Severe Glutening From Corn!

[dreacakes]

I've been on a grain-free diet for about two years now, which has done wonders for my health. I know from research that all grains have gluten, and people with severe gluten sensitivities/celiac should avoid all of them... And I've found that rice and corn and even quinoa effect me, but I didn't think it was *as bad* as wheat gluten. That is until this week, when I found out just how sensitive I am to corn! Holy moly!

I went out to eat at a local place that has a paleo bowl. I've eaten there a few times and been fine. This last time I noticed half way through eating my food, that there were a couple corn kernels that had snuck in. (You all know that sinking feeling when you realize you might have eaten something you shouldn't? yep, it's the stuff of nightmares...)

Now, I've eaten corn derivatives on accident before, that stuff just sneaks in everywhere, but it didn't effect me like the straight-up corn did.

I didn't expect my reaction to be that severe to it, just some gas, brain fog, maybe a bit of joint inflammation, "the usual".

About 5 hours after eating the corn in my lunch, I had some *severe* brain fog hit. So bad I could have been drooling on myself and not noticed.

Then the next day, I had my pattern reaction that I get to wheat gluten, increased inflammation, that "hit by a bus" feeling, moody, barely able to get out of bed... etc. Five days later, I still don't feel recovered.

Just last night I had my knee go out while I was sitting down. That's when I know it's bad.

So I'm on some serious healing diet protocol now!

And sure, if corn slipped in my dish, then some hidden wheat product possibly could have too. But the only weird thing I saw was the corn, so I have to assume that was what did it.

This makes me not want to go out to eat EVER again! (Again!)

Anyone else react this severely to corn?

[mushroom]

My reactions to corn and wheat (gluten) are identical; that's why it took me so long to 'see the light'. I would go to a Mexican restaurant and eat no gluten, yet I still got a reaction (ok, cc perhaps). I would eat no corn, still get a reaction (cc??). Pretty hard to go to a Mexican restaurant and get no corn or gluten (I used to order the prawns and rice ). This ignorance lasted for years. Once I realized that gluten WAS a problem (it was hard to tell because I could devour pizza without a hint of distress), it was then possible to distinguish corn as an equal problem. Lots of reading and another light was turned on!

And that light was the lectin light. You can read about lectins here:

Open Original Shared Link

Lectins are in the outer coating/skins of foods to deter insects - the lectins supposedly coagulate/agglutinate the blood of the insects which kills them - so it makes sense that they would not be on the inside. So I find that I am perfectly able to tolerate highly refined cornstarch, but cannot get close to a corn chip or a tortilla.

Read what Krispin has to say about lectins and let me know if you would like more information.

[srall]

Um. Yes. I do react that severely. To wheat and corn. And now you have me wondering if my Thanksgiving glutening which crashed me until yesterday (so 2 1/2 weeks) may have been corn...or both corn and gluten cc. I don't know. My response is very very similar to yours. My inflammation led to a pinched nerve in my neck which cut off all the feeling in my right arm. Oy...I hope you recover soon. Coincidentally I started drinking detox tea and that was the day I started feeling better. Probably it was really just the passage of time, but I've continued to drink it.

[stri8ed]

And that light was the lectin light. You can read about lectins here:

Open Original Shared Link

Lectins are in the outer coating/skins of foods to deter insects - the lectins supposedly coagulate/agglutinate the blood of the insects which kills them - so it makes sense that they would not be on the inside. So I find that I am perfectly able to tolerate highly refined cornstarch, but cannot get close to a corn chip or a tortilla.

Read what Krispin has to say about lectins and let me know if you would like more information.

Have you considered the possibility that it was the protein in the corn you where reacting to, not specifically the lectins? If you look at the Open Original Shared Link for cornstarch you will notice it has 0 grams of protein, versus Open Original Shared Link which has 9g protein per 100 grams. Its a known thing that a food allergy is a response to a protein in the food. Have you tried other lectins-heavy foods like legumes?

[mushroom]

Have you considered the possibility that it was the protein in the corn you where reacting to not the lectins? If you look at the Open Original Shared Link for cornstarch you will notice it has 0 grams of protein, versus Open Original Shared Link which has 9g protein per 100 grams. Its a known thing that a food allergy is a response to a protein in the food. Have you tried other lectins-heavy foods like legumes?

Yes, that is true I believe. Lectins are a protein (glycoprotein) and are also present in wheat, etc. That is why lectins are not normally present in cornstarch and why I can eat it, and why I suggested lectins as a possible culprit.

[foam]

Makes little difference to me, Corn is every bit the equal in evil as Wheat, might even be worse!. When I eat Corn it is simply none digestible and I have to wait for the reaction and the painful litres of acid to wash it out. For me all grains are a failure, but Corn is especailly bad news and it's in practically all processed food these days. Rice is OK but still bad enough that I can't heal on it.. I can live on it that's about it. But gluten free products made from other random grains... well I may as well just eat Wheat, sooner or later they have the same effect. As pointed out above grains are not supposed to be digestible they are supposed to be planted in the ground by the poo of whatever ate them. You can smash them up and cook them but in the end they are still only borderline digestible.

Vitamin D levels need to be very high too, that's very important for a lot of reasons, especailly to avoid the condition turning into a dna damage and cancer, I'd aim for 150 on the Vitamin D test. Which means you need to take some serious sun and also probably quite a bit in supplement form.

[Bella001]

I cannot eat corn anymore. It gives me migraine headaches, bloating, and gas. Is not as bad as the gluten reaction but my body doesn't like it at all. It's also all gmo at this point, so I guess we really shouldn't eat it anyway!

[Tutoring Muse]

I found out I was gluten, soy, corn, and beet intolerant last summer. Quite a blow to the diet! My recovery has taken so long that I checked back with the doctor and found I've had candida as well. The symptoms are all so similar between soy, beets, and phosphorus rich foods (common nongluten grains, seeds, most nuts) that I get confused about the cause of a reaction! Now candida too... However, corn is the only one that gives me bronchial drainage and a cough for several hours. Most restaurants use corn products when they try to replace gluten for us! A nice effort, but given that about 50% of us who are gluten free also cannot handle corn, I suggest asking the source of the gluten free product anywhere! It may prevent a reaction!

[kareng]

A nice effort, but given that about 50% of us who are gluten free also cannot handle corn,

Not sure where you got this figure? I haven't seen any reputable research to suggest this.

[cahill]

I react to corn the same way I do gluten. I have become super sensitive corn .

[foam]

I've been off wheat for a few years, I can eat it again now (just done some testing this week) of course I will become allergic to in again quickly if I keep eating it, but it has nil effect at the moment, on the other hand Corn has a huge effect on me at the moment because I've been eating it while off the wheat. imho anything hard to digest with protein in it will give you an allergy sooner or later, the more the protein and the harder it is to digest the larger the allergy will be. If you were to find a grain or nut with low levels of protein you would be fine. Macadamia's cause me the least problem of the common nuts.. not much of a surprise since they have the least protein.

I believe Corn is inherently worse for you than wheat it's just that in the past in western socity our exposure to wheat has been much greater, Asians tend to get allergic to Rice first and foremost.

The more I learn about the old leaky gut the more I see we are just not designed to eat one food for longer than it's natural season per year

[kareng]

I've been off wheat for a few years, I can eat it again now (just done some testing this week) of course I will become allergic to in again quickly if I

The more I learn about the old leaky gut the more I see we are just not designed to eat one food for longer than it's natural season per year

Just want to make it clear to future readers - If you have Celiac Disease you are not "cured". You cannot go back to eating wheat when you feel better. This person has an allergy to wheat which is different from Celiac Disease.

[IrishHeart]

I believe Corn is inherently worse for you than wheat it's just that in the past in western socity our exposure to wheat has been much greater, Asians tend to get allergic to Rice first and foremost.

They do? Is there any medical or scientific research on this? I like to read..