The Dangers of Cornstarch - Alternatives to Cornstarch - Uses of Cornstarch for Hair

Cornstarch or refined cornflour is a thickening agent often used in soup stock and used in deep frying to create a crunchy mouth-delectable outer layer. You can see from its white color that it is highly refined - and highly refined foods are stripped bare of any nutritional value, thus making your body crave 'normal' foods to fulfill your daily nutritional requirement. In small portions at a time, of course, cornstarch used in food will not affect you drastically. But in large quantities, as with everything, cornflour can pose some hazards.

Those looking to reach their ideal weight should definitely go easy on foods containing cornstarch as mentioned above. Cornflour is full of calories and yet has no fiber, protein or any other nutrient and thus makes it a major weight reduction barrier, just like refined sugar.

Believe it or not, some people have regular irrational cravings for cornflour. It was actually discovered in a recent medical journal that craving peculiar substances like soil, laundry starch, cornflour, talc and clay is most likely due to nutritional deficiencies such as lack of iron or zinc. If you suspect such a case, consult your health worker for blood checks and supplements to balance the deficiency.

Adding to the above, GM corn is actually being developed for fuel instead of food. Why would anyone want to add such a food to their daily diet? It's because cornflour is an absolute wonder when it comes to thickening soups without making them sticky and gluey, and forming a crunchy outer layer for fried foods like chicken manchurian. Yum! However, now knowing that we should greatly reduce the intake of cornflour, here are some healthy alternatives to use in your cooking;

• Substitute 1 table spoon of cornflour with 2 table spoons of all-purpose flour or

• 1 table spoon of potato flour (Yum!) or

• 1 table spoon rice flour.

So what are you waiting for? Replace cornflour for healthier alternatives and you're one step closer to living a healthier life!

Now you might be wondering what your going to do with that packet of cornflour sitting on your shelf. Before we go any further, here's a fun fact you might want to know about cornflour is that when suspended in air, with the right amount of oxygen, you can actually create an explosion. Of course, you'd need a truck load of cornflour to create an explosion so there's no need to be worried about the little packet of cornstarch sitting in your kitchen. But still, knowing that the stuff is capable of even exploding should raise questions - do you really want to consume such a food? Highly refined cornflour - should it even qualify as a food?

Perhaps you won't get the creamy yet non-sticky texture of cornflour, but sure enough it's healthier! Considering that health is your greatest wealth, doing away with cornstarch is a wise decision.
So what are you going to do with the cornflour sitting in your kitchen? Cornflour actually has a good number of uses outside cooking! Here a few;

• Great for providing relief for itches. Make a thin paste using cornflour and water and apply it generously on the itch/bite spot. Leave it on until it dries.
• It is a great stain remover. Use it on blood stains by creating a fairly thick paste and rubbing it on the stain, and voila, the stain will be greatly reduced if not all gone!
• Dry shampoo for oil hair. To be used as a dry shampoo, take a small amount of cornstarch and massage it onto your scalp, close to the roots of your hair. Do not use too much, or it might look like dandruff. Before you take a shower, you can also run the dry powder through your hair, and brush it through with a comb. If your hair is extremely tangled, spare the pain and sprinkle some cornstarch powder on your tangles; they should come undone with ease and less pain than forcing a comb through them. Then rinse thoroughly to remove any traces.