corn

[Guest]

Uh-oh. I am noticing that I am having symptoms of things that are definitely gluten free. Is it possible that I am allergic to other flours or is it just a contamination issue? How on earth can I tell?!!? This is SO frustrating!

Julie

[aklap]

Hi Julie,

It's very possible to have multiple food allergies. Quite common actually. I am experimenting with corn myself (dairy too - but that's another story). I don't have gastro problems, but rather neurological problems. http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/showthread.php?t=64889&highlight=corn

Here's one corn allergy site I came across:
http://www.cornallergens.com/

To find more...just google corn allergy...
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[Deb]

i found that website once too and it upset me--i cant have gluten, cant have soy and corn is in everything that soy and gluten isnt--i just dont know--i do try to stay away from corn though--no corn flour anyways--corn flakes dont seem to bother me, but flour does--weird huh---thanks al--you are so good to us---deb

[luvscowznh]

I hear ya, Deb! I have allergies to gluten, corn and some nuts. I have sensitivity to sugar - pre-diabetic I think my Dr said - so I can't have corn, sugar, wheat or most of the nut-based flours out there. I had an appiphany in the grocery store a few weeks ago that because of my allergies, I can't have ice cream. I was devistated. My boyfriend didn't get that (he was too busy drooling over the ice cream freezers) and came over to me with one of my favorite kinds of ice cream. (And it wasn't even sugar free..) Poor man almost lost his head. I did manage to keep the water-works under control in the store though

Thankfully I have gotten over that now and am happy with my frozen fruit pops. No corn, no (refined) sugar, no wheat.

Al - pretty scary about the neurological response to corn. Be very careful!! You are WAY too valuable to this forum!!
_________________

[ElaineT]

I seem to be reacting to corn too. I made stew the other night with canned green chiles, onions, garlic, tomatillos, pork, herbs, and hominy. I had trouble every time I ate the darned stuff. I was expecting the stew to be allergy-free, and corn is really the only suspect thing in it.

Now that I'm off all gluten and not just wheat (been wheat-free for well over a year) it sure is getting easier to find the other allergies!

My current list is gluten, corn, seafood, and dairy. It's a lot shorter than the pre-gluten free list but still a pain when it comes to prepared foods and eating out.

[Deb]

ya know--i find that my tummy just gets upset when i put too many foods together--soup does cause it to act up and believe me--that mixture would make it cry , the chilies and the garlic alone--corn like that doesnt bother me at all--its the corn flour that bothers me and corn meal---i find that tomatoes do too---i am so tired of all these allergens---i realize now that fish such as flounder and cod bother me too---tuna and salmon are ok--grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr keep your chin up--deb

[skbird]

Ugh... hate this. My current list is:

no refined sugars
no glutens
no nightshades (tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, tobacco, kava kava)
no shellfish
no citric acid (except naturally occurring in fruit)

I'm actually feeling kind of crummy today and I'm not sure what it is. I made nachos last night: corn chips, black beans, cheddar cheese, avocado, black olives, garlic, onion, and sour cream. I have a bit of a headache and my stomach is a little grumpy. Also gassy but you know with beans... Anyway, the only new things were a different brand of corn chips and cheddar so I'm wondering which did this, if either. I used parchment on the baking sheet as a preventative against any possible gluten. I have been eating nachos like this for the past few months, no prob. It's so frustrating at times to feel crummy and have to go through that list, ok, did I have this? did I have this? what else might have been in this? Sigh.

I know that from a sugar/carb point of view, corn is tricky for me, I get way too obsessed with it. But I don't believe I have an actual sensitivity to it. I've read the corn sites but not recognized the symptoms as something I experience.

Oh, just for the heck of it...

_________________
Stephanie

[maria1223]

I made a chicken casserole last night for dinner everything was G/F. I woke up today could hardly walk I was in so much pain specially my left hip, right shoulder, & my legs I could hardly bend them to walk I don't know if there is something wrong or if it something else. Has anyone ever had this pain. I was never dx for any other allergies, I just have CD, crohns & hiatal hernia. I was tested for neurological they told me that I had nothing. if anyone has had these systoms please tell me.

[Maggie1956]

Boy I love this place! It's ok to say how we feel.
Yeah, I'm the same with what I can't eat anymore. The list is getting bigger by the %$#@!! minute.

-No gluten, onion, capcicum, chilli, garlic, peas, corn, most rices, cabbage, brussel sprouts, coffee, no tomato sauce, hot sauce, icecream, carrot, peel apples, no oranges, pineapple, pasta, additives...
And the list goes on, and on, and on.....

Makes ya want to puke at times, doesn't it? Then again, we'd do more than puke if we ate it all
I wonder if cat food is safe??? eeek!
_________________
Diagnosed by blood test & biopsies Nov 2004
GF since December 1st 2004

Maggie

[GFSarahSmiles]

Holy crap!

Maggie, what DO you eat ???
_________________
Sarah
Birthday: December 6, 1982
Gluten-Free Birthday: March 2, 2004
Remission & Dx Confirmed: March 30, 2004

[Maggie1956]

I'm finding it really difficult to put a meal together actually. And I'm sure that I'm often eating things that I'm sensitive too which I haven't worked out yet. I've been very emotional and have a lot of general pain as well, so it makes me wonder.
I really don't know what I can eat, other than some vegetables, I DON'T THINK I'm allergic or sensitive to eggs, and I am beginning to think that most milk is causing trouble too.
I do drink a non-pasteurised, non-homogenised milk, which the health officials here won't allow for human consumption, but say it is only suitable for bathing in. it's the only one which doesn't give me stomach cramps. I've been making baked custards, but I'm not sure how long it might be before I grow sensitive to that as well.

I really don't know where to turn.
_________________
Diagnosed by blood test & biopsies Nov 2004
GF since December 1st 2004

Maggie

[skbird]

I find myself wondering often why it seems the list of foods grows like this. Are we just more aware? Or are we just supremely unlucky? Then I wonder how I/we would have survived if we didn't have all this knowledge, all this access to the Internet, to modern meds (as if they've actually helped us), etc etc etc.

I'm ok with it, just wondering at what point I'll finally be able to say "this is *all* I'm allergic/intolerant of" or if that point will ever come.

If nothing else, it does make life interesting...
_________________
Stephanie

[beckyhiker]

Hi everyone! How do you find out what other foods you might have allergies/inolerances too? Do you just cut out most foods and then try one thing at a time and see if it bothers you? Do you have to do it all through an allergist? My gi dr. seems to have pretty much lost inerest in me at this point. I have CD and problem solved! I still don't feel great a lot of the time so I'm wondering if there are other foods bothering me or if I just have to wait to be on the GF diet longer than 3 weeks. Any advice? Thanks!!!

Becky

[skbird]

I can tell you this much - as far as food intolerance, it seems no doctor knows how to determine that. So it's more about elimination diets. When I figured out I was intolerant to nightshades, it was like a lightbulb went off in my head. It made no sense and yet all the sense in the world. I have not found any good info on the internet to explain why this is a problem for me, I have called allergists who say talk to a gastroenterologist, and talked with gastroenterologists who say talk to allergists. I talked to a guy on a poison control hotline once and he gave me a lot of good info but couldn't believe that I would get sick from one spoonful of tomato/potato, said it should take 4-5 green potatoes (toxic kind) to make me sick like that.

So in summation, you need to develop some kind of 6th sense and listen to your body to try to unravel what might be causing you problems. If you either really love or hate a certain food, look into it to see if it's a food that may cause intolerance and then look at the symptoms. Try going without it for a week or month. Keep a food journal (that's hard to do, I've tried many times and not succeeded all that well! really helps if you not only list the foods but what your emotional state is that day, if it changes, if you have headaches, breakouts, stomach troubles, everything you can think of...) and just be aware of what you are eating.

Also, 3 weeks of a GF diet may not be enough. I noticed I felt better immediately but then started having minor setbacks. It could be you are getting some gluten sneaking in somewhere and it could be that there are other problem foods.

Sigh. It takes some work, this thing called health. But we'll all get there eventually, I do believe that.
_________________
Stephanie

[beckyhiker]

Thanks Stephanie! Certain things make the roof of my mouth sting, maybe I'll start with those!

Gads, my "friends" at work are trying to poison me!

Becky