I love munching on popcorn as much as anyone else (especially with a scary movie or good romantic comedy!), but I’ve decided that microwave popcorn just won’t be an option for me anymore. I hardly ever use my microwave anyway since I have a fantastic toaster oven and prefer a more natural way of heating food.
But my reason for addressing microwave popcorn in particular is an article in my local Natural Awakenings magazine stating that popcorn companies often use perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) to coat the bags and this chemical has been found to cause lung disease and cancer in lab animals. In addition, the butter substitute (that somehow tastes oh-so good) used usually contains diacetyl for flavor, but also can causes a lung disease called bronchiolitis obliterans.
The article didn’t mention another important fact which is that often times hydrogenated (extremely unnaturally processed) oils are hiding in microwave popcorn ingredients. Other than the kernels, it seems that I want to avoid everything in those convenient little bags!
My suggestion for avoiding microwaved popcorn would be to pop your own on the stove and add in some real melted butter and sea salt (yum!). An electric popper is what I actually have and also works great. I have yet to try coconut oil and some local pastured lard to pop it, but I am pretty sure it will taste great and I’ll feel a whole lot better when eating it. Sometimes it can be a really good thing to get back to basics with food!
Photo By: Brainloc
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, popcorn is one of our favorite snacks here. We too use a hot air popcorn popper with REAL butter and sea salt. Such a yummy snack.
We also use an air popper and add our own seasoning. Microwave popcorn is scary!
Generally, heating up food in the microwave is unhealthy. the food structure is changed completely and our bodies do no recognize it as nourishment. I threw mine out a few months ago.
Ooo, I didn’t know that about the lining. I thought the prob was mainly the microwave process itself. Thanks for the info!