What are the main dangers of eating popcorn? What are the disadvantages of eating too much popcorn?

Popcorn is one of the favorite snacks of many young friends. When watching movies, popcorn and cola can be said to be standard. However, popcorn purchased outside usually has added Many food additives can cause a lot of harm to the body. So, what are the dangers of eating popcorn? What are the disadvantages of eating too much popcorn?

1. Precautions when eating popcorn

Do you know in which country popcorn is most popular? The answer is the United States. Americans are probably no more fond of corn than any other country in the world. They consume an average of 40 kilograms of corn per person every year, and the most important way is to consume popcorn as a snack. It was fashionable to go to a friend's house and give a packet to the host's children, so corn was seen as synonymous with "sincerity." Not only in the United States, popcorn can now be seen almost all over the world, especially in playgrounds. Because it is very convenient to eat and the price is very cheap, we can grab a handful and eat it anytime and anywhere. We can enjoy this delicious snack while watching a movie; men mainly consume this snack when watching football games; they can even grab it while shopping. It has to be said that popcorn is a A very convenient snack.

Popcorn is a high-fiber food that can promote digestive function and can be a useful supplement to high-fat and high-protein recipes. Some beauticians say that eating popcorn with your mouth can exercise facial muscles and reduce wrinkles on the face. Some dentists also believe that eating popcorn after meals can clean your teeth.

However, workers in many microwave popcorn flavoring workshops in the United States have suffered from rare lung diseases, which is also believed to be related to their exposure to gases from butter-flavored popcorn.

According to a survey report recently released by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, medical staff have found that some people have developed lung diseases after long-term consumption of popcorn. This lung disease is related to some workers who work in popcorn factories. They suffer from the same lung disease, commonly known as "popcorn lung". The main symptoms are difficulty breathing and asthma, which can be life-threatening in severe cases.

The report believes that the main cause of "popcorn lung" may be the use of an additive called diacetyl in the popcorn making process. This chemical can cause bronchial disease. According to media reports, four U.S. companies that produce this type of popcorn have stated that they will improve the popcorn production process and no longer use diacetyl. A survey published by Dutch researchers at the end of August also showed that long-term exposure to diacetyl may increase the risk of bronchiolitis obliterans.

Experts believe that there is currently no conclusion that the gas generated by heating bagged popcorn can cause cancer, but excessive diacetyl is likely to induce cancer and other diseases. If you are often exposed to foods containing excessive diacetyl gas, the human body will inevitably be harmed. Under the current circumstances, when consumers use microwave ovens to heat popcorn at home, it is best to stay at least two meters away from the heating area. After heating is completed, it is best to open the packaging bag and place it in a ventilated place to blow out the smell before eating.

However, experts unanimously affirm that the popcorn popped out of street popcorn machines contains extremely high levels of lead. Street "converter" popcorn contains lead in the "converter". When heated at high pressure, a certain amount of lead in the pot will melt, and part of the lead will turn into steam and lead smoke, contaminating the raw materials, especially during the most "poppy" period. In an instant, lead is more likely to be adsorbed on the loose popcorn. After lead is absorbed by the human body, it will harm the nervous, hematopoietic and digestive systems, easily lead to chronic lead poisoning, and can cause children to lose appetite, diarrhea, irritability, purple gums, decreased resistance, and slow growth and development. Children's detoxification function of lead is weak, therefore, parents should not let children eat popcorn often.

When choosing popcorn, you can choose from the following aspects: high-quality popcorn has full grains and sweet taste. Its quality is largely affected by the butter and other ingredients used. Inferior popcorn is not as sweet. The popcorn is uniform and the grains are thin, and the taste is greatly compromised due to the stingy use of ingredients during production. It can also be seen from the color that high-quality popcorn has a buttery and light champagne color, while inferior popcorn has the white color of the popcorn itself.

2. How to make popcorn

1: The principle of making popcorn

The principle of popcorn is that the corn particles themselves are relatively closed. The moisture turns into water vapor, and then because the gas cannot escape, high pressure forms, eventually pushing the entire corn open.

Eat differently

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Two: Homemade chocolate popcorn in a wok

Pot and materials: general household use Wok (other pots can also be used, but a wok works best), cooking oil (melted butter can also be used), corn seeds (bought in the supermarket), and white sugar. For the convenience of comparison, I also used 110 grams of corn seeds (one pound bought in the supermarket is only 5.5 yuan)

Method: 1. Take an appropriate amount of corn seeds (usually 2-3 handfuls, which can be spread flat) The bottom of the pot is enough) wash it.

2. Take an appropriate amount of dark chocolate and chop it into pieces as much as possible (100 grams of corn seeds requires about 20 grams of chocolate).

3. Use a clean cloth or kitchen paper to remove moisture from the surface (dry corn seeds must be put into the pot).

4. Put the corn seeds in a bowl, pour in a little cooking oil, stir evenly, and ensure that each corn seed is coated with cooking oil.

5. Spread the corn seeds into the wok, cover the pot, and turn on the heat.

6. Use medium-low heat at the beginning (use medium-low heat for thick pots, low heat for thin pots). When you hear the popping sound of corn seeds, turn to low heat and continue. If you hear the popping sound of corn seeds, you should weigh the pot from time to time to rotate the corn seeds in the pot so that each corn seed is heated evenly. (Weigh the pot with one hand and press the lid with the other hand to make a flat circle)

7. Turn off the heat until you can no longer hear the popping sound of corn seeds, open the lid, and quickly sprinkle in the chocolate chips (try to sprinkle the chocolate chips on on popcorn). Then use chopsticks, a spatula, a frying spoon and other tools while the pan is hot and stir quickly and continuously to ensure that the chocolate chips are melted and coated as much as possible on each popcorn.

8. Place the popped popcorn in a container with a piece of foil and wait until it cools before eating.

Chocolate popcorn is more flavorful than ordinary ones, with a rich chocolate aroma and a slightly smooth texture. It’s really non-stick!

Since I haven’t made it for a long time, I only put 16 grams of chocolate this time, which is a bit less and the color is not very bright. You can add it as you like, but don’t use too much (it’s best not to exceed 25 grams of chocolate for 100 grams of corn seeds). Note: Do not put too much corn seeds, otherwise they will be too full, resulting in uneven heating of the corn seeds. Many corn seeds cannot be popped, and the chocolate chips cannot be evenly coated with rice krispies. If you are not worried about gaining weight, but want to eat more If it smells fragrant, you can use melted butter instead of cooking oil; do not open the pot lid during the entire popcorn process, otherwise you will see thousands of pear blossoms blooming; after adding the chocolate chips, be sure to stir quickly while it is hot, otherwise it will It is difficult to melt and will stick to the pan. You can choose different chocolates according to your own taste. If you like it sweeter, you can use milk chocolate. Due to the hot weather, it is best not to make too much chocolate popcorn, as it is easy to get damp.

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Three: Microwave popcorn

1. Put butter in a small bowl and heat over water until melted.

2. Take a large container with a lid suitable for microwave ovens (the lid must have air holes), put the small corns into the container, then add butter and white sugar, and mix evenly.

3. Close the lid, move the container into the microwave oven, and heat it at 900 watts (or high heat) for 4 minutes. Generally, you will start to hear the "bang bang" sound in about 2 minutes, and the bang bang sound will be heard once every 2-3 seconds.

4. Take out the container, pour out the popcorn, and eat after it cools slightly.

Of course there is also a kind of ready-made bagged microwave popcorn, which can be bought directly and placed in the microwave~

Tips

Small corn is available in You can buy it at farmer's markets or large supermarkets where grains are sold. When buying, be sure to ask or read the description that it is used for popcorn.

If you want a rich milky taste, you can add more butter. If you like it salty, you can replace the white sugar with salt. If you like it chocolatey, you can add a piece of chocolate.

If you use plastic wrap instead of a lid, the plastic wrap will break when heated for 2 or 3 minutes, and the popcorn will be scattered in the microwave.

Four: The Differences of American Popcorn

Why is American popcorn round? There are two reasons, one is the raw material and the other is the popcorn machine. .

First of all, his corn raw material is popcorn, and popcorn breeding originated in the United States.

Its skin is relatively thick, which leads to its strong pressure resistance. This popcorn can burst without a pressure cooker. When it is heated and pressure is generated inside, the skin preserves the internal pressure and the internal pressure increases. To the point where it can explode on its own.

It also has a relatively uniform skin thickness. Because of its consistent skin thickness, when the internal pressure reaches its bursting point, the bursting lines are particularly uniform. After expansion, milky white floc is exposed, mushroom-shaped or butterfly-shaped.

Secondly, the American popcorn pot allows the popcorn to be heated evenly.

When the popcorn is heated in the pot, it needs to be constantly stir-fried so that its skin is evenly heated. The shape of the popcorn pot allows the popcorn to roll up in the pot and the skin is evenly heated.

Five: What kind of popcorn contains lead?

Let’s talk about the issue of lead first. Popcorn popping out of street popcorn machines contains extremely high levels of lead. Because the iron can of the popcorn machine is coated with a layer of lead-containing alloy, when the popcorn machine is heated, part of the lead will turn into lead vapor and enter the popcorn. The lead will enter the human body along with the popcorn and cause damage. Human nervous system and digestive system. In particular, children have a weak detoxification function for lead, and eating popcorn frequently can easily lead to chronic lead poisoning, which can cause loss of appetite, diarrhea, irritability, purple gums, and slow growth and development. Therefore, children should not eat popcorn frequently.

Six: How harmful are popcorn additives to the human body

Let’s talk about additives. A man in the United States suffered from a disease because he often ate popcorn and inhaled too much margarine flavor. A disease called “popcorn lung.” Why is this? In order to present a good color and taste, the popcorn sold on the market is added with some artificial cream flavor. Excessive amount of cream flavor will damage the alveolar function of human body, destroy the structure of human lung tissue, and prevent the human body from carrying out effective functions. Gas exchange affects breathing, leading to hypoxia, which can lead to chronic respiratory failure and, in severe cases, death. Doctors advise not to eat too much popcorn. When you occasionally eat popcorn, you can open the popcorn bag first to diffuse the smell until you can barely smell the buttery smell of the popcorn before eating it.