Fed Up With Corn...Intolerance/Allergy

[linen53]

I've been meaning to bring up Kosher for a long time.

Kosher standards does not allow food manufacturers to add anything artificial to their product.

That doesn't mean it's corn free for gluten free. Because if it's a flat bread, for example, it will have wheat flour in it. If it's a corn chowder it's going to have corn in it.

But there are many of their products that are not corn or gluten based that do not have any of the harmful (to me) ingredients added to them.

For example. I get their non-traditional flat bread that says gluten free right on the package. It also says on the package it isn't kosher, but I think they make it for their gluten free customers so they can partake in Jewish holidays. It is sold right next to the traditional kosher flatbread in my local grocery store.

And yesterday, I got some marshmallows that don't have corn syrup in them. Covered in toasted coconut. I'll have to figure out a way to preserve them since I don't eat marshmallows for the sake of eating them, lol.

And there is a kosher grape juice I like with no citric acid and no corn syrup that is safe for me to drink, not to mention it's yummy.

So even in your local grocery store, there are safe things to eat. You just have to dig for them, do the research and finally you have to experiment with them (taste test).

[linen53]

I've had an ongoing battle with mayonnaise. I've been out of the homemade stuff for a couple of weeks. I hate to make it because it is so messy.

I know I can't eat Hellmann's aka Best Foods mayonnaise. I've tried that several times and always get a reaction. And Miracle Whip is out of the question; they use corn syrup. Today I tried Heinz mayo. I got a small bottle just in case.....

I fixed tuna fish salad with it so I got a biggish amount on my sandwich. I made sure all afternoon chores were done in case I got sick.

And I didn't get sick! To be able to buy a mayonnaise off the shelf that I can eat is monumental.

[Saggi]

I made a discovery that has changed my food intake dramatically!!

Not only is corn in pretty much everything, but a lot of sauces are made with tomato and that is also something I react with

Over the weekend I discovered a recipe for Nomato sauce, using carrot, beetroot and lemon juice, it looks and tastes pretty much like finely, chopped, tinned tomatoes, yet there is not a tomato in sight

I made up a massive bulk of it and then with it made up an equally massive bulk of my curry base, which I haven't eaten in well over a year.

It's opened back up pizza, bolognese/lasagne and curry, yipeeee!!!

Love and hugs

Jo

XxXx

[linen53]

OMG! I know that eureka moment when you can add (or substitute) something in your diet that you haven't previously been able to have (for a very long time).

I can my own tomato sauce (I can eat tomatoes) so there will be no will be no contamination from the commercial stuff.

Enjoy your pizza and lasagna and everything else your mind can conjure!

[linen53]

I believe I've talked about medications before but I have become sooo sensitive to corn I can't even take my blood pressure meds without getting sick because there is corn in them. They typically use cornstarch as a binder (makes the pill hold together).

My doctor and a pharmacist are working on it and I've been working on it for a very long time myself. So far they haven't had any better luck than I have.

[linen53]

I believe I have found a medication that can manage my high blood pressure and it has hydrochlorothiazide in it (for water retention). My doctor had told me the type of blood pressure meds that works on me are ACE Inhibitors. I did my own internet search and found Lotensin has wood pulp (mycrocrystalline cellulose) used as a binder rather than corn starch.

You'd be surprised how many of your processed foods you eat have wood pulp in them.

[linen53]

The medications took a couple of weeks more to iron out. In the end it was the pharmacist who found medications I could tolerate. He looked for a manufacturer of my medications that didn't use dyes and fillers. So in the end it was the manufacturer not the medication.

To clarify, many companies make the same medication. Take aspirin for example. How many different brands are there? More than you can count. The same is true with prescription medications.

If you are interested the manufacturer is Amneal. Not all of their medications are dye/filler free but some are. You can find a list of medications they manufacturer here: http://amneal.com/ Look under the "Products" tab at the top of the page.

I also need to take an antacid every day for my acid reflux. Before I was taking Pepcid but I began having problems with it. I switched to Zantac and am handling that much better (so far).

The medication problem, I believe, is my last lingering link to corn. If I can get that under control I can finally feel better. Gawd, what a journey!

[linen53]

I went to the Amneal website and found my blood pressure med does contain corn, maize actually. So the search continues.

[linen53]

The maize doesn't seem to be affecting me. I've ordered some maize flour and will test it and see if I have a reaction. Maybe it's just the genetically modified corn that I get a reaction from. We will see.

The past 5 days since I've been on the new meds, I've had more energy than I've had for years. Am I truly corn free now? Time will tell.

It took about 8-9 months to learn how to eat gluten free. It took a year and 9 months to learn how to eat corn free.

[Saggi]

I remember when I was able to introduce things and found I didn't get a reaction or the reaction is only mild now, (apart from corn, strawberries and tomatoes)

I've managed, for the first time in 42 years since I was diagnosed with hayfever, to go 3 months into the hayfever season without any bad symptoms, if I indulge in food that give me the same symptoms I wake up in the night with an itchy throat, which soon passes without medication and the only thing I've had to use is eye drops when I get itchy eyes which was in the high season

I discovered chickpea flour is a great alternative to wheat flour and can be used in lots of diverse way and I am just walking the aquafaba route too

There are some things that have corn in that I really miss, I made custard the other day and that hurt, so I need to try and make it a different way

But overall it's all going well

Love and hugs

Jo

XxXx