Saucyman, I had the ubiquitous 4th of July corn on the cob and on a subsequent trip to the bathroom…Well, why does that happen? – DookieCellulose is the culprit here. Along with lignin, cellulose provides structure to a plant making it tall and strong, it is a skeletal(ish) structure for the photosynthesizing set. Humans don’t digest cellulose, so it passes through our digestive system largely in tact. It’s not just people, most animals can't digest it and cellulose is devoid of ethanol, meaning the corn kernel is prized by humans, fodder animals and now oil companies. Termites are the exception, they can and do break down cellulose, turning pulp into food, the ultimate lemonade from indigestible lemons.
Which doesn’t make cellulose useless, what it lacks in fuel it makes up for in fiber – Fiber is vital for our health, yet despite nearly a generation being raised reading the classic Everyone Poops, no one likes to talk about the subject - Except for when people do, they really shouldn’t and even then they should restrict their language to clinical terms.
The Europeans trade representatives recently agreed on a definition of fiber for trade purposes –
"[fiber's] carbohydrate polymers must have a degree of polymerization not lower than three (to exclude mono- and disaccharides)". And while that might seem all lawyerly and silly; especially since it took 15 years to agree on the standards but providing a clear interpretation of words that everyone can agree upon is good, whether for a dictionary or Eurocrats.
For those of us not dealing with tariffs, fiber comes in two forms, soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water and is thought to be beneficial to gut health and helps beneficial intestinal fauna – think probiotics. Cellulose is insoluble and remains intact as it passes through the digestive system – At this point, and science and understanding are forever changing, insoluble fiber is believed to bond with toxins and DNA damaging materials, removing them from the body.
For corn, the cellulose casing is what you see, but only if you look for it. While it might appear to be whole corn, in reality the edible pulp from the kernel has been digested and its fuel and nutrients have been absorbed into your body, leaving only a hollow yellow shell.
A short entry today because of the subject – to make up for the lack of words here is an article on a different kind of waste.


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