Last week, the scene was set at Spring Garden. This week we are stationed at the Ministry of Education where a fugitive of the “Corn Curl Kingdom” is being exposed.
Deshon, Chad, Reneisha, Lashama, Jaliyah and Dimitri, all primary school graduates, were near the vendor at St Thomas Secondary shouting: “You can’t be serious! You have no corn curls, you could as well pack up and go home.”
The vendor, who was a bit intimidated, offered the pre-teens fresh Barbadian golden apples and a cup of fresh soursop, but they were adamant that they wanted corn curls.
The children were very disappointed and angry as they were looking forward to displaying their orange-coloured tongues and fingers courtesy of the food colours, one of their main reasons for eating corn curls, along with the salty taste.
This was good news for Sad Sam, the head of the corn curl fugitives who was overlooked by some adults at Spring Garden. Those adults had rejected the fugitives for the angelic silent doctors that included flax seeds, sweet potatoes and celery.
The healthy gesture by the adults infuriated the corn curl fugitives, who redoubled their efforts by invading children’s lunch boxes and snack period.
As time passed, the children were totally hooked on corn curls and the other unhealthy snack fugitives. Additionally, the children were even offered these corn curls each evening by unsuspecting parents who felt corn curls were super healthy snacks.
Corn curls were fighting back.
However, a clever health-conscious mother went to the Ministry of Education and voiced her concern to the minister about an ingredient in corn curls to see if she could sway his position.
She said to him: “Mr Minister, one of the ingredients in corn curls is maltodextrin. Maltodextrin, according to Livestrong.com, is an artificial sugar that has a mild, sweet taste.
“Maltodextrin is also known as polysaccharide and manufacturers create this artificial sugar by applying acids or other enzymes to corn starch.
“The consumption of maltodextrin has similar side effects and health risks as most food additives which include allergic reactions, unexplained weight gain, bloating and flatulence.
“They warn that specific allergic reactions associated with the use of maltodextrin include rash, asthma, itching and difficulty breathing.”
The mother also encouraged the minister to address “the unhealthy foods that are being sold to our children on school premises and not only how uniforms should be worn”.
Finally, a list of healthy foods, including unsweetened fruit juices, water, fresh silent doctors and other healthy foods were emailed to principals.
• Annette Maynard-Watson is a teacher and herbal educator.
DISCLAIMER:?It is not our intention to prescribe or make specific claims for any products. Any attempts to diagnose or treat real illness should come under the direction of your health care provider.
