Corn sensitivity symptoms?

[ShirleyP]

Hi! I finished my first whole 30 and have chosen the "slow roll" reintroduction, really just adding groups/foods I miss that sound appealing. On day 32 I decided to have popcorn, popped in coconut oil with ghee and sea salt. I ate a modest amount, and today have some hay fever symptoms, headache, and am a little tired. I also have some skin itching and hives. Does this sound as tho it could be related to corn? Nothing else was non-compliant so I could be sure to isolate variables. Thoughts are appreciated! Thanks!

[praxisproject]

That's similar to my reaction to corn, although mine is a little milder. Headache, tired, sore, bit itchy (I don't get hives).

 

I have found corn to be one of my more difficult reintros as sometimes I think I have no reaction, but then if I start having it often, it's pretty clear I do. Fresh corn doesn't seem to be as bad, but I never eat it in much volume. For me, yellow corn seems to be worse than white corn.

[ShirleyP]

Thanks for responding! I hate that this may be the case because I love popcorn....and tortilla chips which I'm glad j didn't try! It's too noticeable to be just be a coincidence tho, so it's still a win, to find out what I can eliminate to keep feeling as good as I have on whole 30 foods!

[praxisproject]

I've found a brand of organic, gluten free pre-popped corn that I have the least reaction to (pre-popped it's also not very heavy).

 

But all the pop yourself yellow corn my body does not like, even when it's totally plain.

 

For me, load really matters too. If I ate a few pieces of popped yellow corn, I might not notice, but a proper serve and I will.

If I eat enough of the pre-popped one, I still feel crappy, so generally I avoid corn, but I don't panic if there's some corn kernels in a salad (I don't eat them though).

 

White corn tortilla doesn't have the same effect as the yellow corn ones, but I'm not sure if there's other differences besides the corn itself.

I still don't eat the tortillas much as I really only want them with cheese (which I also don't eat).

 

It's worth finding out what's the worst/least-worst so you know your options in a pinch.

[ShirleyP]

I've found a brand of organic, gluten free pre-popped corn that I have the least reaction to (pre-popped it's also not very heavy).

But all the pop yourself yellow corn my body does not like, even when it's totally plain.

For me, load really matters too. If I ate a few pieces of popped yellow corn, I might not notice, but a proper serve and I will.

If I eat enough of the pre-popped one, I still feel crappy, so generally I avoid corn, but I don't panic if there's some corn kernels in a salad (I don't eat them though).

White corn tortilla doesn't have the same effect as the yellow corn ones, but I'm not sure if there's other differences besides the corn itself.

I still don't eat the tortillas much as I really only want them with cheese (which I also don't eat).

It's worth finding out what's the worst/least-worst so you know your options in a pinch.

[ShirleyP]

It's so interesting how the load/type of corn can make a difference! Do you find you are sensitive to products with corn based ingredients like oils, corn syrup etc., or do you stay away from those because they are just not a healthy choice? I think that's really the route I'm going to take as much as possible. I also think once my reintros are complete (for those foods I want to introduce) I'm going to try different types of corn, such as the tortilla chips, and also experiment with load. It's fascinating to have learned how to listen to my body, and actually be able to pinpoint the issues...before I was just a walking inflammatory, fatigued, never far from the bathroom mess!!!

[praxisproject]

In Australia we don't see much corn oil or corn syrup and very little HFCS (corn is expensive here, cane sugar, wheat and canola oil are cheap as they're local). HFCS does make me sick though, as does agave nectar (both much higher in fructose than is natural in fruit), my insides do not like either of them at all. Otherwise I don't have any fructose problems, but these are both on the extreme end of the scale.

 

I was very disappointed in every yellow corn experiment, even organic, cooked in good oils, still a reaction (inflammation as well), as it's GF I did a lot of corn testing. I haven't had a strong reaction to white corn (white corn tortillas) but white corn is not common in Australia. I do find though that I feel better without corn, so it's a rare thing anyway, especially without dairy (I found a lot of corn things I wanted, I only wanted with dairy - dairy carriers).

 

Fresh corn kernels (added to veggie patties here in cafes for breakfast) I really don't think I digest very well, so if they're whole in something I don't know if I really absorb them, no strong reaction but feel better without corn and grains in general. However if the fresh corn is blended up into a soup, I do get a reaction (I think this is because I actually absorb it).

 

A lot of GF grain products are corn based here in Australia, I avoid any where corn is the first ingredient, and prefer no corn at all, I lean towards buckwheat, tapioca and rice flour (not brown rice flour) if I'm going to eat anything processed (pasta from buckwheat only, rice noodles from rice flour only).

 

I have had one corn oddity which appears unique: There's a Mexican fast food place here which is almost all GF on the menu (barring flour tortillas), it's a chain, but not a big one, I've never tried another location but I have seen them. They make their own corn chips fresh daily and I was surprised I had no reaction to these, they look yellow in colour (the only yellow corn I've not had a reaction to) but have a very different texture to bagged corn chips here and even other fresh made ones in restaurants. I do however stick to this location, just in case it's the people/store who make it that make the magic difference I fare better at this little café/fast food place than a "proper" GF Mexican restaurant.

 

I suspect they are different somehow in the corn ingredient part (possibly are part white corn?), but it may be they're soaked or processed differently before they become chips (we tend to get TexMex here, being far from Mexico so I don't really know how stuff is supposed to be made and whether this place is more traditional), maybe it's how they're cooked. It's not a place I eat very often and the meals aren't insanely big (so perhaps load is also a factor), but I do sometimes have the corn chips there (with fresh guac and slow cooked beef) and have yet to have any reaction (I do well with their toppings too which are pretty clean, ingredient wise, if they had proper veggie options instead of corn I could eat here Whole30 - they have salad, but it's too small to be a meal).

[DivaCarla]

Have you checked whether the corn, or corn product is verified non-GMO? Does that seem to influence the symptoms?

[ShirleyP]

Wow, @praxisproject thank you for your incredible insight, and sharing your experience with me! I am definitely going to work on testing other types of corn, along with the load. Through reintro I am making certain if I introduce a food that it is as "clean" as possible so I can separate out my symptoms, because here we have corn syrup, corn starch and high fructose corn syrup in just about everything processed. I have yet to introduce other non-gluten grains or gluten grains because I suspect that the gluten may have also been a big culprit in how I was feeling all the time. It's hard to even want to reintroduce certain things can at all when I've felt so much better!!

[praxisproject]

Everyone is different, so you may be totally different

 

I'm not sure about corn syrup (we don't really have it here) but HFCS is also a FODMAP, so you could have a reaction to Fructose if it's got a different reaction to your other "corns". It is however a very high Fructose FODMAP (unnatural - higher than nature) so you may not have any fruit reactions even if you are sensitive to the syrup.

 

Corn starch here is called corn flour and often contains wheat (it'll be on the label), yours may not but it's something to be aware of with restaurants as they often do not read labels. I now ask cafes if the corn flour contains wheat, about 50% of the time, it does (one café removed all their "gluten free" items off the menu as a result).

 

I have trouble with all of these: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prolamin and anything "wholegrain" including brown rice. It seems to be the grain coating.

 

White rice is the least reactive grain for me.

[ShirleyP]

I didn't realize it was a FODMAP. I have some sensitivities to many of those foods, some are horrible, some are more tolerable, so if will be interesting to see if the HF corn syrup impacts me, or other foods that contain corn products. I have many autoimmune/inflammatory diagnoses, and I have always attributed my overall fatigue, pain levels and constant gastro discomfort on those...changing my eating habits has really helped me see just how much "gut health" and proper nutrition has to do with our immune response!