Corn, Gluten, Dairy Intolerance And Regression

[lhaisley]

Hello all,

I hope I will not be rejected because of my non-celiac status, but figured I might still find some answers here. I had a food intolerance testing done, which showed that I reacted highly to about 40% of the foods tested.

[bartfull]

Welcome! You don't need to have celiac to post here. We're glad you found us!

I have a severe corn intolerance and I can tell you that the corn in pills of any kind - supplements or medicines is a BIG problem!! I had to have Tylenol made at a compounding pharmacy. When I was feeling dragged out a few months ago I took a TINY sub-lingual B12 tablet and was VERY sick afterwards.

Unfortunately almost every pill known to God or man has corn in it. Oh yeah, except the few that have gluten instead.

Also, keep in mind that most of us have these ups and downs for the first couple of years. It takes time to figure out which foods cause problems - things like nightshades and salicylates and all kinds of other things. Most of these secondary intolerances were masked by the gluten and only come to the fore after being gluten-free for a while.

But stick with it. Be thankful for the up times and keep in mind during the down times that it WILL get better. And you can always come here for answers and support. If you need to whine, let go and whine. Lord knows I have done my share here, and you won't find a more loving and supportive group anywhere.

[MitziG]

everyone is welcome here, regardless of if they have celiac or not. It is a place to learn. That said, healing is a very up and down process at times. Initially, you may have felt better because you had a huge reduction in the amount of allergens you were ingesting. What can happen though, particularly with gluten, is that when the body begins to heal, the immune system becomes stronger. It is able to react against even small amounts of the offending particle. So...essentially, you have increased sensitivity. The sensitivity was there all along, but your body was too weak to notice. Get it?

The good news is, gluten and dairy are the two biggest culprits, and usually spur on the other intolerances. So while corn may be a problem for you now, as you heal, you may find you no longer react. Unfortunately, there is no perfect science to finding out the "true" culprit. It is trial an error.

My recommendation at this point would be to request a vitamin panel done of A, E, D, K, B6 and B12 iron and ferritin. Know what your levels are- supplementation may be unnecessary.

Second, adopt a whole foods diet that eliminates grains- for a few months. Paleo and primal are good examples. When you are feeling better, try re-introducing one of your offending foods. (Though personally I think gluten is evil and everyone would be better off without it!)

Healing can happen, but as most on this board can tell you, it is often a long and involved process. Don't be discouraged, feeling well feels wonderful!

[lhaisley]

Good idea about the vitamin testing!

Question...you say eliminate all grains...I didnt react on the test to rice, I feel ok with eating rice in addition to quinoa. Just interested in your reasoning for doing that. My grocery bill has already shot up tremendously, I can't imagine going with just meat, beans(which may be an issue for me too)and veggies, i do mainly organic as well, ugh.

[lhaisley]

Thank you for your info!

[MitziG]

No, you don't necessarily have to give up rice. Rice is considered a grass, not a grain actually. The reasoning behind the no grains diets is that all grains are highly inflammatory in and of themselves, so if you are trying to heal, avoiding anything inflammatory speeds thhe process. Primal and paleo diets do not include rice due to supposed anti-nutrient properties that it has however. I eat a mostly primal diet, but I do have rice and beans. (Paleo/ primal eliminates legumes as well) even my modified diet has helped significantly in clearing up remaining digestive issues I was having, even after being gluten-free for over a year, and dairy free for several months.

[bartfull]

It is almost impossible to keep corn as far away from me as I'd like. It is in everything! I guess I'm what you would call "supersensitive" when it comes to corn. I even react to the new corn based plastics! I have to use real silverware, real plates, and cloth towels. I don't worry about deodorant because there is no realistic chance of getting it in my mouth. I don't use lotions at all. Baking soda makes a great safe toothpaste.

As for supplements, I have not been able to find any that are free of all of my "poisons". If it's gluten-free and soy free, it has corn. If it's corn free and gluten-free, it has soy. If it is free of all three of those, it has all kinds of extra additives that are high in salicylates, and I have to be very careful with those too.

It stinks, but somehow I manage to get through, and so will you.

[SensitiveMe]

I don't know of any reasonably priced vitamin supplements...I use Mega Food 100% whole food but they are very expensive.

As for rice you have to watch what brand you use as much of the rice in the US is enriched (sprayed with corn). What brands have you been using?

As someone allergic/intolerant of corn also I can't purchase so many gluten free items because of xanthan gum in them. And only special juices because most have Vitamin C or citric acid in them which is made from corn. I buy only certain R.W.Knudsen juices or Martinelli apple juice. For soda I make it using the Knudsen brand of black cherry concentrate and add it to sparkling water. For pasta I use Hodgson Mill Brand Gluten Free Brown Rice with golden milled flax seed.

Maybe keep a food diary of exactly what you eat and what brand you used and we might be able to help you more.

[bartfull]

I have mentioned many times here that I emailed Uncle Ben's and they responded with a phone call. They assured me that there is no corn whatsoever used in the processing of their rice. Another corn intolerant member here did the same thing and got the same response.

I know it's true because I am super-sensitive to corn and I eat Uncle Ben's instant white rice every day without any problems. I hope togo back to eating brown rice one day. For some reason, no matter what brand I use, brown rice gives me D. It's funny because D is NOT one of my normal symptoms.

[lhaisley]

DING DING DING! We have a winner! It IS rice thats been bothering me(I stopped eating it yesterday and started feel great today)

I have been leaning on it for the carb portion of my diet. I thought maybe I was developing an intolerance to it, but now since you mentioned the corn processing...I wonder. I do have uncle bens brown rice, maybe I should test? The brown rice I have is called natures earthly choice and Della organic brown rice, neither says enriched though. I do think I had these brands the first month with no problem.

So happy that with the help of this thread I was able to figure it out the culprit, thanks all (though I am a bit peeved that my dr. didnt really suggest this to me. My test results came back with a rotation diet that I could follow, but for whatever reason he poo-pooed it)

This forum is such a wonderful means of support, noone really 'gets' intolerances unless they actually go through it themselves.

[lhaisley]

I don't know of any reasonably priced vitamin supplements...I use Mega Food 100% whole food but they are very expensive.

As for rice you have to watch what brand you use as much of the rice in the US is enriched (sprayed with corn). What brands have you been using?

As someone allergic/intolerant of corn also I can't purchase so many gluten free items because of xanthan gum in them. And only special juices because most have Vitamin C or citric acid in them which is made from corn. I buy only certain R.W.Knudsen juices or Martinelli apple juice. For soda I make it using the Knudsen brand of black cherry concentrate and add it to sparkling water. For pasta I use Hodgson Mill Brand Gluten Free Brown Rice with golden milled flax seed.

Maybe keep a food diary of exactly what you eat and what brand you used and we might be able to help you more.

Some very good ideas here. Mega food supps look wonderful, except for the pricetag! I wouldn't balk too much at the price if I didn't have to take so many throughout the day, I could be spending a small fortune on the stuff. Will have to figure out this rice thing.