Hi,
I've been doing better with the LC, but symptoms returned somewhat last week and this week. I'm thinking it might be all the corn chips and soda I've been ingesting at cook-outs, but I'm not sure. For those of you who have experienced corn intolerance, could you please answer some questions?
1. What are your symptoms of corn intolerance?
2. How soon after eating corn do you experience symptoms?
3. Can you handle some corn or do you need to avoid it 100%?
4. What products did you have to avoid that aren't obvious corn sources?
5. How long, after avoiding corn, did you see results?
My symptoms seem to be bloating, nausea and D. It's got to be either corn or fructose.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Magyar
Questions re:Corn Intolerance
Moderators: Rosie, Jean, CAMary, moremuscle, JFR, Dee, xet, Peggy, Matthew, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh
Questions re:Corn Intolerance
Celiac (gluten-free since 2000), Lymphocytic colitis since 2000.
Magyar,
Have you had the fructose H2 breath test? I did and am severely intolerant. Corn is off the menu. I am much better but not well. They say it takes time. Wheat is off the menu too but not because of the gluten but because it is a fructan. It is very difficult but I am doing it. Just trying to gain some weight back.
Pat
Have you had the fructose H2 breath test? I did and am severely intolerant. Corn is off the menu. I am much better but not well. They say it takes time. Wheat is off the menu too but not because of the gluten but because it is a fructan. It is very difficult but I am doing it. Just trying to gain some weight back.
Pat
Hi Magyar,
My symptoms were the same that you describe - bloating, nausea, and D. I don't believe that I'm typical of the others here who are corn intolerant, though, because for one thing, I can now eat it without any detectable problems. I believe that the problem that I had with corn was that it was fermenting in my gut. I'm pretty sure that was the case, because it usually took three or four days, or more, for a reaction to occur, and I had to eat a lot of it, in most cases.
I really don't believe that small amounts were a problem for me, but when I cut it out of my diet, I cut it out 100%, so that there wasn't any question about it preventing my gut from healing. As you've probably already noticed, corn is much harder to avoid than wheat gluten, because it's derivatives are so widely used as sweeteners. (So many labels list dextrose, or HFCS, or some other corn derivative.) Products made of sorghum, which contains a protein similar to the zein in maize, (corn), also seemed to bother me, at the time.
Since I was keeping a food diary at the time, (for about a year and a half), and experimenting with dairy/casein at the same time, I decided to cut them both out at the same time, which sort of clouds the issue, but my symptoms disappeared within about a week, as I recall. I had been GF for about a year and a half, at the time. About three years later, I found that I could eat both corn and casein again, without any noticeable problems. That was about a year and a half ago.
I hope that someone more typical will respond to your query. Maybe Polly will find the time to post, over the weekend.
Tex
My symptoms were the same that you describe - bloating, nausea, and D. I don't believe that I'm typical of the others here who are corn intolerant, though, because for one thing, I can now eat it without any detectable problems. I believe that the problem that I had with corn was that it was fermenting in my gut. I'm pretty sure that was the case, because it usually took three or four days, or more, for a reaction to occur, and I had to eat a lot of it, in most cases.
I really don't believe that small amounts were a problem for me, but when I cut it out of my diet, I cut it out 100%, so that there wasn't any question about it preventing my gut from healing. As you've probably already noticed, corn is much harder to avoid than wheat gluten, because it's derivatives are so widely used as sweeteners. (So many labels list dextrose, or HFCS, or some other corn derivative.) Products made of sorghum, which contains a protein similar to the zein in maize, (corn), also seemed to bother me, at the time.
Since I was keeping a food diary at the time, (for about a year and a half), and experimenting with dairy/casein at the same time, I decided to cut them both out at the same time, which sort of clouds the issue, but my symptoms disappeared within about a week, as I recall. I had been GF for about a year and a half, at the time. About three years later, I found that I could eat both corn and casein again, without any noticeable problems. That was about a year and a half ago.
I hope that someone more typical will respond to your query. Maybe Polly will find the time to post, over the weekend.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Hi,
Thanks for your responses. Interesting, Tex, that your symptoms are identical to mine. If corn is my problem, it seems as though I have to eat it a few times before I get a reaction. I also seem to gain 5 lbs. instantly when I eat it. Would that indicate a fermentation problem?
I think I was tested for fructose intolerance about four or five years ago and the result was negative. I've requested copies of my medical records to see if that's the case (I handed the results back to my gastro doc, though I wish I would've kept them). Maybe, though, it's worth testing again. That's great, Pat, that you're on your way to recovery. I hope cutting out fructose and fructans isn't too hard.
Thanks,
Magyar
Thanks for your responses. Interesting, Tex, that your symptoms are identical to mine. If corn is my problem, it seems as though I have to eat it a few times before I get a reaction. I also seem to gain 5 lbs. instantly when I eat it. Would that indicate a fermentation problem?
I think I was tested for fructose intolerance about four or five years ago and the result was negative. I've requested copies of my medical records to see if that's the case (I handed the results back to my gastro doc, though I wish I would've kept them). Maybe, though, it's worth testing again. That's great, Pat, that you're on your way to recovery. I hope cutting out fructose and fructans isn't too hard.
Thanks,
Magyar
Celiac (gluten-free since 2000), Lymphocytic colitis since 2000.
I gain weight too, when I eat corn. In fact, it's getting to be a problem, so I'm probably going to have to cut it back out of my diet for that reason. For some strange reason, I can't eat just a little, once I start - I always seem to overdo it. I don't believe that I have any fermentation problems now, so gaining weight, probably does not indicate a fermentation problem.
Tex
P S Did you read my posts about the oats experiment that I did between late January and late April? (I believe that's when it was, anyway, if my memory is correct). I didn't go back and re-read any of that, but if I recall correctly, it took almost six weeks, before I started reacting to the avenin in oats - probably because I hadn't eaten any oats for at least five and a half years, prior to that, so I didn't have any antibodies circulating in my blood, and it took a while to build them up to a level at which I began to react. I ate oats only twice a week, and when you eat a food item to which you are intolerant, no more often than once every three days, some authorities claim that you will not react to it. This may explain why it took so long for me to react.
I had that in mind when I started the trial, thinking that if I could get away with that for a couple of months, then I would try eating it more frequently. I never got to that point, though, before I began to react, and after the D started, it took almost six weeks for it to stop. About a week after the D stopped, I tried oats again, and had D that completely cleaned me out, about three hours later. After another week passed, I tried oats again, with the same result.
I have no idea if this would apply to corn in your situation, but it's what happened to me, with oats. If you've been eating corn all along, though, you should have antibodies in your blood, if you're intolerant to it.
Tex
P S Did you read my posts about the oats experiment that I did between late January and late April? (I believe that's when it was, anyway, if my memory is correct). I didn't go back and re-read any of that, but if I recall correctly, it took almost six weeks, before I started reacting to the avenin in oats - probably because I hadn't eaten any oats for at least five and a half years, prior to that, so I didn't have any antibodies circulating in my blood, and it took a while to build them up to a level at which I began to react. I ate oats only twice a week, and when you eat a food item to which you are intolerant, no more often than once every three days, some authorities claim that you will not react to it. This may explain why it took so long for me to react.
I had that in mind when I started the trial, thinking that if I could get away with that for a couple of months, then I would try eating it more frequently. I never got to that point, though, before I began to react, and after the D started, it took almost six weeks for it to stop. About a week after the D stopped, I tried oats again, and had D that completely cleaned me out, about three hours later. After another week passed, I tried oats again, with the same result.
I have no idea if this would apply to corn in your situation, but it's what happened to me, with oats. If you've been eating corn all along, though, you should have antibodies in your blood, if you're intolerant to it.
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
So are you saying that it can take a while to react to something you haven't ingested in awhile? That would explain corn as a problem, since I hadn't eaten it for about six weeks but also didn't get an immediate reaction. I don't eat much processed food, so I don't think it will be tough to eliminate (unless I'm hyper-sensitive).
How about alcohol? I've been drinking red wine with dinner and am thinking I need to cut that out, too. Same goes for diet soda.
These delayed reactions make it almost impossible to determine food intolerances. Despite keeping a diary and following innumerable elimination diets I always struggle to identify my triggers.
Thanks for your help,
Magyar
How about alcohol? I've been drinking red wine with dinner and am thinking I need to cut that out, too. Same goes for diet soda.
These delayed reactions make it almost impossible to determine food intolerances. Despite keeping a diary and following innumerable elimination diets I always struggle to identify my triggers.
Thanks for your help,
Magyar
Celiac (gluten-free since 2000), Lymphocytic colitis since 2000.
Right, it takes a while for the body to build up an antibody level sufficient to trigger a reaction. I don't think that's chiseled in stone, but it seems to be true for certain foods, at least for some of us.
Alcohol shouldn't be a problem, except for certain "blended" drinks. Here's a list of safe beverages, and wine is on the list:
http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=271
Quite a few of our group have trouble with aspertame, and certain other sugar substitutes. Some get severe D from aspertame.
You're right, a diary is not as simple to use as one might think. When I started the GF diet, I couldn't see any improvement after a few weeks, so I started keeping a detailed diary. It took me almost a year and a half of experimenting and studying the records, before I decided that I was intolerant to corn and casein, (in addition to gluten).
I guess I'm a slow learner, because for about a year, I kept expecting to find the culprit linked to a reaction within about 24 hours. After I started considering reactions up to 48 to 72 hours after a meal, I began to see a pattern. In all honesty, I believe almost all of us have trouble identifying our triggers, with any degree of certainty.
You're very welcome,
Tex
Alcohol shouldn't be a problem, except for certain "blended" drinks. Here's a list of safe beverages, and wine is on the list:
http://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=271
Quite a few of our group have trouble with aspertame, and certain other sugar substitutes. Some get severe D from aspertame.
You're right, a diary is not as simple to use as one might think. When I started the GF diet, I couldn't see any improvement after a few weeks, so I started keeping a detailed diary. It took me almost a year and a half of experimenting and studying the records, before I decided that I was intolerant to corn and casein, (in addition to gluten).
I guess I'm a slow learner, because for about a year, I kept expecting to find the culprit linked to a reaction within about 24 hours. After I started considering reactions up to 48 to 72 hours after a meal, I began to see a pattern. In all honesty, I believe almost all of us have trouble identifying our triggers, with any degree of certainty.
You're very welcome,
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Magyar
No wonder you are having problems figuring out your triggers.
The artificial sweeteners in diet sodas are one one of the worst things anyone could consume, even if they do not have a compromised digestive system. Far worse if they do!
Alternatives-
Water- my first choice
Hot or Cold Green Tea- Hot or cold Black tea--very thirst quenching.
Fruit juice diluted 75 club soda /25 juice. Make sure it is juice that has not been fortified with HFCS and citric acid.
Mister natural says eat as close to the vine as possible. Don't drink any processed drink. Simple to do by eliminating anything you purchase out of a can or bottle. Except H2O.
My best to your continued recovery.
Matthew
P.S. The best thing I ever did was to quit eating all grains. Including corn. Feel so good I can not imagine why experimenting would be worthwhile.
No wonder you are having problems figuring out your triggers.
The artificial sweeteners in diet sodas are one one of the worst things anyone could consume, even if they do not have a compromised digestive system. Far worse if they do!
Alternatives-
Water- my first choice
Hot or Cold Green Tea- Hot or cold Black tea--very thirst quenching.
Fruit juice diluted 75 club soda /25 juice. Make sure it is juice that has not been fortified with HFCS and citric acid.
Mister natural says eat as close to the vine as possible. Don't drink any processed drink. Simple to do by eliminating anything you purchase out of a can or bottle. Except H2O.
My best to your continued recovery.
Matthew
P.S. The best thing I ever did was to quit eating all grains. Including corn. Feel so good I can not imagine why experimenting would be worthwhile.