Corn Allergy - Bellingham,WA

Indian cooking will serve you well. Everything is rice-based, rather than corn-based, like an American diet. My close friend has been allergic to corn and wheat for years, and I've gotten an education in food allergies--especially having her as a house guest. Her husband is from India, and when she first traveled there, she was amazed that she could eat EVERYTHING. Even the candy! The watermelon juice! Everything was sweetened with rice, or made fresh. And really, after watching the movie Food, Inc, I've begun to think that corn is evil. The allergy sucks, but at the end of the day, you will be eating a very clean diet because you will have avoided many of the processed foods. Good luck.

I feel for you, A.. I have multiple food allergies and for many years had to avoid restaurants and read labels, and cook virtually all foods from scratch. If you can eliminate the foods long enough, you may eventually be able to tolerate small exposures occasionally.

The good news is that you will eventually memorize a list of safe products, and get pretty used to cooking from scratch, which is generally the least expensive and most nutritious approach anyway. Always look for the silver lining, and it's easier to make peace with the demands of life.

My daughter is Celiac. Very few restaurants are equipped to handle it. It just means you have to cook from scratch more. I make her gluten free bread. We are careful not to cross-contaminate in our kitchen. Over time we have become better and better at handling this problem. Corn is like wheat. It's in EVERYTHING! Don't beat yourself up if you made a mistake and your children get sick. It's part of the learning process, trust me.

I found the book "Gluten Free Girl" very helpful. It helped me to see where I was cross-contaminating - and even though you don't have a gluten allergy, this book is very helpful in helping you think about what you do in in the kitchen, to avoid cross-contamination of corn. An allergen as serious as celiac disease (my daughter gets seizures) or corn allergy worth researching. Since I've been using the principles in this book (the author herself, from Seattle, is celiac) my daughter has enjoyed better health.

When I first found I was allergic to wheat and dairy, I, like you, had to read EVERY label in the store. It's amazing what forms dairy comes in! and wheat! Keep reading. After a while, you get really good at it, and you start to know which brands are good and which are bad for you.

I haven't been able to even send my daughter to camp until this year because of Celiac Disease. Fortunately she isn't as severe as others, which is why we can send her. However, she knows what to avoid, and there are enough items on the menu where she can avoid the offending item.

Food for thought for anyone watching food allergies - GMO products are being outlawed in Europe because they cause the very problems you are describing in your post. I can't eat popcorn without my inflammatory system in my body going haywire with runny nose, joint pains, short of breath, tiredness, and generally feeling lousy. I've narrowed it down - it's not the oil, it's the CORN! I LOVE popcorn, so this is hard for me. ALL corn and soy in this country are Genetically modified, unless there is an Certified Organic Foods stamp on it. (Organic foods are not allowed to be GMO) Studies that have been conducted in labs outside of Monsanto (who has created this awful GMO product) have found that GMO products cause a LOT of problems in the digestive tract and those problems are passed down to the children. I believe that this is what is causing more and more people to have corn allergies.

As parents and consumers we need to let our government know that we don't want our food tampered with. We don't want it irradiated, and we don't want GMO products under any circumstances. All of us need to send a clear message to Washington.

Because of these problems with the food supply in our family we no longer eat corn as a veggie and we no longer eat soy, either. Soy was giving me problems.

God bless you in your endeavors to help your children. This is a very difficult allergy, but the advantage is, that you really take the time to research what your children are eating, and make better decisions in food and nutrition, and all of you will be healthier for it.

My food allergies ( wheat and dairy) and subsequent chronic fatigue really opened my eyes to what we were eating. I'm much pickier than the average parent when it comes to food shopping. My daughter, because I was conscious medically about these things, was diagnosed with Celiac disease by a Naturopathic Doctor at 3 yrs of age. The average time in the regular medical community for finding celiac disease in a person is 10 years!

Keep in mind, food allergies can change. In the past I've been allergic to chocolate and yogurt, and I can now eat both of those things. If all of you were to go off off corn for a year or two, and then only eat non-GMO corn, you may find you are no longer allergic. But you would only want to do that on the advice of a physician or Naturopath.

I just want to offer some sympathy. Both my kids have had a corn intolerance problem that I've had to remove all traces of corn (maltodextrin, etc..) from our diet too.

Here is a website that I recently found (but haven't fully explored as of yet). I hope it helps. http://www.cornallergens.com/food/corn-free-recipes.php I hope it doesn't _discourage_ you though. There is an extensive list of foods that also contain corn products that I'd had no idea about. I almost cried. However, it does seem to have some great recipes.

Here is another site, I haven't looked at it in awhile, but I think I remember it was helpful, LOL.. ;-) http://www.allergicchild.com/corn_allergies.htm

Also, I find making a list of foods we CAN eat to take to the store with me helps. Sometimes its things like which flavor of kood-aid is okay or which flavor of nature valley granola bars (although I think they've started adding corn..) Make sure you double check the boxes every once in awhile though, ingredients do change.

Best of luck to you! Email me if you want to talk more about this.

Jenn

P.S. One benefit we've found by our "no corn" diet is how much healthier we are eating. Don't be discouraged, eventually it will become normal to you, even if it remains someone time consuming.

My mother in law is allergic or sensitive to corn. Every time we've gone to a restaurant, she's bought a salad with meat on top. She likes the asian salads with none of the crispy noodles on top. She tolerates the salad dressing but maybe you could bring your own?

She eats a lot of meat and takes suppliments daily. She makes sweets from scratch as well, using garbanzo bean flour. She uses maple syrup instead of the cheaper Aunt Jemima or Mrs. Buttersworth.

I wish I had more for you. I buy my son Ketchup with no hfcornsyrup, just sugar only. So there ARE items out there. Start writing down the brands that work for you so grocery shopping isn't such a hassle. Do some website searches for corn-syrup-free brands and recipes.

UPDATE: I EMAILED MY MIL AND SHE SENT YOU THIS. PER.MESSG. ME IF YOU WANT TO TALK TO HER ON THE PHONE AS SHE MENTIONES IN HER EMAIL BELOW. SHE WILL EMAIL ME RECIPES LATER. I WILL PER.MESSG THEM TO YOU WHEN I GET THEM.
Here is an e-mail that I mailed to my friend after she found out that she is allergic to gluten. Because I am allergic to corn also, these are corn free.

Tell her also to only eat white skinned chicken. Yellow skin on a chicken means it has been fed corn and not grain.

I need to update some recipes I have and I will mail them to you.

It would be nice if I could converse with her.

----- Forwarded Message ----

Bob's Red Mill makes a hot brown rice cereal. You can usually find it with the oatmeal. The recipe is 3 to 1. 3 parts water and 1 part rice. Cooking instructions are on the label. I love this stuff. I put a little salt in the water and add butter after it is cooked. It tastes better that oatmeal and oatmeal has gluten where this doesn't. I cook 3/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of creamy rice cereal and 1 - 2 tablespoons of butter and it is great!

Trader Joe's sells some brown rice tortillas. They are okay in taste. They tend to be a little dry so I put water on them and zap (microwave) them for 30 seconds, then they can be rolled without breaking.

Trader Joe's also has brown rice noodles.

For lunch, I take Costco's canned albacore and mix it with mustard and dill pickle relish and put it on a brown rice cracker or Trader Joe's has some brown rice bread.

Then when I make something from scratch, I use garbanzo bean flour. It is made by Bob's Red Mill. I use this all of the time and it tastes really good, it adds a little sweetness without being sugar. I am always taking homemade cakes or brownies to places all of the time and every one really likes it and enjoys it. You can use it in replace of any thing that you would use regular flour. It really works great. I make a pumpkin and a carrot cake that everyone goes crazy over. I even use it as a batter to fry fish! Jessica likes it better than regular flour.

Whole Foods and Henry's both have a gluten free section.

Hello A.,

I'm sorry to hear about your allergy. you definitely need to avoid corn at all cost. have you heard of the halleluya diet? here is their website: http://www.hacres.com/ I hope you can find recipes there that can help you. it's a vegetarian / raw diet. I'm not saying you have to go raw, but there are lots of wonderful recipes. People get all confused when someone mentions a raw diet. but they tend to forget that they eat most of their fruit raw and their salads too. there you can find alternatives and that's what we all need. some gluten-free are also corn-free. good luck! ~C.~

A.,
It is frustrating to have to avoid common foods. I can't eat gluten and have to watch how much dairy I have and my son can't eat MSG without getting severe migraines. We eat a lot of rice and simple foods made at home. I would highly reccomend getting a rice cooker. You can cook up to 8 cups at a time and it keeps in the fridge for about 5 days. They make perfect rice every time.
Some of the cookbooks for people with Celiac also have recipes for people who are sensitive to corn, soy and milk. A great resource that I found is a magazine called Living Without. They focus on wheat free but have quite a few recipes that are corn free. They have a website and their back issues are about 1/2 price. Just hearing about other people who also can't eat corn is encouraging as you know you aren't alone. The issue I just got had an article about a chef who has a son with severe (anaphalytic reactions) to dairy, soy, wheat, egg, shellfish and nuts! You can make delicious food, it just takes some getting used to.
The grocery store New Seasons has a nutritionist on staff and they will sit down and have a consultation with you about what you can eat and what products are available in the store that are corn free. They don't charge anything. Go to their website to set up an apointment.
B.

my mother had this allergy for many years. She read all labels and avoided corn. After a while she no longer was as allergic to it, and could cheat once in awhile.. Avoidance seemed change things.

Hi A.,

I don't know much about corn allergies but have dealt with some other food allergies with my daughter. Our allergy specialist recommended the Seattle-based Ener-G Foods for her. (http://www.ener-g.com) They have a store front in Seattle, and you can search on their Website by allergen (Advanced Search at the top right of the page). I have also purchased some of their products at Top Foods in Bellevue. They offer a lot of baked goods and snack foods, so hopefully you'll find something there to take some of the load off of preparing everything yourself!

Best wishes.

I don't have corn allergies (just walnuts for me) but I was curious and love to Google. Here are some websites that are up to date and gave some good information. I have been avoiding HFCS whenever possible. I also don't use soy because I've heard it's not really good for kids. As far as artificial sweeteners, after my sister did a chemistry experiment in college (1984/5) that showed it as a cancer causing agent I've avoided it like the plague. We grow our own veggies and choose "heirloom" rather than "hybrid" because heirloom is the only seed that isn't a cross breed. To supplement I purchase from local farms where I know the owners and their growing practices.
http://www.mothernature.com/Library/Ency/Index.cfm/Id/106...
http://www.cornallergens.com/food/corn-free-recipes.php
http://www.naturesbounty.com/vf/healthnotes/HN_live/Index...
this site is interesting because it gives you a "popcorn" recipe
http://www.cornallergysymptoms.com/corn-free-recipes.aspx

Good luck.

I have a corn allergy.

I have found a couple of excellent cook books with alternative grains.

The first one is called Quinoa 365 and the second one is called "finally, food I can eat!"

both are available on amazon.

I don't know if you have any organic food shops or restaurants where you are, but I've also found those helpful.

Most importantly: I make everything from scratch. If you get a cook book like Jamie Oliver or Rachel Ray, they have simple and fast recipes where they name every ingredient, and you can make them all corn free!

It takes more planning, but once you get used to it, it's easy. Corn allergies work a lot like wheat allergies in cooking. Except we get to use wheat flour in baking (delicious!) we just have to substitute corn starch (I use tapioca starch instead) and baking powder (which I do by using equal parts cream of tartar and baking soda)

it is true, we can't eat packaged products. But it is much healthier for eveyone to cook from whole ingredients (single foods instead of packaged foods) anyways.

Oh! and for chicken and beef stock, which often has corn, here is my recipe:

1 chjicken carcass (after you eat all the meat) bones crushed into chuncks, so the marrow really gets in there.

White Wine: Water ratio 1:8 (so 1 c wine to 8c water

1 large spanish onion, cut in half.

1 whole clove of garlic, cut in quarters,

1 carrot,

3 stalks celery

5 slices of bacon.

salt to taste.

fry the bacon in the pan. add the carrots, celery and onion. brown these. once browned, add the wine. let simmer for 5 minutes. then add the water, and the rest of the ingredients.

bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium and let simmer for three hours.

then remove from heat, STRAIN OUT ALL INGREDIENTS, pouring "stock" into another pot. Let cool, and store in the fridge for up to two weeks.

it's delicious, easy, and corn free!!! (also yeast free, which I'm also allergic to)

hope all this helps!!!