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Fresh corn is considered a widely accetable paleo food (in moderation). Grits are just ground corn/maize. Since you cook both, why are grits frowned upon?

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 Two kinds: Hominy grits are soaked in a weak lye solution first. Plain old regular grits are just dried corn. There would have to be label reading, some brands actually put a little wheat flour in there, but they're about as simple as you can get. Corn. Dried. Ground. They fall into that "gray" Paleo area so it's just going to be a decision you make to eat them or not. I've read that strict Paleo peeps sub cauliflower or celery root. Also, not a whole lot of nutrition there - some carbs and fiber, a little protein and iron. – jesuisjuba - paleorepublic.com Oct 15 2011 at 0:12
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 +1 for starting this thread because I had NO idea anyone thought corn was paleo. I know Robb Wolf eats a corn tortilla here and there but I didn't realize that made corn paleo. This is truly fascinating. – Shari Bambino Oct 16 2011 at 1:05
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 "Corn" is not paleo and eating a tortilla every now and then isn't going to kill you. – Bill1102inf Dec 28 2011 at 21:33

8 Answers

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Who said corn is ok? Corn is a grain...a GMO grain at that thanks to good ol' Monsanto.

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 Does that make it optimal or healthy? So its his particular vice...that is fine. Your aloud to have them, but I don't see him including corn in his recommendations. – JayJay Oct 15 2011 at 0:21
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 No but it probably confuses people like the OP – cliff Oct 15 2011 at 0:31
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 I miss grits sometimes. I used to love mine with over easy eggs, butter, and cheese mixed in. – vdh1979 Oct 15 2011 at 1:04
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 I used to think I loved grits, until I realized I just loved the tons of butter I put on them to make them taste good. Now that I'm Paleo I can just eat the butter. :D – January Oct 15 2011 at 2:55
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 Who says eating corn occasionally isn't ok? This isn't a religion, it's a diet. – Matt Oct 15 2011 at 13:02
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Holy fucking hell! My occasional taco foray makes corn "paleo"?? C'mon folks, you can do better than this.

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 Welcome to Paleohacks, Robb! Side note: If you find yourself facing a looming taco/margarita fest, do you ever incorporate hacks like these? Be careful what you say, as people empirically misconstrue...highbrowpaleo.wordpress.com/2011/12/26/… – Kamal♦ Dec 28 2011 at 20:25
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 Finally! The voice of reason. You are never going to live those corn tortillas down. – Shari Bambino Dec 28 2011 at 23:01
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 Heh. You're Mr Paleo, Robb. Whatever you do, is Paleo. By the way, which brand of toilet paper do you use? – Paul Jaminet Dec 28 2011 at 23:17
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 Paul- I'm like Kim Jong IL, I don't defecate. Or at least he did not while alive...huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/19/… Kamal-I honestly detest the term "hack", there are no shortcuts in life, just smarter and dumber ways of doing things. When I'm going to get drunk I want the full aftereffects. Call it Hormetic Memory, if you will. – Robb Wolf Dec 29 2011 at 0:45
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 That's one reason why getting drunk is so interesting. Creates hormetic memories while destroying other memories. – Kamal♦ Dec 29 2011 at 3:15
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From Mark's Daily Apple:

Corn is Not a Vegetable http://www.marksdailyapple.com/corn-is-not-a-vegetable/

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Corn is only palatable in chip form with mucho guacamole covering it. Otherwise, I'll pass.

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Arguably, most corn chips are worse, because not only are they made out of corn, but most every brand is cooked in an oil that's "not paleo". Tasty with guac, though, true. – WyldKard Oct 17 2011 at 13:06
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 I think I've eaten about 5 chips this year. Not my thing. I'd rather use beef as a vehicle for my guac. – Tom R. Oct 17 2011 at 13:15
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Robb Wolf eats corn tortillas because (as he said in his podcast) that after adding them back in they didn't not present a problem to him in terms of digestion and other issues.

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 ok. i get this thought process, but just because robb wolf does does something doesn't mean it can be immediately applicable to everyone. maybe his genetic variation allows him to digest corn with little problems while someone else may have huge difficulty. what the paleo "gurus" eat isn't a universal template. – mloster Oct 15 2011 at 8:41
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 +1 for not following the gurus blindly. – January Oct 16 2011 at 0:38
Wheat doesn't cause problems for lots of people untl years later. Neither oes sugar or cigarette smoke. – AdrianaG Oct 16 2011 at 21:20
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 Robb also uses the corn tortillas as a cheat (on the weekend if he feels so inclined, or when out at a casual dinner with friends, that sort of thing). He never says they are a staple of his diet. – Craig Nov 7 2011 at 22:32
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In the grand scheme of paleo-ness, corn isn't too bad. On the scale of grains that can screw you up (wheat at the high end, rice at the low end), corn is definitely a closer to rice than wheat. Of course, N=1 and YMMV… If you can fit in a moderate amount of corn without issue, go right ahead. Don't worry about "paleo purity points", contrary to popular belief you don't get a gold star from Robb Wolf or Mark Sisson when you earn 1000 PPP.

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N=1 and YMMV - please explain? – andrew Oct 15 2011 at 18:45
N=1 means only you can determine what works for you via self-experimentation. I think YMMV means "your mileage may vary" but don't hold me to that one... – Tom R. Oct 15 2011 at 20:22
Correct on both. In other words, you have to figure out if it's going to work for you because there's no one-size-fits-all answer. – Matt Oct 16 2011 at 0:34
N=1 is also used as shorthand for "the plural of anecdote is not data;" i.e. that which works for you is not necessarily applicable to everyone. – air_hadoken Nov 7 2011 at 23:01
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Corn is only a vehicle for butter. Same goes for grits.

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Corn? No thanks. most of the stuff sold in the US is GMO corn, which supposedly can lead to organ failure.

It may well be that most people don't show immediate symptoms, and after all, we're all grown ups here, so if you want to eat that stuff, go right ahead. Me, I'll stay away from it.

I'll stick to my somewhat non-paleo cheats: chocolate, tequila, single malt scotches, and bacon instead.

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