This was written by a lady who has done extensive research on grains...long but well worth the read!!!

"OK, guys, here's the scoop on corn (and other grains, but corn is the worst in my opinion).

Corn is a genetically modified food. The original grass that corn was bred from bears no resemblence to our modern corn. So there's no such thing as "natural" corn to begin with.

When someone screws around with someone else's DNA, that new DNA doesn't have all the built-in defenses that it should have. Case in point: corn has a suppressed immune system. This makes it super susceptible to fungal infection. Aspergillus fungus is the most common, but it can have others too.

The mycotoxins (Aflatoxin B1, and Zearelanone being the two most common), are a byproduct of the mold. The mold has a very inefficient metabolism, and since it's a parasite or symbiot, it doesn't need one. It lives off the host, whether it's corn or you. So it can be inefficient and it makes no difference to the mold. But part of its inefficiency is the abundant toxic waste products (mycotoxins). Mold also uses its mycotoxins as self defense, as anyone who's had a Herxheimer can attest to. When the fungus feels threatened or is about to die, it spews out poison to hopefully kill whatever is trying to kill it. It's not evil - it's just trying to survive.

Back to the corn. Even if the corn doesn't get mold on it while it's in the field, as soon as it's harvested, it's put in a silo, which is a big metal round building. Corn has a very high moisture content (that's why it's so juicy), as well as a fairly high sugar content (that's why it's sweet), and you combine a dark, hot silo with moisture and you get mold. Then you give it loads of carbohydrates (the sugar) and it starts multiplying. Even corn that doesn't go in a silo, and instead gets piled up on the ground, still has those huge black patches of mold on it. And if it's moldy in the field, it's just worse once it gets put in storage.

The really nasty black stuff gets scooped out and used as animal feed. This goes into grain mixes for livestock, and also in pet food. Once it's dried and ground up, you can't see the mold anymore, but you bet it's chock full of mycotoxins. Did you guys hear about the Diamond Dog Food fiasco a couple of weeks ago? They won't admit it, but I personally know of 39 dogs that were killed after eating that dog food, because they let through a batch of corn that contained 3 times the lethal dose of Aflatoxin. But that's beside the point. The point is, if they can't see it, they don't have to acknowledge it. It's all about money and profit, and if they had to throw out ALL the moldy corn, the farmers would be broke.

The corn that doesn't have visible black mold on it is reserved for human consumption. The USDA requires that corn be tested for Aflatoxin (that's the only one, though), but it's physically impossible to test every single kernel of corn. So the best they can do is spot-sample loads of grain. The requirement is 8 to 10 one-pound samples per RAILROAD CAR of grain. How much corn does that leave untested in that car? And they don't test every single shipment. It's just a spot-check. So you could conceivably get a much higher dose of aflatoxin or zearelanone in a batch of corn, even though some samples were taken that showed it to be within the acceptable levels.

Are you still with me? Good.

Now, about the homegrown corn. All the homegrown corn has been grown from commercially produced seed. You buy a pack of seeds from Gurney's or wherever and you've got some commercially produced seed. It carries the wonky DNA, making it sensitive to mold infections, and I've HEARD, but can't prove, that most commercial seeds are already impregnated with mold. I wouldn't doubt it, though. I actually grew some corn in my garden last summer (I planted it before I found out how bad it was for me), and I took very good care of it. There was nothing visibly wrong with it, but I ate just one ear and it undid all the work I had done in the past month. This was just a month after I went on a partial candida diet and had cut most of the sugar and grains out of my diet, when I told you I had finally got rid of all my pain, remember from the previous post? That had only taken me a month. So I ate this one little bitty ear of corn and I woke up the next morning with all my joints screaming again, and just to make it interesting and add to the fun, I also had a vaginal yeast infection (which I'd never had before).

So, if you're tempted to try growing your own corn, thinking that will be better for you, don't. Just give up corn. I know you think you can't, but you can. I've had to really start reading labels, though, and anything with corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup solids, citric acid, corn oil, or anything remotely connected with corn, I don't buy. I sometimes miss having corn chips and salsa, but not bad enough to actually eat any! I'd rather put the salsa on a nice green salad instead.

That was maybe too much information all at once, but hey, it needs to be said because it's important, especially for us. Some people say they would like to eat corn again someday, but I'm afraid to try and I can truthfully say I will no longer knowingly eat corn. Period. But that's me. I'm on a mission against corn! LOL!"

I was also looking into corn recently. Apparently if the native American process of nixtamalization is used (eg. in corn tortillas) then the mycotoxins can be reduced:

"This process has multiple benefits including enabling the grain to be more effectively ground; increasing protein and vitamin content availability; improving flavor and aroma and reduction of mycotoxins."

"Another important aspect of this process’ benefit is the significant reduction (90-94%) of the mycotoxins Fusarium vierticilloides and Fusarium proliferatum which produce fumosins which cause disease in animals and possible carcinoma in humans."