Severe Food Allergies

[mouse]

I looked at the bag and did not see anything, but I am getting absolutely paranoid over this. Judy, have you tried the Toll House gluten-free cookie recipe. It is great. Made them a week ago and they were all gone and that was why I made some more. I use parchment paper to put them on and I think it was Patti that said to let them cool a couple of minutes before taking off of the cookie sheet. I also I used Spectrum shortening this time instead of crisco (soy). I think tho, that I am going to try them next time with a little more potato starch and see if that helps to make them a little thicker. I never thought of the aspertame, but I do know that this is corn that is causing the problems for the last couple of weeks. When I was keeping a low profile with corn prior to this, I just never thought of all these other things. I was concentrating on the gluten, soy and dairy. How stupid can I be, to not realize that corn was also in so many things. No wonder I went into overload.

[BRUMI1968]

both "glucose" and "dextrose" tend to come from corn. Malto-dextrin, MSG, HFCS, dextrin, caramel color, xanthan gum, mono and diglycerides .. these are just some of the ingredients that come from corn.

Also, a GREAT company for making cookies and the like is called "Enjoy Life; Eat Freely". They make all sorts of allergen free foods, all of which are gluten free, but also free from dairy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, soy, fish, shellfish, corn, potato, sulfites, sesame and casein. Some of the stuff is better than others; their granola is truly bizarre I think - weird texture. But their cookies can be good, especially the snickerdoodle. www.enjoylifenb.com

Hope that helps.

[Clark Bent as Stupor-Man]

both "glucose" and "dextrose" tend to come from corn. Malto-dextrin, MSG, HFCS, dextrin, caramel color, xanthan gum, mono and diglycerides .. these are just some of the ingredients that come from corn.

is xanthum gum always derived from corn? I thought I finally went corn-free a couple weeks back but still have at least one thing I eat with xanthum gum in it..

[BRUMI1968]

is xanthum gum always derived from corn? I thought I finally went corn-free a couple weeks back but still have at least one thing I eat with xanthum gum in it..

Source

Xanthan gum (E415) is a microbial desiccation-resistant polymer prepared commercially by aerobic submerged fermentation from Xanthomonas campestris. It is naturally produced to stick the bacteria to the leaves of cabbage-like plants. It is relatively expensive by weight but becoming rather less so. As the media used to grow the Xanthomonas may contain corn, soy or other plant material, manufacturers should make clear if any residues may remain.

Structural unit

Xanthan gum is an anionic polyelectrolyte with a β-(1->4)-D-glucopyranose glucan (as cellulose) backbone with side chains of -(3->1)-α-linked D-mannopyranose-(2->1)-β-D-glucuronic acid-(4->1)-β-D-mannopyranose on alternating residues. Slightly less than half (~40%) of the terminal mannose residues are 4,6-pyruvated and the inner mannose is mostly 6-acetylated (i.e. the side chains are mainly β-D-mannopyranosyl-(1->4)-(α-D-glucuronopyranosyl)-(1->2)-β-D-mannopyranoside-6-acetate-(1->3)-. Some side chains may be missing.

[tarnalberry]

armetta, have you tried the namaste mixes? they are DFCFSFCF (where that second C is corn ;-) ), and quite tasty.

[mouse]

Tiffany, I have not yet checked the Namaste mixes that I have in the freezer. Will do so. Just have been going through the pantry and refrig. stuff for right now. Thank you for the tip as I have always loved the Namaste mixes.

I have noticed a marked improvement in my breathing since I have stopped the Pepsi diet soda. Still have not heard back from them, but expect they will say corn for the coloring. I am now brewing ice tea that is decaffinated and gluten-free and just made with herbs.

Bully4You, I have the Enjoy Life snicker doodles, but it says xanthum gum on the igred. list?

[aaascr]

I so understand your frustrations!

I have many food allergies as well

and then 20 years later they correctly

and finally diagnose me with celiac disease.

It seems that my food allergies

have gotten more intense lately so

I am really staying away from any offenders.

I use coconut oil for a lot of things:

www.nutiva.com is where I get the

brand I use because they don't "bleach"

it.

I tend to eat more baked potatoes rather

than mashed but in addition to either olive oil or coconut

oil (depends on my mood) I add balsamic

vinegar (there's a golden one out there)

and sometimes agave nectar

too (add a little fresh garlic if you're game).

For thickeners when cooking I use

arrowroot powder and tapioca flour.

These items also replace the egg I cannot have.

There are also times when I use golden flaxseed

meal instead of oil - say in my tortillas or veggie burgers

- just depends what I'm cooking.

Can't think of anything else at the moment -

hope this helps some...

[ajay]

ajay, thank you for all the advice. I am going to email Pepsi tomorrow and ask about their carmel color. I know it is not wheat as it is on the gluten free list. I wrote down the Whole Foods soda. But what is a Cosmo and annatto? At least here I can ask dumb questions .

Wow, you are proactive! I haven't e-mailed too many people, I usually just give up. Go armetta!

a Cosmo = a cosmopolitan = A tasty drink with Vodka, triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice. I don't get them because most places use Rose's Lime juice and cranberry juice "cocktail", neither of which are safe (corn syrup). Grenadine and sour mix are dangerous, too. I don't go to bars much.

annato is a natural ingredient used to give food a nice yellow/orange color. It's often in "orange" colored cheeses and such. I think it actually comes from the annato plant, so I have no idea why it bugs me. I haven't researched how closely it may be related to wheat or corn. Or it may be a cross-contamination issue.

Where did you find the gluten-free tollhouse cookie recipe?! I've been trying to make chocolate chip cookies off and on for years. The results are usually edible to me, but that perception is probably out of desperation...

Xanthan Gum itself is fine, but they usually use dextrose, etc, to feed the bacterial that make it. It's been discussed in other places on the board, and it sounds wise to avoid it. Rats.

[mouse]

Thank you aaascr for all the good advice and ideas. I have copied them down.

ajay, Pepsi emailed me this afternoon and said I was to call their toll free number that they gave me. I am sure they will tell me corn, but I am going to call anyway. As far as the cookies, it was a recent thread. Try a search or I will see if I can find it and reactivate the thread as I don't know how to copy and paste on the forum.

[shai76]

Armetta, I also get wheezy from pop. I react to Pepsi as well as Coke, and Sprite. It seems all colas cause problems for me as well. I have similar allergies to you. I thought it was wheat in the caramel color, but I guess not. I will be curious to know what you find out. Maybe I will learn why I get asthma problems from pop too.

[shai76]

I found this here on this website: https://www.celiac.com/st_prod.html?p_prodi...-16106481746.ad

People with Cereal Allergies Warned of Cola Risk

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1999;96:11482-11485.

(Celiac.com 04/10/2000) Spanish researchers, including Dr. Alicia Armentia Medina from the Hospital Rio Hortega in Valladolid, Spain, warn that people who have cereal allergies should exercise caution when drinking cola or cocoa products as these beverages may contain cereal proteins. These proteins could cause a severe asthmatic reaction in rare instances. Cereal allergies are very common throughout the world, and it is difficult to know the formulation of cola drinks. According to Dr. Medina: "It is possible that they contain cereals." In their study, which was presented to the 16th World Congress of Asthma in Spain, Medina's team analyzed the allergic reactions of nine people who suffered severe asthmatic reactions after drinking cola. The researchers linked their allergic reactions to specific alpha-amylase inhibitor molecules that originate from wheat, rye and barley, and were found in their drink.

The researchers conclude: "My personal opinion is that persons who know that they have a cereal allergy should be careful about consuming foods such as (colas) and cocoa that could contain cereal in their composition."

[mouse]

Pepsi and Coke are on the gluten-free list. But, if you have other allergies, then you have to look further at the product. Someone posted on this thread that caramel coloring is usually made from wheat or corn. We know it is not wheat so I am assuming it is corn. I will call today and find out. But, I was a heavy decaf. diet Pepsi drinker. My breathing is still improving since I have stopped the Pepsi.

Since I know that I am allergic to corn, then in MY case, I am again assuming that the carmel color is the problem.

[mouse]

I called Pepsi and for those with corn allergies, corn syrup is in the caramel coloring in their diet Pepsi. I called 7-Up and their diet does not have any corn syrup or anything corn in it.

[shai76]

Thanks for letting us know. I am slightly allergic to corn, but it's really low and usually just causes eczema, sometimes wheezing. But I also get wheezy from drinking the 7-ups and sprites, so I don't know what my problem is. Could be just causing my reflux to act up, which in turn flares up my asthma.

[Luchare]

My corn allergy went through the roof. I was hoping that I was allergic to the protein, but after trying marg. I found I am allergic to the whole thing. I used an epi-pen and oxygen last night and finally sent my husband to the drug store to refill my last Medrol Pac (predizone). I am better today, but scared. My dairy allergy is not this bad. But, I have been able to avoid dairy and only use it once or twice a month to make mash potatoes. If I use butter, my body breaks out in these rare type hives and my breathing becomes so bad and then I am on predizone. Tomorrow we are going to the health food store and hunt for a corn free marg. plus so many other items without corn. This is not going to be fun to learn how to cook all over again. I just learned how to cook gluten free.

So, if anyone has tried alternative treatments for allergies I would like to know how it went for you. I cannot take shots as over a two year period they were never able to increase me to the next level.

I also would like some suggestions on brands for the health food store that are gluten free, corn, soy and dairy free. I need marg., ketchup, tarter sauce, tomatoe sauce and some ideas for snacks. I just gave away most all of my gluten-free snacks as most had cornstarch or corn syrup in them.

Thank you for any help you can give me.

[Luchare]

Hi armetta,

I soooooooooooooo feel for you.

Corn has been a damned nuisance since it was introduced in whisky and given to the natives. I used to think I was allergic to wheat, but then discovered it was a plain old ordinary corn allergy. Still have to watch the wheat , but can do it every couple of days or so as long as it does not build up in my system. And I never used to be allergic to anything until this year when I kept getting bad sinuses all the time and could not for the life of me figure out why. Tried all sorts of things, including a tomato concoction off of the internet that didn't help anything <except maybe built up a tolerance to chilli, lol>. Then one day I am sitting at work drinking a cup of echinacea tea of all things <drank this stuff for years> and could not breathe. Sinuses swelled completely up, heart started racing and my breathing got really quick as if I had just run around the whole block and full speed. I am looking at the tea which was three quarters drunk, and thought "Hey, I am not and never have been allergic to echinacea." So I looked at the ingredients, a thing which would be the precursor of my life, and so that it had, underneath the usual 'echinacea leaves and lemon' >>>>>>>> and in very small print >>>>>>>>>>

MALTODEXTRIN.

Ah ha! A clue, sez I! So after this episode passed, I got home from work in the evening and typed into google 'maltodextrin allergy' and oh my god, there was a heap of stuff on it. And finally on one website I found the statement 'if you have a reaction to maltodextrin, you are most likely allergic to corn'. So I researched my butt off, stopped eating a lot of things, but still kept getting bad sinuses, earaches, and generally feeling like...for want of a better word, vertigo, or a spun out feeling most of the time. I gave up my beloved gum, tea, and numerous other things. Kept reading ingredients while shopping - I now hate shopping because of this reason - and there was one thing I could not give up. Beer. I love beer. Being a complete idiot, I kept drinking the stuff, not knowing that corn is one of the main fermenting ingredients in most alcohol. And hey, it's cheap! And tea! Would you believe that only TWO websites I came across said that corn derivatives are in herbal teas. Used to love that to, but now all I can do is go the supermarket with a packet of tea in my hands and think "Do I really want to go through that again?"

Thing is with allergies, it is easy to screw up. And the sinus thing, that was just horrible. Lost sleep, felt like someone hit me over the head with a sledgehammer. Til I went to the doctor one day and said: "Hey, I am finding very hard to deal with this on my own."

The doctor says: "What seems to be the matter?"

I say: "I am allergic to corn."

Doctor actually makes a motion with his two hands and mouth eating an imaginary corn cob.

I say: "Yes, that's it."

Doctor: "That should be easy to avoid. Most people are allergic to cats, and grass."

I said to him: "I wish I was allergic to cats and grass, because where I live, I don't have any."

Anyway, he gave me some antibiotics for my ear infection because of my bad sinuses, and by the hardest I got a referral to an allergy specialist. Went to the pharmacy next door, got the antibiotics and some blessed Dimetapp Night Relief capsules <wow those things are good>, then went next door to them to the allergy specialist. Nice lady there tells me that it is going to cost me $241.00 for an hour, for two tests. Noooooo, it can't be! I just spent fifty dollars on a man to tell me that corn is easy to avoid!

I said: "Well, okay, just give me a couple of weeks to save up the money. "

Then I discovered he was booked up until July 13th, which I was mad, but not overly. My housemate told me <even though he thinks the whole idea of a corn allergy is not true, only because he does not understand> that I could not wait two months. I advised him that I had a food allergy, not waiting on a spare kidney. But I am going to do it and see what happens. Even though I could be spending that money for someone to tell me what I already know. I think I do have a 'senstivity' to wheat, just not allergic. Who knows, there could be other things.

And things seem to be changing for alcohol lovers. I have noticed somewhere that brewers are starting to make gluten free and corn free beers, though slowly. I have finally myself come across a corn free beer that does not play up on my nostrils, and breathing through my nose is so much easier now. Still, I have to take Beconase once a day <does cortisone give anyone weird dreams?> and occasionally when I have eaten the wrong thing, or trusted someone enough that something that they have made does not have corn in it <boy did I learn my lesson - Friends Do Not Understand Food Allergies v 5.1> I have my trusted Dimetapp capsules. Love the expression on people's faces when they offer me a box of chocolate covered biscuits, and I gaze at them with wide, crossed eyes, mouth watering, my fingers reaching out, and then I turn to them and say the most dreaded words: "No, thanks. I have a food allergy." Even less than that I use one of those nasty decongestant nose sprays that after a while make your nose feel like someone shoved heavy grained sandpaper up there. They are fine three times a week.

And one other thing is - when you get mad at the world, sometimes it is very easy to go and get revenge on whoever and go and have something you are not meant to. Not a good thing! Even two little pieces of candy will set me off, if it has glucose in it. Sucrose will make me break out into a sweat, but that's all. Certain things will have certain degrees of how your body reacts to it, if that makes sense. Just so happens that one day when I was drinking the tea, my body said: "Hey, that's enough, let's give it to her! Show her we mean business!"

Look out for anything dextro, dextrin, the 1400s, malts, any sort of gums, thickeners, all of that. Talcum powders, of any sort, big no. Problem with the food nowadays, they seem to bog everything up with soy and corn. And soy is not all that great apparently either. I just thank the gods I am not allergic to soy as well, I think I would have only been able to eat peas and beans for the rest of my life. Or just sit under a tree and pick poisonous berries. But the strange thing is with allergies, you just never know when it will hit you.

Sorry for the long post, I have not written one before, but I really feel for you, and if you want, will let you know how my allergy thing goes. One thing that may help though, which helped me - people in India say that when you get sick, any sort of sickness whether minor or major, treat your body to a 'bland diet'. Which means no seasonings, etc. Stick to things as natural as possible, even if it does result in just eating beans And the weight loss thing that you mentioned, it is scary, it should hopefully stabilise. I am not sure how much you weigh, if you are underweight, one thing to remember if you are going to give up corn, then you are giving up sugar as well, and may go through withdrawals somewhere down the track. You might feel miserable for a few days with headaches, best thing to do is rest. When I was reading your posts, you strike me as a very active lady. Take lots and lots of time out for yourself.

And get well soon.

[mouse]

Luchare, You mentioned two websites that mentioned corn in teas. Did you ever find any teas that were corn free? I have been making ice tea since the Pepsi had to be given up. I called the tea company that I use and corporate is looking into all their teas for gluten and corn. At the moment they are sending me samples of some infusion teas that they believe are safe. I sound like an active lady - ha, I have spent 28 months trying to recover from being so sick before my diagnosis of Celiac. At my age, they say the road will be long and probably not fully drivable. You mention sugar. I use C & H pure sugar for calories. There is not corn in that is there?

[shai76]

I didn't know teas were fermented? Is it all teas, or just some herbal teas? I know that green tea is made by just steaming the leaves, and balck tea is made by pan frying them, but I never read anything about a fermenting process, but I don't drink a lot of herbal teas. I know I bought this black tea with berry flavoring (by lipton) and I got home and looked at the ingredients and it said "malt" and dextrin. I thought it was weird that they would put that in teas.

[ajay]

I didn't know teas were fermented? Is it all teas, or just some herbal teas? I know that green tea is made by just steaming the leaves, and balck tea is made by pan frying them, but I never read anything about a fermenting process, but I don't drink a lot of herbal teas. I know I bought this black tea with berry flavoring (by lipton) and I got home and looked at the ingredients and it said "malt" and dextrin. I thought it was weird that they would put that in teas.

Okay, nit-picky tea drinker here! Here's how I understand the tea process:

- black tea is from tea leaves that are dried/fermented.

- oolongs are somewhat less fermented

- green teas even less so, and I think white teas are the least fermented

"Herbal Tea" does not usually have any tea leaves at all in it-- usually some combination of herbs, fruits, whatever.

maltodextrin and cornstarch are used a lot for flavor delivery & distribution. It helps keep powdery or granular flavorings from clumping, so they're more evenly distributed in the processing of, say, potato chips, or apparently flavored tea. Generally speaking, I'm wary of "flavorings" for this reason.

I'm a black tea addict. I haven't (to my knowledge) had problems with PG Tips, Twining's black teas, or loose black tea from the local purveyor. I'm not really into flavored black teas, but I would definitely check ingredients carefully. As for herbal teas, I don't remember having any problems with Celestial Seasonings teas, but still, always always always read the ingredients.

armetta, you *do* sound active! What are you using to make your iced tea?

Luchare, your doctor said it would be *easy* to avoid corn?!? I can't decide whether I should be really angry or just laugh really hard.

I am terribly proud that about 75% percent of the time when someone offers me a tasty treat, I can smile and say "Oh, no thanks." A lot of people assume I'm on a diet and have amazing will power. Unless it's a good friend, I just let 'em go on thinking that. It helps keep me from feeling too sorry for myself when someone is really just trying to be nice.

[mouse]

ajay, I have an electric ice tea maker. I pour the water in the back, add ice cubes to the line and put the tea bags in the filter area. You can use loose tea if you use one of those paper filters. Did you find the Toll House cookie recipe? I have to make my 3rd batch tomorrow and I am going to try the recipe tweaking that Patti did. I can't tweak, but I can copy others he he.