Why doesn’t corn fully digest?
Usually because it’s not chewed thoroughly.
This has been covered, IIRC.
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mangeorge
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Mangeorge, 2000
Well, we had a similar question a few weeks ago: just how recyclable is corn?, but it did not really address why corn hulls are not digestable.
At a guess, I would say that it is simply a matter of survival for the plant’s seed. Most seeds (grains or nuts) that are not buried inside a protective fruit are made to withstand the ravages of rain, sun, and cold. Some of them, (maize and nuts), have developed a hull that so tough it is indigestible. Another common example: the bean Arachis hypogaea (aka peanut) has a non-digestible shell. Since it does not taste good and can scratch the throat, most people remove it before eating.
Tom~
Since we eat the seeds of corn, it seems to make sense that the plants would evolve a mechanism which would allow the seed to survive ingestion so they could be propagated through animals eating and defecating them.
I don’t know, but i do know this… Something funny to do to telemarketers when they call you is, as they are talking walk to the bathroom and announce loudly “SAYYY, i don’t remember eating corn!” and then flush the toilet. Usually they hang up. Hehehehe, anyways… 
</hijack>
God WAS my co-pilot, but we crashed in the mountains and i had to eat him.
The tough shells. The digestive system will not easily digest everything we throw into it. Certain seeds, like corn, but mainly like those covered in a jelly are designed to resist our stomach acids, pass through and start to grow while surrounded by ample fertilizer. Such things like any citrus seed, tomato seeds, some grape seeds and others. We also pass through a lot of vegetable fiber which is too tough to digest. Those of you who suddenly switch from a normal diet to eating a higher daily dosage of fresh or canned vegetable might suddenly find yourselves with loose bowels for a day or so as the additional fiber flushes you out. Then your system gets used to it, but still does not consume it all.
Like most nuts. You can chew them into a pulp, but a few hours later, small fragments of them will appear, undigested, in your stool. Same with some tomato skins.
Wanna prove it? If you have a juicer, save the pulp from carrots, celery, and any green vegetable. Mix it in with chicken broth and gulp it down. (Doesn’t taste bad.) A few hours later – into the can you go! You can admire the results from a distance and observe what has not been digested. (Do that with about a handful of compressed carrot pulp and watch the color change later.)
Want to grow citrus from a seed? Take the seed or seeds and roll them around in your mouth for a bit until most of the jelly is gone. Rinse them in warm water, pat dry and plant. Some will grow. (So if you want to grow some of those expensive hybred oranges, now you know how.)
Corn is a pretty tough seed. It can survive a trip through a cow.Three stomachs. That is why a lot of farmers feed cracked corn.
The outer coating on the corn kernel is called corn bran, if that’s any help.
*justwannano: Corn is a pretty tough seed. It can survive a trip through a cow.Three stomachs. That is why a lot of farmers feed cracked corn. *
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'Why doesn’t corn fully digest?"
How do you know that? You mean humans? Or animals? Canines can’t process it either.
In humans it may be so we can check how our colon works?
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