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Why is popcorn not the same classification as corn?

The USDA in the dietary guidelines for Americans defines popcorn as a whole grain and corn as a starchy vegetable. I’m confused on why there is a difference, are they not the same part of the same plant, just with different water content? What makes them different?

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Answer

On top of everything listed here, popcorn is often cooked in heaps of oil and butter too !

And a serving of popcorn, because of the air content, is much less nutritionally dense than normal corn

A normal serving of corn is approximately 73g or 1/2 cup. A single serving bag of popcorn is 13g or 1/10 of a cup.

So something that provides little calories, carbs, protein, fats and sodium in a serving is not seen as equivalently healthy because food is healthy when it’s nutritious. If we ate 5 single serve bags of popcorn in a sitting and that was a serving size, it might be seen by the authority as quite nutritious.

BY SERVING SIZECobs Natural Sea Salt Popcorn

USDA Corn Nutrients 1/2 cup

PER 100gPopcorn

Corn

So popcorn is much more nutritious per 100g, but per serving size, it’s less nutritious than corn kernels

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