Problems With Corn ?

[MichLab]

I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease about 6 years ago and if have lived a 100 percent gluten free life ever since. I read labels, I am careful about cross-contamination issues; I check my medicines and beauty products. I am so careful about watching out for gluten.  Over the past 6 months or so I have become super sick to the point where I throw up.  Once I finish throwing up I feel perfect.  I think I have narrowed it down to corn.  I have eliminated corn from my diet and I feel much better.  Is this possible to become sensitive to corn after eating it and enjoying it for so many years?  Any way - I have become extremely depressed because as we all know a lot of gluten free food is made with corn (pasta, crackers, cookies, bread..).  That is fine for when I am at home but how do I go out to eat now with out getting sick.  Asking a server to handle gluten is one thing and adding corn onto the mix is another.  Also, any ideas for snacks? I am so tired of fruit and I am trying to find something healthy that won't add on the pounds. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated.  I feel like I am never going to eat anywhere but home again.

[bartfull]

Well, my intolerance to corn came on about two or three weeks after going gluten-free, but intolerances CAN happen to anybody at any time. Corn makes me sicker than gluten does, and yes, it is in EVERYTHING.

 

EXCEPT - Canyon Bakehouse bread, Against the Grain Products, Hagen Daz ice creams (Some of them at least - check the labels.) Blue Bunny All Natural vanilla ice cream, Kettle Brand potato chips, Planter's nuts, Mulay's sausage (did you know that almost every brand of sausage in the grocery store has CORN SYRUP??!!), King Arthur gluten-free flour, Uncle Ben's rice (yes, some rices are "polished" with corn starch) and other things I can't think of right now.

 

As for snacks, well, if it isn't fruit, it is probably fattening, so I snack on the above but try to keep the portions small.

 

Be aware that almost every pill and capsule (and most liquid) medication and supplement has corn. You can't buy bagged salads anymore because they use a vegetable wash made with corn. Almost every citric acid you will find in foods is from corn. Caramel coloring is from corn. Just about every sweet tasting thing on the market is sweetened with corn syrup nowadays. And a lot of things that AREN'T sweet (like the sausage) have it too. If they don't have corn syrup, they have maltodextrin and that is corn too.

 

The trouble is, corn doesn't have to be identified on the label if it is used in processing so it's a lot harder to avoid. You end up calling and emailing company after company and half the time they tell you that even if they aren't using corn today, their sources of ingredients change depending on availability and price, so they can't guarantee it is corn-free.

 

I'll come back with some links for you to help you navigate this nightmare which is SO much harder than avoiding gluten.

 

But in the meantime, most of your whole foods are corn-free, and that list of corn-free snacks above should help. With the King Arthur flour you can make pancakes and waffles and biscuits and cakes and cookies and whatever. I've been doing this for 2 1/2 years now and although it isn't easy, if I can pull it off, anyone can.

[bartfull]

OK, check out these websites. Try not to let it overwhelm you. Remember, most whole foods are OK so you're not going to starve. And although I hardly ever eat in restaurants, I DID eat at Outback once and explained to the waiter that I couldn't have gluten OR corn. He talked to the chef and came back and showed me the items on the gluten-free menu that were also corn-free. I had steak and shrimp and a veggie (skipped the salad in case they used beggie wash), and I did not get sick. So it CAN be done.

 

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[bartfull]

Oh yeah, some of these corn websites say coffee can be a problem, but I drink Folgers every day, and Dunkin Donuts coffee when it goes on sale, and I have had no problems. THANK GOD!!!!!

 

And you CAN find some cookies and crackers in the health food store that are corn-free. Go to Pamela's website and they actually list the stuff they sell that is corn-free. You can get rice crackers that usually have just rice and salt, and they're really good (I used to eat them before celiac or corn intolerance.) And who needs pasta when you've got rice? Try your sauce and meatballs on rice and I promise you'll like it!

[MichLab]

Oh yeah, some of these corn websites say coffee can be a problem, but I drink Folgers every day, and Dunkin Donuts coffee when it goes on sale, and I have had no problems. THANK GOD!!!!!

OMG - Thank you. This has been so helpful. I appreciate the time you took to give me all this information.  Can I ask - do you find that besides from stomach issues you develop other issues when you ingest corn? Such as fatigue or mood swings?  Thanks again!!

[bartfull]

You are more than welcome!

 

The last time I had corn (I tried a vitamin C that didn't SAY it was from citric acid so I thought it MIGHT be rose hips), I literally thought I was going to die. Screaming D followed by a drop in my core body temperature and muscle spasms that almost felt like seizures. For the next several days I was totally wiped out. Could barely get out of bed and could barely keep my eyes open. I just wanted to lie down. I couldn't call what I had mood swings because there WAS no up mood, just three or four days of "GROAN!"

[bartfull]

Oh yeah, I forgot something really important! You remember all the uproar about BPA's in plastic? It was in the clear plastics like individual servings of water come in and the plastic linings in food cans. Well, a lot of companies have now replaced that with a corn-based plastic. I really did get sick one time from bottled water! (The cloudy plastic that most gallons of water come in are safe.) I even checked out how this stuff was made and the protein is not processed out. As a matter of fact, the protein is what they use to make it.

 

And speaking of gallon jugs, milk is vitaminD fortified and corn is the "carrier". Most things that are vitamin fortified have corn in them. You would have to check with each company to be sure, but I just avoid anything that is vitamin fortified. I have FINALLY managed to find a mult-vitamin that is gluten-free, corn-free and soy-free. Lifetime iron-free softgels.

 

Now, they say that the protein has been processed out of corn STARCH, and although it gave me problems at first, I eventually got to the point where I could tolerate it. Then I got glutened and lost it again for a while. But I got it back again and as long as I go easy on it, it seems to be OK.

[BethM55]

Regarding corn issues, I wonder if it makes a difference if the corn genetically modified or not?  I've spoken to people (not necessarily celiac or gluten intolerant) who can tolerate non-GMO corn, but get very sick from GMO corn.  Any thoughts or experiences with this?

[bartfull]

Because corn is pollenated through the air and the wind can blow the pollen for miles and miles, I think it is likely that there is very little NON GMO corn left in this country.

[ncdave]

Would you know of any gluten an corn free meds I can take for, pain, gas, nerves?  I take pantoprazole sub for protonix daily for my stomach, it works so so. It does not really help with gas pain. It is also the only pill I know of that does not contain corn or gluten. When I go to the er I will not even let them give me a pain shot, because there is nothing they can send me home with for pain that does not make me sick. I am afraid one day I will really need something for pain an do not know what I could do beside be really sick just to take something for pain. Things like greens an squash do not make me sick, but they give me gas so bad there just not worth the pain, (bloated stomach pain) After quitting smoking some days I really could use something for nerves but have no idea what I would be able to  take. Any help would be much appericated. I am thinking about going to a celiac Dr just to see what they would recommend. 

[BelleVie]

Oh yeah, some of these corn websites say coffee can be a problem, but I drink Folgers every day, and Dunkin Donuts coffee when it goes on sale, and I have had no problems. THANK GOD!!!!!

 

Bartfull, I am so glad to hear that because I've been really "off" in the past week, and have been afraid that it's because of my coffee!! Glad to know that lots of other people can do coffee with no problems.  

[bartfull]

NCDave, I hate to tell you this but as far as I know, the only way to be safe from corn is to have your meds made at a compounding pharmacy. I get a bottle of 120 capsules of Tylenol (325 mg.) for about 37 dollars. Yeah. Ridiculously expensive. I use them sparingly which is not a bad thing because they aren't good for the liver. I would get asperin instead if I weren't allergic to it.

 

One thing you could try though is the health food store. They might have something you can take, and if you go when they're not busy they will probably be able to help you find something.

 

I have also heard that for pain you can use roasted sesame seeds ground up into a powder. I think you need to take a large dose and that it builds up in your system so it won't be good for something like a headace, but if you have chronic pain it might help.

 

For anxiety, how about good old chamomile tea? Of course you will need to get loose tea instead of bags (corn starch in the bags).