corn allergy

[Cum Passus]

It just dawned on me, if someone is allergic to corn are they allergic to the pollen too? (hope thats not a stupid question)

 

I was going to plant some to have for fall decorations and thought maybe I better not.

 

It got me thinking about Faith and I seeing our sons increase in tics in Aug. My son is allergic to corn so would he be allergic to the pollen too? Faith, I don't remember if you said your son was allergic to corn? (course you did say you live in NY I guess not many stalks popping up on skyscraper rooftops huh.)

 

We do live about 40 miles from the city and many farms grow corn here.

 

Any thoughts?

C.P.

[Caryn]

Yes,

I have a son intolerant to corn, and I want to this as well. I also want to know if anyone has experimented with eating only plain old-fashioned corn on the cob? Does it have the same reaction as processed corn products? I read somewhere that the processed products contain sulfites and my son is supposed to be so intolerant of sulfites that I am supposed to completely eliminate them. So, I was wondering if after six months of avoidance if I could just reintroduce corn on the cob? (We are from Illinois, and corn is very popular at the end of summer.) My son just loves the stuff. Any thoughts? Does anyone know any more on the subject?

Caryn

B.T.W. when we took all corn products out of his diet he stopped wetting the bed! It has been three full weeks now! This happen to anyone else?

[Caryn]

C.P.

I found this website. It is very interesting... talks about corn and pollen.

What do you think?

http://www.eklhad.net/foods/foods3.html

Caryn

P.S. there is an obscure forward button at bottom of first article for viewing of the second (which talks more about the pollen issue).

[Cum Passus]

Caryn,

 

Thanks, That was very interesting. I guess I'll have to pray for this one. (no getting away from pollen)

 

C.P.

[faith]

Hi girls,

Corn -- how I am beginning to hate that word....

I'm not sure what you mean by allergy -- my son just had high intolerance to corn (let's call this delayed sensitivity, I think that's what it indicates, not an immediate allergic reaction.) Now, I'm assuming that's just with ingestible corn and products, not sure about environmentally. There didn't seem to be a reaction to pollen on the invironmental allergy test but not sure if that was one of them, for pollen comes from different sources? eeeey, I don't know. Why?, is corn and pollen have something to do with each other?

I never thought of that, again, I think its just for corn that's eaten. Ha! and no, C.P. we don't have much farms here (but we are about an hour outside of NYC in the suburbs), but there are some about an hour east of us. Why, do you think just having corn around could be a problem for your son? I'm still working on the ragweed dilemna!

 

As far as rotating the corn and whatever, I don't follow that strictly, for I feel there's so much corn in different things, that I'm sure we slip up here and there, so if I just watch it, then the once in a while that he gets it by accident or if he's begging me for some sweet that i know its in there, then that's how I space it out. I think you just have to make sure there's some time in between (like four-five days) so it doesn't build up? And BTW, I think he'd still wet if I didn't night lift him, cause he did the other night. BUT, I can't blame him entirely because I try to get a litre of water in him each day, because he is supposed to drink this alkaline water that our naturopath recommended for him due to his blood test showed he is a little too acidic. So this is supposed to help to balance that back.

 

While on the subject, if you have any suggestions for treats or breakfast products that don't have any corn derivatives, please feel free to share! I'm starting to get nuts.

 

Faith

[Caryn]

Faith,

Namaste has a tasty pancake mix that is both corn and wheat free. It does call for eggs, but I make it without, as Ian is also sensitive to egg yolks. (I use a substitute.)

I bought featherweight baking powder at Whole foods-- (no corn starch in it) I also found breakfast sausages at whole foods yesterday that don't have wheat or corn fillers/sweeteners. Sausages by Amy. They are pork free if that is a problem (made from chicken.) Made with turbinado sugar (from cane sugar). Can your son eat dairy or eggs? I'm sorry, I forgot. I did get buckwheat cereal the other day and the kids loved the taste. (soft like pastina, tastes more like farina.) It is much better with milk. You could use rice milk or almond milk (vanilla flavored) if you are staying away from dairy. Don't make it with water. My two year old said it was yucky. I do add a bit of maple syrup to get it to go down easily. (I think buckwheat unflavored tastes better than oatmeal, but your tastebuds still hanker for a bit of flavor, you know? I can't remember if you are using Bontech or not, but I have even emptied the capsules into my son's cereal and he ate them right up.

Let me know what you serve at lunch or on the go. I need some cool ideas for travel snacks and stuff I can bring to the relatives and friends houses.

Caryn

P.S. Tried Aramanth o's -- totally gross (did not get a sugared or flavored variety). Also tried Quinoa flakes (my son complained that there were little strings in it. He obediently choked down half the bowl and then I never attempted to serve it again.)

[faith]

Caryn,

Thanks for those suggestions. He doesn't have to be off dairy per the test, but I just don't give him whole milk or hardly any ice-cream (just from my own phobias), just rice milk. But we have to watch yeast too, so that's a double whammy when it comes to carbs. My son is 8 and 42 lbs., so I need to get all I can into him!

 

Lunch on the go is hard, I usually give him fruit and dry cereal in a plastic bag! There's other things I could give, I guess, but he's a real pain, cause he claims he doesn't like the way things smell in his lunch box, so he'll just throw it away. So I give good breakfast, and feed him as soon as he comes from school.

I use these chicken or tky hotdogs (Empire Brand (kosher)), so it seems there's no corn syrup or pork in that. (you could bring that to someones house and microwave). I make french fries at home in canola oil. And use organic ketchup (no corn syrup). Alot of pastas, with sauce I just make from fresh tomatoes, garlic,oil,salt. You can make chicken nuggets with Orgran all-purpose crumbs from health store, they are gluten free. The cereal I use is Wild Oats organic oat rings (like cheerios) and Health Valley organic "square-ems". Oh, and that quinoa, you could serve it with sauce sprinkled with cheese, like a pastina, he might like it that way. Also Pam's cookies that I use are dairy/gluten free and he seems to really like them.

 

Now I THINK all these are corn free, but with all the "hidden" names for them, you never know, but I'm pretty sure these are all okay.

 

We don't use the Bontech vits. But for anyone searching for vits to try, its good to use that as a model to know what things seem to be beneficial for TS.

 

Faith

[Caryn]

found this on the web while looking for GF flour recipes:

 

It is at: http://www.fastq.com/%7Ejbpratt/recipes/al...dallergies.html

 

Corn/Processed Corn

In June 2004, I discovered I'm allergic to processed corn (ascorbic acid & citric acid-those derived from corn, dextrose, corn starch, corn syrup, xanthan gum. etc.) I can eat plain corn. It is very hard to find corn-free products since it is not considered an allergens in the U.S. It is most food, juices, and beverages. I buy separate canned fruits that has only sugar or natural juices in them or make my own cooked fruits. (I have Oral Allergy Syndrome, I have to have cooked fruits.) I have to skip the canned sweet potatoes. I still haven't tried marshmallows since I discovered my corn allergy but I will probably react to them. You also have to make sure to get corn-free baking powder or use substitutes.

 

Corn Reactions

When I ate creamed corn on June 10, 2004, my breathing was a little heavier & whistling through nostril; I have felt weird and a little woosy. The next day, I had two tostadas. I was breathing deeper, then deep breathing, and then weird feeling. Late August 2004: I tried the rice bars again made by Natures Path. I reacted to it a second time (slight wheezing and slightly difficult to breath but not too bad). No more processed corn for me.

 

I can't eat any type of processed corn chip, blue corn chip, tostada shells, taco shells, Quick Grits by Quaker or anything that has sulfur in it.

I NOW (as of January 2007) can EAT corn chips. One of these days I will try the other foods I reacted to.

 

I read at: Corn Refiners Association - Process Overview that wet milled processed corn is soaked in sulfur. I know I'm allergic to sulfur. In early 2005, a nutritionist, from Kroger said that corn has sulfur in it. She said that as corn is processed, the sulfur content comes out more. So, one may think s/he is allergic to corn but it is really certain corns s/he can not eat. (At least this goes for the respiratory symptoms. I don't know about the skin issues.)

[Cum Passus]

Caryn,

 

Thanks for sharing that. If all is going well this summer I'm going to try corn on the cob with him, just to see what happens.

 

C.P.

[faith]

Hi girls,

You know, a light bulb just went off for me. I could just be my totally usual paranoid self, but I was thinking of something and just wanted to run it by you all. C.P. , you gave me food for thought (corn specifically!). What you said about planting corn on the post above, since you brought it up.....

 

My son's class is supposed to go on a class trip to a farm nearby, its like really a pumkin farm in the autumn and has alot of vegetable fields. I know they have this big corn field and some sort of thing that they call a corn maize where the kids have to find their way through the corn fields or something. Oh jeez, do you think THAT could be a problem if he was to hang around this field for a while? I am now remembering that they went to this pumpkin farm in October before holloween, and I have to look at my notes, but yea, that's around the time he started with the head shake (early November, I think) and oh, could you imagine if it had something to do with it.? Because so far, my money is on the removal of corn and the foods he tested high intolerance to (early Feb) as contributing to the improvement of that one. Oh gosh, I am not gonna take a chance. What do they have to go there for? They just HAD a trip planned to a little animal farm, but it was postponed due to rain. (we are not in any farm country, these are just some vegetable farms in the rural areas).

 

Any thoughts? Now I don't know if corn was one of the things on the environmental allergy testing( I dont think so) and he has no respiratory allergies, but since corn is a food that seems to be an enemy right now, I am wondering if this could be a problem to be smack in the middle of a corn field.?

 

Faith

[Cum Passus]

Hi Faith,

 

You know... I would really wonder about the mold in a corn field in the fall. (something else to think about)

 

Faith, are they planting in the spring for the fall maize? You should not have anything to worry about now, because the corn has just popped up I'm sure there is no pollen yet. The field trip is soon... yes?

 

You know I'm wondering about all the times I had my son peal the husks to expose the corn on out porch, for the fall decorations. I know corn is a very moldy food.

 

C.P.

[faith]

Ohhhh, you have a front porch? I love porches. Sounds so peaceful.....

 

Duh, you're right, I guess the corn wouldn't be grown right now, huh! The trip is Tuesday, I don't see how I can keep him back, but maybe I can finnagle (sp.) my way in too, just to make sure what they are doing and touching. I'm really seriously thinking about this, especially for fall, since we always go there before Holloween, (as I mentioned about this past fall) and I distinctly remember the first time I saw him twitch, it was early Novemberwhen he was three and a half, so that's twice it cooincides.

 

Faith