Corn Elimination Diet - How Strict? Derived Ingredients?

[sreese68]

I've been gluten-free almost 4 years.  Never cheat.  I just saw a new functional medicine doctor, and she suggested I eliminate corn.  Sigh.  I already have a very limited diet due to sensitivities to: nightshades, brown rice, fructose, sorbitol, mannitol, carrageenan, guar gum, and flax (seed and oil).  I avoid dairy and soy, but I'm not sure they'd still be a problem at this point.  Oh, and too much alcohol is beginning to be a problem.

 

I do eat a lot of corn - grits, pasta, cereal, etc.  I can figure out a way to replace the foods.  What I'm concerned about is eliminating the supplements that have ingredients derived from corn (like fermented corn dextrose). My B vitamin complex has this for instance.  I have some vitamin B deficiencies (nerve problems, hair loss), so I'm hesitant to stop taking it for a few weeks.

 

So do I need to get rid of ALL traces of corn to find out if it's a problem?  Is some OK to leave in during an elimination diet? (supplements, salt, corn vodka).

 

My main health goals right now are to heal my leaky gut, stop the daily muscle twitches in my legs, grow hair, and get my energy levels back.  My energy is just a bit off.  My ferritin dropped, so that may be it. (Yes, I'm addressing it.  I malabsorb iron.)

[bartfull]

I was HIGHLY intolerant to corn for a few years. I know a lot of folks here with soy intolerance (I used to have that too) complain that soy is in everything but soy is EASY compared to corn. For one thing, soy is one of the big eight so it will be labeled for, but corn is not so if it is used in processing they don't consider it an ingredient so it won't be mentioned on the label.

 

Here is an example - ready to eat bagged salads and carrots. They are pre-washed in a vegetable wash made with corn. That is never mentioned on the label.

 

Another example: the lining in cans. Used to be most were made with BPA's but because those are bad for people a lot of companies are using a corn based plastic. Same thing with the crystal clear plastic used in individual servings of water. The thing is once again, not all companies will mention it on the label.

 

Yet another example: ascorbic or citric acid. You'd think they were from citrus fruits but they can get it from corn and corn is much cheaper so IS made from corn. I had a particularly bad reaction to that one time and I literally thought I was going to die.

 

Corn starch and corn oil usually don't have corn protein in them. I was even reacting to those at first though. After a while I got them back but the one and only time I got glutened in almost four years, I lost them for a while.

 

Corn dextrose as well as maltodextrin are made from corn starch so there should be no protein in them. The salt, if it is iodized might be a problem because, if I'm not mistaken, it is carried on citric acid. But you can get sea salt instead. Corn vodka is distilled so there should be no protein left in that either, but if you wanted you could buy vodka made from potatoes.

 

So if I were you I would start by only eliminating those things that have corn protein in them. If you don't see improvement within six weeks or so, try eliminating the rest of the corn.

[w8in4dave]

I am corn intolerant, soy intolerant, Lactose intolerant. I can eat cheese now but cannot drink a glass of milk. I am Low on Folic acid wich is a B9 I believe. I just don't eat much Bagged or boxed or canned except for Salads (I wash it 1st) And I also eat Rice but make sure it is Gluten free, other than that I eat fresh meat, and fresh vegetables that I wash. I also buy tea bags. I think I skip the being afraid of being Glutened , or getting Corn in me. Once in a while I will get some Beanito's Or some rice crackers, but not too much.

[MycasMommy]

I cannot do corn either. I am still reacting to corn starch... I do not know about the protein deal with it, only that it makes me violently ill. Corn Syrup is is just about everything, including corn syrup solids in Udi's products.  It almost tricked me because I thought it just CANNOT BE a gluten issue since it is UDI'S!  It took a bit of work to figure out that corn was off the menu. The only grain I can safely digest seems to be rice. Period.

 

Bartfull...  even now I did not know that about the pre packaged salads!  I was just getting sick from them and NEVER buy them anymore. HA.. Learned something new today, I did!

 

I tried corn a few weeks ago to see if I could handle it after 14 months gluten-free.. nope.. an enormous nope. I will try again in maybe 6 months though.

[cahill]

Most medications use corn/corn starch . To totally eliminate corn is nearly imposable but doable if you are extremely strict .When I eliminated corn I did not eliminate my medications and was lucky enough that I did not have to .

 

 

Bartfull is correct that soy is one of the big 8 allergens so listed on packaging EXCEPT soy oil . There is a loophole in the law that does not require that soy oil be listed as an allergen on packaging

[sreese68]

A belated thank you to everyone who posted!!!  I kept meaning to reply, but I've been caught up researching another complex health issue I'm probably going to be diagnosed with soon.  Anyway, it's taken me this long to introduce a couple of other grains (as well as some needed supplements), so that I can cut corn out.  It's only been a few days so far, and at this point, I can only cut out corn as food.  It's in too many supplements that I need for me to cut it out 100%.  I'm going to give it a couple of months and see what happens.

 

Thanks again!!