High Fructose Corn Syrup

[Woolygimp]

Well I'm feeling great. I don't remember my thought clarity being this good, or having this amount of energy...ever. I went from barely being able to walk from one side of my house to another, struggling to lift my arms, swollen facial skin, asthma, and just generally extremely poor health and now I feel awesome, and the only thing I changed was my diet. Today I started running again... something I haven't managed to do in nearly 8 years. I have diagnosed Sjogrens, along with Celiac disease, and my salivary function/skin/eyes felt great and were very watery, something I can't ever remember them doing. Normally I'm use to dealing with the excruciatingly dry mouth but it's been gone.

Definitely holding my breath and hoping the improvements remain.

Was gluten free for years. Didn't help.

Cut out dairy a few weeks ago, improved a lot... but relapsed immediately if I had any whatsoever.

Stopped all grains and improved again but I'd have bad days and good days and was generally inconsistent.

Took a few days of a food diary to find out what was causing the inconsistency and still causing me to feel poor. High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Apparently I'm allergic to it, along with just a couple dozen other foods, including all grains. I assumed that it was like distilled vinegar and "safe" and never really even considered that there was a possibility that I was reacting to it. I knew it was main from corn, obviously, but I didn't think that there were any residual traces of corn in it, or not enough to cause me to react.

But I was reacting to it.

It's even innocuous because a LOT of fruit beverages, especially fruit punches and even orange juice have the stuff added to them so you have to be pretty diligent with identifying it.

I have grown to absolutely loathe this country [America] and our government because of things like this. HFCS is in every food/beverage that we consume because of our unnecessary subsidies of corn and other grain crops. Beverages most other places in the world are still flavored by sugar, which while unhealthy is at least known to be safe. But NO not in America, we're going to flavor everything with corn... which is not only a low quality sweetener and tastes terrible, but is much more dangerous for you, especially those with allergies to corn, than the alternatives.

And to heck with doctors too. I was sick for eight years and they had no solutions to any of my problems. Every visit, every medication was a massive waste of time and money. Sorry, I had to rant... I'm just very upset the last 8 years of my life from 17-25, my best years, were wasted because our government doesn't give a damn about the health of its citizens. We can't even get proper gluten free labeling laws passed.

I'm not one for conspiracy theories but there's no way that nobody in a position of power, authority, or in a medical field knew about what food could do to you if you develop antibodies to it. They've been herp-derp about gluten sensitivity/celiac disease for over 80 years without ANY progress, even though it's been linked to every autoimmune disease imaginable and is probably one of the most common ailments in Americans. But no, banning stem cell research and online poker are more important.

I stopped by a local hospital to get a quick refill for a medication, sat in the waiting room from 11pm to 2am, then spent another 45 minutes in the doctor's office waiting. He walks in and says, "refill huh?" I said, "yeah" and it took him 15 seconds to scribble the Rx out and then he says, "have a good night" and walks out. I got billed for $8,500.

Sometimes I feel like we're still in the bloody stone age.

/rant off and sorry for the language.

[annegirl]

Hey, I get the frustration. I've spent 15-28 dealing with this junk. But like you, feeling great, losing weight and loving life!

If you're reacting to HFCS then you will want to be careful of xanthan gum, caramel color (you'd be surprised what it sneaks into - like balsamic vinegar) and iodized salt. They all have corn stuff that I react to really bad like HFCS.

Yay for feeling better (when I don't eat things like dairy that is )

[chasbari]

HFCS.. evil on so many levels.

Pretty outrageous bill there as well. Covered? Question it all anyway. All the more reason to question what was on that bull.. er, I mean .. bill.

[Woolygimp]

HFCS.. evil on so many levels.

Pretty outrageous bill there as well. Covered? Question it all anyway. All the more reason to question what was on that bull.. er, I mean .. bill.

I didn't have insurance at the time and was around 20 years old and remember thinking that they'd have to take me to court to get that money. I'd have paid something reasonable- and maybe $500 or so without much fuss, but not 8k. Not for a medication refill. The only bill I've torn up and refused to pay.

[jenngolightly]

I just found Sierra Mist Natural - finally! A soda that's not made with HFCS!

[Cinderella10]

I just found Sierra Mist Natural - finally! A soda that's not made with HFCS!

It's a happy thing. Also, check out (Throwback) Pepsi and (Heritage) Dr. Pepper. Both are made with sugar instead of HFCS.

[SkyRed70]

I just found Sierra Mist Natural - finally! A soda that's not made with HFCS!

I used to love that stuff! Too bad I can't have it anymore. :-( I've been allergic to corn for 2.5 months. Sierra Mist Natural does have citric acid, which is almost always from corn in the US so I have heard on another corn allergy forum. So if corn is an issue for you, be cautious. Citric acid gives me migraines, dry itchy skin, and the same feeling I get right before I get a really bad cold...post nasal drip, achy, like I've been hit by a MACK truck...blech!

[bartfull]

Holy cow! Xanthan gum is from corn? Great, NOW what do I use for baking my gluten free, corn free, taste free bread?!

[annegirl]

Holy cow! Xanthan gum is from corn? Great, NOW what do I use for baking my gluten free, corn free, taste free bread?!

I use guar gum for things with chocolate (I think it has a strong flavor), I've used unflavored gelatin with sucess, you can also make a slurry out of flaxseed and hot water and wait until it gets thick and gummy and use that. None of them really get that "elastic" feeling going, but I don't have anything to compare it to because I didn't have a chance to buy xanthan gum before I realized I was reacting to it.

I pretty much try to cook with recipes that don't call for all the gums and starches. They give me indigestion anyway. Take a look at Elana's Pantry online. She bakes with almond meal and all the stuff turns out delicious! She has two books out, one of them multi purpose and the other all kinds of cupcake recipes. I have been very pleased with the recipes.

As for bread - try the Gluten Free Bread 2.0 on Elana's Pantry website. I love this bread. It is not the fluffy type so if that's what you're looking for you won't enjoy it. It has more of a rye consistency with great flavor. I make my sandwiches open faced and they are yummy!

Hope that helps!

[psawyer]

Holy cow! Xanthan gum is from corn? Great, NOW what do I use for baking my gluten free, corn free, taste free bread?!

Open Original Shared Link can be made from almost anything from which a sugar can be extracted. Corn is one option. There are many. The source can be dairy as well as plant. The key determinant is the fermenting agent, the Xanthomonas Campestris bacterium.