(^40) • MARCH 2020
ASK THE NUTRITIONIST (^) * answers to your food questions
Do You React to Corn?
This common veggie is hidden in multitudes of food products,
and if you’re sensitive to it, you can experience everything from
rashes and abdominal pain to cravings and binge-eating
BY MELISSA DIANE SMITH
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It’s possible to have a true allergic
reaction to corn—where the body
releases immunoglobulin E (IgE)
antibodies—which manifests in
dramatic symptoms such as hives, skin
rashes, asthma, or labored breathing.
But this type of reaction is very rare
More common are food sensitivities,
also called delayed-onset food allergies,
which are immune responses that
involve the release of immunoglobulin
G (IgG), not IgE. Symptoms may
not appear until hours or days after
you’ve eaten the offending food, and
can include headaches, joint and
muscle pain, upset stomach, fatigue,
nausea, bloating, abdominal pain,
and diarrhea.
Other people crave and binge-eat
corn, likely because corn is a high-
carbohydrate, high-glycemic food
that causes blood sugar spikes
followed by blood sugar lows that can
lead to cravings. Another possible
reason might be because of a poorly
understood phenomenon called food
allergy addiction, in which the body
becomes addicted to the allergen’s
presence and starts craving it.
In my work counseling clients
who have difficulty controlling
their eating habits, I have found
that strictly avoiding corn is just as
important for people who crave it as
avoiding sugar and gluten products.
The Virgin Diet author JJ Virgin also
recommends avoiding corn. Not only
do cravings usually go away, but so,
too, do other symptoms people didn’t
know were caused from sensitivity
to corn.
The GMO and Pesticide Issue
A complicating factor in teasing out
reactions to corn is the fact that the
vast majority of corn sold in the
U.S. is genetically modified (GM)
and sprayed with synthetic chemical
pesticides. The pesticides used on or
in corn are linked to damage to the
gut wall and intestinal microflora
imbalances, which are associated
with gastrointestinal problems and
many other ailments.
Some people report that their
gastrointestinal conditions improve
after they switch to organic, non-GM
corn products. But for many people
Q
My teenage daughter figured out that
she develops gas and bloating every
time she eats something with corn in it.
I, on the other hand, love corn products
and crave them, and end up bingeing on them.
Does that mean that both my daughter and I have
an allergy to corn? And, if so, how can we avoid it?
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