raw, more if its cooked. Thats why a lot of pet foods are so horrible for em, companies use it as fillers
  • Crochetluvr
    Crochetluvr Posts: 3,143 Member
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    It is a major starch, and high in carbs which is why I am avoiding it at the moment.

    I should add that corn is more grain than vegetable.
  • Zichu
    Zichu Posts: 542 Member
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    Corn is manly carbs and is a type of grain. That might be why it's quite high in calories.
  • kristen6022
    kristen6022 Posts: 1,926 Member
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    Starch and sugar. But soo soo tasty!
  • Bentley2718
    Bentley2718 Posts: 1,690 Member
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    It's a grain.
  • amusgrave
    amusgrave Posts: 79
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    I kinda count corn as a carb not a veggie even tho it is... the green stuffs better for you i.e. spinich,brocoli
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    1 cup is a lot of corn in one sitting, and 150 cals from that much food seems quite low to me
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Corn is not a vegetable. It's a grain.
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    nothing good about corn except for corn on the cob with real butter and salt once a year or so.

    otherwise, corn is a "filler" food and pretty much garbage.

    add in the facts that its full of sugar and high in calories, it just aint worth it.
  • Lleldiranne
    Lleldiranne Posts: 5,516 Member
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    Corn is really more of a grain, although we often use it as a vegetable (it still has nutrients). If you compare it to similar amounts of other grains, it's very close in calories. Like other posters said, it's the sugars and starches not found in many other vegetables.
  • callmeBAM
    callmeBAM Posts: 450 Member
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    Corn is a grain.
    Tomatoes are fruit.
    Peanuts are not nuts.
    Anything else we need to clear up?

    Oh, grass fed cows are lean, corn fed are fat. Draw your own conclusions :)
  • artbkward
    artbkward Posts: 238 Member
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    Sweet corn and field corn are not to be confused because they are not the same and are not harvested at the same time.

    "A grain is defined as the harvested dry seeds or fruit of a cereal grass, or the term can refer to the cereal grasses collectively. Field corn that is harvested when the seeds are dry would thus be considered a grain. Sweet corn when harvested before maturity is usually considered a vegetable. It is grown to be eaten fresh as a tender vegetable rather than as a dried grain suitable for grinding into flour or meal"
  • placeboaddiction
    placeboaddiction Posts: 451 Member
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    cause its delicious. Anything delicious=not healthy :) j/k ...though there is a little truth to the comment :)
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Sweet corn and field corn are not to be confused because they are not the same and are not harvested at the same time.

    "A grain is defined as the harvested dry seeds or fruit of a cereal grass, or the term can refer to the cereal grasses collectively. Field corn that is harvested when the seeds are dry would thus be considered a grain. Sweet corn when harvested before maturity is usually considered a vegetable. It is grown to be eaten fresh as a tender vegetable rather than as a dried grain suitable for grinding into flour or meal"

    Can I ask where you got your quote?

    Also, "usually considered". And, "it is grown to be eaten fresh as a tender vegetable" doesn't make it a vegetable. Corn, even sweet corn, has the properties and nutritional value of a grain. Just because corn can be used as a grain (dried and ground) or eaten "like" a vegetable off the cob doesn't chemically change it into a vegetable. For all intents and purposes, when you eat corn kernels, you are eating grain.
  • karibuni
    karibuni Posts: 12
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    I love corn. I eat 4 cobs a day! But I am still loosing weight. The key is balance.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
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    Because its delicious.
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    Others things I learned about corn from MFP, corn killed the Mayans and Native Americans did not eat corn, to suggest that they did would make you a racist lol
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    I love corn. I eat 4 cobs a day! But I am still loosing weight. The key is balance.

    4 cobs of corn a day. intreresting take on "balance".
  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
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    from Mark'sDailyApple (take it or leave it...I aint sure of all the dramatics by Mark, but I dont see the point of eating a lot of corn)


    "Friends, corn is not a vegetable. It’s not. We are perplexed as to when corn entered the American dietary lexicon as a veggie, because it’s a grain – and a really unhealthy grain at that. Corn is the most sugary, starchy, empty grain there is. You’re better off with white rice – seriously. (Not that we recommend eating a lot of white rice, because brown rice is higher in fiber and protein.)

    In fact, we hate corn. Now, we’re not talking about the occasional corn on the cob at the family BBQ. That’s probably not going to hurt anyone. But corn should not make up the veggie section of your meal plate, because it’s a high-glycemic sugarfest. In sum: corn is not a vegetable, and it’s a worthless grain."



    Read more: http://www.marksdailyapple.com/corn-is-not-a-vegetable/#ixzz1wZ5ePhQn
  • artbkward
    artbkward Posts: 238 Member
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    Sweet corn and field corn are not to be confused because they are not the same and are not harvested at the same time.

    "A grain is defined as the harvested dry seeds or fruit of a cereal grass, or the term can refer to the cereal grasses collectively. Field corn that is harvested when the seeds are dry would thus be considered a grain. Sweet corn when harvested before maturity is usually considered a vegetable. It is grown to be eaten fresh as a tender vegetable rather than as a dried grain suitable for grinding into flour or meal"

    Can I ask where you got your quote?

    Also, "usually considered". And, "it is grown to be eaten fresh as a tender vegetable" doesn't make it a vegetable. Corn, even sweet corn, has the properties and nutritional value of a grain. Just because corn can be used as a grain (dried and ground) or eaten "like" a vegetable off the cob doesn't chemically change it into a vegetable. For all intents and purposes, when you eat corn kernels, you are eating grain.

    It came from an agricultural extentsion website.

    Here is sweet corn classified under vegetable on The Ohio State University Extentsion site
    http://ohioline.osu.edu/lines/vcrop.html#VEG.4a

    Also, here is sweet corn classified under vegetable from the University of Illinois
    http://urbanext.illinois.edu/vegproblems/vegetables.cfm

    I'm no chemist, although I do work in agriculture, but I doubt the the chemical composition of sweet and field corn is the same. You have to buy specific seed to grow one or the other.

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