Posted on 12/15/2014 6:29:41 AM PST by John David Powell
There’s nothing like freshly popped popcorn, especially when popped in one of those hand-cracked poppers with coconut oil.
A lot of folks like to nuke their popcorn, and that’s where they could be running into some real trouble.
Here’s the deal.
Some researchers at the University of Minnesota discovered that the stuff that gives buttery flavor to microwave popcorn could trigger Alzheimer’s disease.
They say the chemical diacetyl causes certain proteins to clump together in the brain, which, they say is a sure sign of Alzheimer’s.
But wait, there’s more.
Diacetyl also contributes to popcorn lung.
Diacetyl is the stuff that makes the butter smell. It is so bad that a court awarded a Colorado man $7.2 million when he came down with popcorn lung after eating two bags of the stuff every day.
And OSHA put out this warning after workers at plants that make and use diacetyl ended up with popcorn lung.
You may not have a problem with coming down with a lung disease from microwave popcorn fumes, and that’s okay.
But it doesn’t hurt to check the label to see if what’s inside has diacetyl.
The other folks in your house just may thank you for it. Just some food for thought.
I don’t believe butter and fats are bad for a person.
Carbs, yes. So popcorn is mostly out for me.
We make some for our family on the stove with coconut oil about once a week.
The big popcorn makers banned diacetyl in popcorn over five years ago, so this article seems a little out of date.
US Dept of Labor: OSHA
HAZARD COMMUNICATION GUIDANCE FOR DIACETYL AND FOOD FLAVORINGS CONTAINING DIACETYL
https://www.osha.gov/dsg/guidance/diacetyl-guidance.html
Does this mean that if an OSHA rep shows up at my place of work and smells microwave popcorn popping the business can get into trouble?
The major companies that make microwave popcorn haven’t used diacetyl in years.
http://www.boston.com/business/globe/articles/2007/12/18/popcorn_firms_removing_flavoring_chemical/
BTW, Jolly Time Blast O Butter Ultimate Theater Style popcorn rocks.
It’s no problem until you get to the stage where you forget your potty training. Not winning.
Thanks for your post.
I’m sure the microwave popcorn that shows up in the dollar stores still have it.
Au Contraire....when you get to the stage of “forgetting potty training” why would you care? You have no idea of what’s going on then. :0)
Excess in anything is not necessarily a good idea. One would think, however, that the much publicized media cautions about potato chips and “anal leakage” are doubly problematic.
Maybe this will cheer you up
Put about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl. Put 1/3 cup unpopped popcorn in the bowl. Stir a little bit to coat the kernels with the oil. Take a brown paper lunch sack and pour the oiled popcorn in it. Fold the top down a little bit, about 1/2 inch. Put two staples in the fold. Place in the microwave and cook for some time. The staples are too small to cause any sparking problem. Where I live at 7,000 feet it is one minute 40 seconds. The time will vary depending upon altitude and your oven so experiment. Pour the popped pocorn in a bowl, season to taste, and enjoy.
No harsh chemicals, no nasty plastics, and 1/10 the cost. And it is a good snack for us diabetics.
Thanks
popcorn is banned from my house , I HATE the smell of the stuff
Anything the media says has to be taken with a grain of salt. Personally, I would rather make my own popcorn than make microwave. It helps that I don’t own a microwave anymore and thus have no other popcorn options.
ApParents it is not the generic popcorn but the yellow gunk that melts and coats the butter product
I have been a microwave engineer for the majority of my adult life. To me there is nothing inherently wrong with a ‘microwave’.
I am more concerned about living or being under what are termed “high tension” power lines than I am of microwaves.
If you really want to be concerned, start thinking of that smart phone you put up to your ear every day. We call it R to the 4th....
I google “ApParents” and it doesn’t even show up. Cause du jour?
The bag.
The bag what? I can’t read your mind.
I phone
Should be apparently
You mean what’s in the bag?
I did this in Windows 7 on regular internet. It doesn’t compute with google.
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