Corn?

[AAK]

What does a corn intolerance or allergy look like?  Are there "key" things?  My oldest is finally willing to figure out if a particular food is the culprit to some GI stuff that she gets a bit.  A complete elim diet would be very hard for her. . . long story.  We were discussing possibilities. . .wheat, dairy, etc.  But here is the thing: she is ok with triscuit crackers, but wheat thins send her to the bathroom.  When we have them around, she would usually have cheese with them.  Since she uses cheese on both, I don't think dairy.  However, she has never liked milk and only likes a couple dairy items at all.  I don't care if she eats dairy--we are moving away from animal products here.  She also can't tolerate cheerios (dry).  We compared the ingredients to cheerios and wheat thins and they both contain corn, whereas triscuits don't.  It made us curious.  I don't even know if this is food related.  However, I have always thought she had some food issues, but blood tests as a young child always came back as negative.

Amy

[pek64]

Food allergies must adhere to specific reactions to be declared allergies. The other reactions are considered intollerances or sensitivities. That semantic game frustrates me, personally. If there are digestive problems, then the offending item should be avoided. Because the reactions will be the same, regardless of the label.

[SweetSilver]

Doubtful it's the corn for one reason: corn is in everything nearly.  While it is surely possible, I am doubting that the Wheat Thins and cheerios are the only sources of corn in her diet.  Baking powder is made with corn starch, as is free-flowing salt like Morton.  Corn ingredients abound.  There might be something special about the corn ingredients in Wheat Thins, but I'm skeptical.  Is she eating plain Wheat Thins?  Or multi-grain?  Could be oats, the main ingredient in Cheerios.  Just guessing, though.

Digestive troubles in the absence of other allergy symptoms usually indicates an intolerance.  Swelling, difficulty breathing, redness and hives are typical signs of allergies, though not necessarily all of them in an individual.  For me, different foods trigger different allergy symptoms, and milk is an intolerance (purely digestive troubles).

[AAK]

Originally Posted by SweetSilver 

Doubtful it's the corn for one reason: corn is in everything nearly.  

Thanks, we started noticing that.  For now, she is journaling.  I hope that we notice a pattern that will become helpful.  Whether it is an ingredient, a cooking method, or something else entirely, I would sure like to be able to help her avoid this trouble.

Amy

[pek64]

I don't know why folks get caught up in the semantics of allergy versus intolerance versus sensitivity. Sheesh!

Whatever you want to call it, it makes life miserable!

I could check ingrediants when next at the store, but it would be easier if you would provide the ingredients for the three items. Then we should be able to tell. Is it possibly soy?

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by pek64 

I don't know why folks get caught up in the semantics of allergy versus intolerance versus sensitivity. 

For everyday life, for most people it doesn't make a huge difference, does it?  If in the end, the result is the same: elimination and avoidance.

However sometimes the difference is important.  For hospitals it can make a big difference.  I had a hospital procedure, and even though my allergies are not life threatening, I did list my food allergies because the form said simply "Allergies".  They spent the next 15 minutes discussing with me the details of every allergic reaction.  They wanted to know every symptom, no matter how small.  (I was feeling a bit overwhelmed, to the point that I regretted mentioning them.  They even had a crash cart in the room!)  

But for many people with allergies, this information really can be important.  Glucose in your IV is *corn*..

For most of us, "sheesh!" is right.  But people are curious, too, when they are first exploring the possibilities.

[scsigrl]

Originally Posted by pek64 

I don't know why folks get caught up in the semantics of allergy versus intolerance versus sensitivity. 

While the treatment is the same, one can kill you. That may be semantics to you but when you deal with a life threatening allergy, it isn't. You say intolerance and people thing "Oh, take some Lact-aid and all is well!"  while it isn't so with an IgE allergy.  

[pek64]

I'm surprised by the comments about the hospital and food allergies. My own experience was the reverse! No crash cart in the room, and I did not feel that I was asked too many questions. On the whole, it was a very positive experience! My meals were specially made, very tasty, and larger portion sizes than what my roommate was given! It was the only time I was glad to have my food issues!

Regarding the semantics game, this is a forum, *not* a hospital! Readers are not coming here for treatment. By trotting out the allergy versus intolerance crap, you are trivializing what others experience. Please stop that.

It is true that when you say "intolerance", people think "oh, just take Lactaid, and all is well", while the reality may be that Lactaid doesn't address the issue in the least! That is why I am asking everyone to stop playing that semantics game! Diarrhea and vomiting can cause severe dehydration very quickly.

Lactaid has *zero* impact on corn allergies/intolerances.

And finally, anyone with a corn allergy should research and understand IV's. It is a serious issue.

OP -- I should have mentioned in my earlier post that I have multiple food allergies/intolerances, and my son does as well. There may be something I notice in the ingredients because of the variety of problems I must deal with daily.

[SweetSilver]

Originally Posted by AAK 

What does a corn intolerance or allergy look like?  Are there "key" things?  

Amy

This was the first sentence from the first post. 

No one here was hardly "trotting out" semantics differences.  An allergy "looks" different from an intolerance, so I'm not going to answer her question without making the distinction.  

[pek64]

Originally Posted by SweetSilver 

This was the first sentence from the first post. 

No one here was hardly "trotting out" semantics differences.  An allergy "looks" different from an intolerance, so I'm not going to answer her question without making the distinction.  

My apologies. I interpreted her question slightly differently, however I can see your interpretation, as well. Sorry for the confusion.

[scsigrl]

Originally Posted by pek64 
Regarding the semantics game, this is a forum, *not* a hospital! Readers are not coming here for treatment. By trotting out the allergy versus intolerance crap, you are trivializing what others experience. Please stop that.

It isn't crap. If people are coming here to learn about these things why not teach them the correct terminology? Yes, the treatment is all the same. Just like with things like FPIES and Celiac but I wouldn't call those allergies.

You are very luck with your hospital experience. My son couldn't get so much as a safe ice pop when he was in. Hospitals by and large are NOT very good at managing things like food allergies and Celiac.  

[pek64]

Originally Posted by scsigrl 

It isn't crap. If people are coming here to learn about these things why not teach them the correct terminology? Yes, the treatment is all the same. Just like with things like FPIES and Celiac but I wouldn't call those allergies.

You are very luck with your hospital experience. My son couldn't get so much as a safe ice pop when he was in. Hospitals by and large are NOT very good at managing things like food allergies and Celiac.  

I guess you missed the apology.

[pek64]

In the hospital, I didn't order off the menu, but allowed the chef to make my meals specially for me. They were hot, and catered to my allergies/intolerances. Of course, I have two new ones, now, so who knows what it would be like.

Amy, how's the detective work coming? Do you have any further information?

[Jordan Wildman]

We went to an AAT practitioner and he can test for sensitivities and we came up with corn. We notice anything with corn in it sends our little guy (15 months) into a tizzy and Gi problems for days. We are grain and gluten free (minus rice), dairy, egg, soy and corn free. It's so hard but well worth a try to see if eliminating corn (starch, syrup, flour) will help. I can commisserate!

[AAK]

Originally Posted by pek64 

Amy, how's the detective work coming? Do you have any further information?

I wish I had more information to offer.  She has always been such a finicky eater, but now at 12 she is more in tune with her body.  That being said, she has been journaling, but we noticed that she reverted back to her very "whole" foods style diet.  She eats tons of raw veggies and fruits.  She had noticed that Arby's curly fries are bad for her gut (she got some with some friends) but that could be the deep fried nature of the food since we rarely eat fast food.  She's been skipping most breads, although she had a flour tortilla tonight as a taco.  Lately she has been eating very little.  (I am not complaining about her whole foods diet. . . but we know that fruits/veggies don't bother her so it isn't helpful in discovering any real issue.)

Regarding semantics:  I would love to know about sensitivities/intolerances.  I can't imagine this stuff being an allergy if the only real problem is GI stuff.  Perhaps it isn't food specific in that regard, perhaps she just has a sensitive gut.  

If our journaling ever reveals a pattern or anything that might be a clue, I will start a new thread!  

Amy

[pek64]

I hope the journaling helps you identify the cause of the problem. Personally, I would spend more time tracking down the specific food or foods involved, rather than worrying about semantics. There are lots of places on the Internet that can provide explanations of the intolerances, allergies and sensitivities. I disagree with some of the commonly accepted information, so I'll let those who are more likely to agree answer you.

Ingredient lists of things she can and cannot tolerate would help.

[AAK]

thanks pek64

I will gather the ingredient lists of some known foods (good and bad) and post again.

Amy

[AAK]

I think I may have figured it out and it may not be an allergy at all.  Since I posted, she hasn't had any problems (until the other day).  Her mood was off too.  She hasn't yet started her period yet, but this nausea thing was exactly four weeks after the last bout.  Maybe it is cyclical?  Another thing to keep track of (to see if it is just a coincidence or not).  

Amy