Gwyneth Paltrow is Giving Up Corn – But Why?

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Gwyneth Paltrow is going on a New Year’s cleanse. The actress detailed her 2016 detox in a post on Goop.com, and it looks like pretty standard strict cleanse stuff: No gluten, dairy, caffeine, added sugar, red meat, shellfish, white rice, and…corn.

What?

While the post said that some people might experience dry heaving from caffeine withdrawal (seriously), it didn’t explain why corn — a seemingly healthy vegetable — should be avoided.

But this isn’t the first detox to swear off corn. The Be Well cleanse by Frank Lipman, MD, recommends that you steer clear of the stuff, as does Clean from Alejandro Junger, MD.

Related: Does a Detox Diet Really Cleanse Anything?

“Corn gets an unfairly deserved bad rap,” she says. “Even though it’s pretty rare to be allergic to corn, rumors abound that it’s highly allergenic so many detoxes ban it,” registered dietitian-nutritionist Karen Ansel, co-author of The Calendar Diet: A Month by Month Guide to Losing Weight While Living Your Life, tells Yahoo Health.

One ear of corn gives you about three grams of fiber, she points out, and is full of antioxidants like zeaxanthin and lutein, the latter of which is good for vision. Corn is also low to moderate on the glycemic index scale overall, but is high for a vegetable.

Related: How To Do a Sugar Detox (Without Going Crazy)

While corn is a gluten-free food, New York City registered dietitian Jessica Cording tells Yahoo Health that some people who have a gluten intolerance may also have a sensitivity to corn: “Sometimes they go hand-in-hand.”

On Dr. Lipman’s website, it’s noted that “corn is a higher glycemic index vegetable, meaning it readily converts to sugar in the body. We know that any foods rapidly converting to sugar will cause an insulin response and can contribute to inflammation,” which is one reason they suggest skipping corn during a cleanse.

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Of course, like with most healthy foods, the way you prepare it makes a big difference in its overall nutritional value. Ansel recommends taking a pass on loading up your corn with butter or cheese, and avoiding some corn byproducts like high fructose corn syrup.

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