Needing Help From Anyone With Corn Problems :(

[livelifelarge24]

Hi everyone! I haven't been on here in a long time. Three years of being gluten free and doing well other than this chronic, ongoing awful pelvic pain. It gets much worse at times and a little better at other times. It took me until about a year ago to realize I am sensitive to corn and when I cut out corn chips and corn tortillas and anythign made with flour I had remarkable improvement. I am still miserable off and on though and I am wondering just HOW much I need to avoid corn. For example I still drink sodas and those have HFCS and carmel coloring. I know for a hard fact that I can't have a whole list of candies and I have researched them and found that all of them have corn syrup as the first ingrediend. I react very badly to all of those (marshmallows, starburst, tootsie rolls, etc). So I have cut all of those things out of my diet but I do still have the pelvic pain and pain with BMs so I'm wondering for those who have issues with corn, do you avoid HFCS and corn starch?Baking powder? What about xanthan gum? I know all of these things are garbage anyway and as of today am starting back on an eliminatiion diet of corn products this time but its SO overwhelming as it seems that corn is in EVERYTHING. I am just hoping someone can give me some insight or personal experience. I experimented two days ago and ate a handful of corn chips and I'm paying for it so badly ever since. Excruciating pain and been on the toilet all day. I will never do that again and I"m so determined to figure this thing out once and for all! 

 

Also, I've done quite a bit of research today on GMO corn and HFCS and its health dangers, I'm just still a bit confused and I think more wanting to hear from anyone that has similar problems that can tell me I'm not crazy, it will get better and definitely avoid these certain ingredients (which are?)

 

Thank you!

[bartfull]

I avoided all corn at first. It is difficult because corn is not one of the top 8 allergens so the label doesn't have to list it if it is not an actual ingredient but was USED IN PROCESSING. That means bagged salads are out because they are washed in a "citrus" wash that is made with corn. As a matter of fact, just about anything with "ascorbic acid" that you find in the grocery store is from corn, not citrus fruit.

 

After I had been off all corn for a while I got to the point where I could tolerate corn starch. There is no corn protein in corn starch. That makes life SO much easier because just about any medication you can find has corn starch as the filler. Now, instead of paying $37 for a small bottle of Tylenol from the compounding pharmacy, I can buy the store brand at Family Dollar for $2.

 

So if you want to avoid all corn for a while you need to stick to whole foods. That means meat, veggies (but none of the "ready to eat veggies), Uncle Ben's rice (No corn used in processing), potatoes, and there are some snacks available without corn. Blue Bunny ALL NATURAL vanilla ice cream or Hagen Daz, Boulder Canyon potato chips or other health food store brands (read the label), and for bread I use Canyon Bakehouse - no corn whatsoever. If you need more help shoot me a PM.

[livelifelarge24]

Thank you so much for the reply. I figured I would start the elimination diet again the same way I did when cutting out gluten. It's just overwhemling because corn is EVERYWHERE and all I can really find online is info on actual corn allergies which is not what I'm dealing with  (at least I don't think). When researching corn allergies I see info about corn starch and other things being ok because they don't have the protein in them but I have no idea if the protein is what causes me the problem or not so I assume I just need to cut it ALL including vinegar, caramel coloring, and ascorbic acid (I had no idea!) and then if I get to feeling better try one thing at a time. It's just so hard not to feel depressed, my diet is already so limited as it is. 

[bartfull]

Yeah, it's really hard. A food journal is a great idea. The corn allergy sites are still full of information on where to find hidden corn and there are quite a few people on them who have intolerances instead of allergies. For me, the protein is the problem. That's why corn starch is OK. But those clear plastic bottles you get individual servings of water in make me sick because they are made with corn protein! And I know ascorbic acid does me in because the last corn exposure I had was to a vitamin C capsule and I truly thought I was going to die.

 

If there is a Shopko near you you can get vitamins though. They have a line called "Shopko Naturals" that contain no gluten, corn, soy, yeast, sugar, dairy, sugar, salt, artificial flavorings or colorings. Maybe you could even order tham from their website. I stock up when they have buy one get one free sales (which they do fairly frequently), and wind up paying about $3.50 for a bottle of 60. Vitamins are really important for folks like us who are on such limited diets.

[livelifelarge24]

Holy cow! Plastic water bottles?! I am looking for info on that now and it looks like coco-cola/dasani use those for sure. I drink out of those all day every day. I switched to BPA free reusable bottles last summer and saw a huge improvement in my problems but that was becuase a doctor had recommended that for hormonal issues. When I moved I didn't transfer my water service and have been drinking out of these things again for 6 months now. 

[kareng]

  On 7/22/2014 at 8:37 PM, livelifelarge24 said:

. When I moved I didn't transfer my water service and have been drinking out of these things again for 6 months now. 

 

 

You have no water at your house?  I think that might cause some health issues you should address before worrying about corn in plastic.     

[livelifelarge24]

  On 7/22/2014 at 9:44 PM, kareng said:

You have no water at your house?  I think that might cause some health issues you should address before worrying about corn in plastic.     

Obviously I have water. I drink about a gallon a day. I did not transfer my Alhambra service from my house and am drinking water bottles instead - the portable sized Dasani and such. 

[kareng]

  On 7/22/2014 at 9:49 PM, livelifelarge24 said:

Obviously I have water. I drink about a gallon a day. I did not transfer my Alhambra service from my house and am drinking water bottles instead - the portable sized Dasani and such.

Oh. That makes sense. Couldn't imagine living without any water- could shower at the gym, drink bottles water, wash clothes at the laundry, but toilets and hand washing?

On a serious note - some people do have a problem with corn. But most don't have to go to the extremes Barty does - plastic bottles, a smidge of cornstarch in a pill, etc. maybe just start with the big obvious corn foods and see if that helps?

[livelifelarge24]

That's what brought me to this point - I eliminated the big obvious things a year ago and had immediate relief in symtoms but definitely not complete relief at all. I am still plagued with the symptoms that I know get MUCH worse if I ingest a blatant corn product but I don't know how sensitive I am or really where to start. 

[seejenrun]

My son is gluten free and also allergic to corn, potatoes, citric acid and cirtrus fruit among other things. He avoids most packaged foods and gets by on meat, cheese, fruit and veges that agree with him. We use rice flour instead of cornstarch in cooking. Also, we use USA made aluminum bottles for our water. No plastic and no 'made in China' bottles. Good luck.

[livelifelarge24]

Thank you seejenrun. It must be hard to care for a kid with multiple food allergies. I have a hard enough time dealing with my own! I can't have eggs or nuts or pepper and it really depends on the day whether I can tolerate dairy or not. Frustrating but I'm still deteremined to get it all figured out!

[bartfull]

The cloudy plastic that gallons of water (and milk) come in do NOT contain corn. They are cheaper too.

[seejenrun]

Livelifelarge24 I'm so sorry that dairy doesn't always agree with you. Whole milk has been one thing that has helped my son keep any weight on. Sometimes my son has eaten about 6 or 8 foods for months since those are the only 'safe' foods. It takes so much time to figure it out.

[livelifelarge24]

  On 7/22/2014 at 11:04 PM, seejenrun said:

Livelifelarge24 I'm so sorry that dairy doesn't always agree with you. Whole milk has been one thing that has helped my son keep any weight on. Sometimhees my son has eaten about 6 or 8 foods for months since those are the only 'safe' foods. It takes so much time to figure it out.

That's where I'm at too! It's very hard for me to keep weight on. 

[livelifelarge24]

  On 7/22/2014 at 11:03 PM, bartfull said:

The cloudy plastic that gallons of water (and milk) come in do NOT contain corn. They are cheaper too.

That is what I will switch to until I can figure out a solution.

[livelifelarge24]

  On 7/22/2014 at 7:54 PM, bartfull said:

Yeah, it's really hard. A food journal is a great idea. The corn allergy sites are still full of information on where to find hidden corn and there are quite a few people on them who have intolerances instead of allergies. For me, the protein is the problem. That's why corn starch is OK. But those clear plastic bottles you get individual servings of water in make me sick because they are made with corn protein! And I know ascorbic acid does me in because the last corn exposure I had was to a vitamin C capsule and I truly thought I was going to die.

 

If there is a Shopko near you you can get vitamins though. They have a line called "Shopko Naturals" that contain no gluten, corn, soy, yeast, sugar, dairy, sugar, salt, artificial flavorings or colorings. Maybe you could even order tham from their website. I stock up when they have buy one get one free sales (which they do fairly frequently), and wind up paying about $3.50 for a bottle of 60. Vitamins are really important for folks like us who are on such limited diets.

Bartfull the main question I have I think is what is really the difference between corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup? I have googled it but don't really understand the answers. I KNOW that I cannot have corn syrup. But I still drink sodas and I don't know if the HFCS has more or less corn derivitive than regular corn syrup? I know the caramel color is bad too but I'm seriously addicted to caffeine and until I work it out I am curious how much the HFCS is affecting me. 

[bartfull]

I don't know. I have avoided HFCS for years, long before I developed the corn intolerance. I saw a TED Talk a long time ago where a scientist explained that the body can't process the stuff. It's really bad for us (according to him). I believe it. I know an elderly lady who was really really sick until she cut it out.

 

If you need caffeine, how about coffee or tea? Hot or iced, you'd still be getting the lift. I personally drink LOTS of coffee. Partly for the caffeine, but mostly for the taste. And if I happen to go anywhere at night, I drink defaf because everything else has corn!

[1desperateladysaved]

If you have drunk a lot of high fructose corn syrup; I would watch out for diabetes!  Have you been checked for that?