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Old 07-03-2011, 10:31 PM   #1  
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Default Any one eat corn silk, drink corn silk tea or have any other corn silk recipes?

I bought some sweet corn about a week ago, and while I was peeling them, I wondered whether the corn silk was edible. It was just a random thought, and I threw the husks and silk into the trash before I thought of trying to eat it myself.

I went online and found that some people do eat cornsilk, but generally in small quantities (chopped and added to a salad, for example, or made into tea) because it's supposedly extremely high in Vitamin K and a powerful diuretic (I'm currently retaining several pounds of water with TOM, so a diuretic wouldn't necessarily be all that bad, but of course too much of anything can be bad).

I couldn't find any recipes or clear cut answers regarding "how much is too much," just a generic warning that it's not something to eat in large quantities (without defining what would be a large quantity).

So I was wondering, does anyone here eat cornsilk or make cornsilk tea, and if so what is your experience with it. How much do you consider a reasonable amount, and has anyone had any ill effects from eating or drinking "too much."

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Old 07-04-2011, 06:31 PM   #2  
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Well, last night for dinner I had two ears of sweet corn, and a salad with mixed greens, blue cheese, a homemade dressing and the chopped cornsilk.

I really enjoyed the salad, and I think it may actually have helped with the TOM water retention. I'll have to experiment again next month, maybe earlier in TOM to be sure. I gain a lot of weight during TOM, at least 6-8 lbs, sometimes as much as 10 (I don't change my ticker, because it's gained and lost within 10 days at the most.) Usually after I gain the water weight (usually within a 2 day period), the weight starts coming off 1/2 to 3/4 lb per day until it's all gone.

I also weigh myself morning and night. My morning weight is almost always about two pounds lighter than my before-bed weight. 2.5 lbs down is something to really celebrate, and 3 lbs is great, but rare.

This morning I was down 3.5 lbs from last night. I don't know that it's a record, but it is unusual.

I know it doesn't really matter in the long-run for weight loss, but it would be really nice to have more control over TOM water weight gain. It's not just the weight, it's also the bloated feeling and the puffy face and hands that I hate. I've read that cornsilk tea has often been used as an herbal remedy for menstrual cramps and water retention, so I'm going to give it a try (I found a recipe for cornsilk tea on youtube using the silk from two ears of sweetcorn).

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Old 07-04-2011, 07:20 PM   #3  
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Hmmm, I'm interested in this too. I really do retain a lot of water around TOM also plus I'm a salt fanatic. Can you post the tea recipe?
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Old 07-04-2011, 11:09 PM   #4  
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The woman on youtube used the silk from two average-sized ears of corn (just peeled it off and put it in a saucepan with 1.5 cups of water) and simmered for 10 minutes. She said that amounts weren't vital, you could use more water or less, more simmering time or less. After simmering, she strained the cornsilk out of the tea. She said it tasted like corn, but there's almost no color at all (on the youtube video, it looked like plain water, at least to me - but I'm also colorblind).

Since I put mine in a salad, I used kitchen shears to cut up the cornsilk from two ears of corn into half inch lengths, and just topped my lettuce salad with it. I flossed and used my waterpik afterward, because I had read that the cornsilk is acidic enough to damage tooth enamel if it stays between your teeth (I only read this in one article, so I'm not so sure this is true or not - but with the tea it's not an issue, because the silk is strained out).

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Old 07-04-2011, 11:16 PM   #5  
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That's very interesting. I never even thought about ingesting the corn silk. I'm going to try it next time we have corn.
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Old 07-05-2011, 02:26 AM   #6  
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The more I read, the more interested I am. In herbal medicine, cornsilk tea has been used to treat just about everything it seems, including water retention, bladder problems, menstrual cramps, PMS, bedwetting, prostate problems, obesity and diabetes.

I'm really suspicious of anything that has the reputation of a cure-all, but it does seem to be helping as a diuretic (I've dropped more water weight today than I usually would. I seem to be about three days ahead of schedule in my TOM water weight loss).

Cool beans! (Um, I guess that would be cool cornsilk).

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Old 07-17-2011, 05:16 PM   #7  
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I am hooked. Since I've been drinking cornsilk tea, my weight hasn't been fluctuating nearly as much. I've also started losing again after several months of stall (only 2 lbs so far, so it's too soon to decide that the tea gets the credit. I'm also more active in the summer, so that has to be factored in as well).

But what I really love best is that it's the first "tea" I've ever had that I didn't feel the need to sweeten. It's sweet enough on it's own. I've been drinking it hot, but I made an extra batch today, to put in the fridge for iced tea tomorrow.

One snag - I don't eat enough corn to justify buying the corn for the silk. From what I've read, eating the silk should be done in limited quantities because of the Vitamin K, but the tea apparently has no unwanted side effects (unless you consider having to go to the bathroom more often an unwanted side effect).

From what I've read, I should be able to find cornsilk teabags in the asian groceries. I just have to be careful to check the ingredients to be sure it contains only cornsilk and not a blend of ingredients (or that I'm ok with the particular blend).
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Old 07-18-2011, 07:54 PM   #8  
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Kaplods, I googled and found this listing on amazon. Can't post the link, but if you search for "Cornsilk, Green, Cut & Sifted, 1 lb. - Bulk" you will come up with what I found. It's $11.49 per pound and apparently there are 383 servings per pound! You use it to make tea. I am going to investigate. You say there are no serving restrictions on tea, only on the actual silk itself?
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Old 07-18-2011, 11:05 PM   #9  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mmckellen View Post
You say there are no serving restrictions on tea, only on the actual silk itself?
That's what I've read so far, but I'm always cautious with any new herbal tea.

I always start with one cup, and if that doesn't bother me, I'll gradually increase over time.

If it's an herb I can't find a lot of info on, I'll ask about it where I buy it (one of the local asian groceries has an herbalist in the family and I've always gotten very good advice and sometimes testimonials).
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Old 07-19-2011, 05:45 PM   #10  
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OK, you got me. I bought an ear of corn for my son's dinner and I'm going to make tea from the silk. I added a ginger tea bag too, but this shouldn't really affect the action of the cornsilk, should it? Anyway, I am retaining water since today is first day of tom, so let's see what happens tomorrow on the scale...
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