Corn-Free Diet

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The basics

The corn-free diet is eaten by people who have a true allergy to corn. People with corn allergies need to avoid all foods that contain corn or corn products, as well as many miscellaneous non-food items (such as some medicines and adhesives) that contain corn, in order to avoid the symptoms that occur when they are exposed to corn. To ensure you avoid corn:

  • Read labels carefully to determine if a corn product is included and avoid any food if you’re not sure until you are able to verify that it is corn-free.
  • Ask manufacturers of medications and other non-food items if they use corn in their products.

Best bets: Grains and starches such as buckwheat, millet, oats, potatoes, rice, rye, and wheat

Why do people follow this diet?

Doctors sometimes recommend a corn-free diet to help determine if someone is allergic to corn. People who have been diagnosed as corn-allergic follow a corn-free diet to avoid the symptoms triggered when they eat corn––reactions that can vary considerably from person to person.

What are the symptoms?

Corn allergy symptoms may include any of the common symptoms of food allergies, including skin rashes or hives, gastro-intestinal distress, breathing problems, or many other possible symptoms. Although in severe cases, a life-threatening reaction called anaphylaxis may occur, anaphylaxis to corn is a rare event.

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What do I need to avoid?

Most people who are allergic to corn are allergic to the protein in corn. Corn oil poses little risk of causing an allergic reaction because processing removes almost all the protein; however, people who are highly sensitive to corn should avoid corn oil, too.

To avoid corn and corn products ask about ingredients at restaurants and others’ homes, read food labels, and become familiar with the technical or scientific terms for corn. The following list is not complete. Consult with a healthcare professional before making any significant changes to your diet.

Drinks to avoid:

  • Coffee Rich
  • Evaporated milk
  • Frozen orange juice (except Minute Maid)
  • Gin, whiskey, and any alcoholic drink or soft drink containing malt, malt syrup, or malt extract
  • Hawaiian Punch
  • Hi-C
  • Baby formulas, some (Enfamil, Modilac, and Similac)
  • Instant coffee
  • Mott’s Apple Juice

Fruits to avoid:

  • Candied fruits, tinned fruits, and dried fruits that contain corn syrup or HFCS
  • Frozen and sweetened fruits that contain corn syrup or HFCS
  • Fruit desserts that contain corn syrup or HFCS

Dairy to avoid:

  • Ice cream and sherbets that contain corn syrup of HFCS
  • Flavoured yoghurts that contain corn syrup or HFCS

Vegetables to avoid:

  • Corn
  • Hominy
  • Ketchup that contains corn syrup or HFCS
  • Succotash

Baking ingredients to avoid:

  • Baking powders, most (corn-free baking powders are available that use arrowroot powder or potato starch instead of cornstarch)
  • Carmel colouring (may contain corn syrup)
  • Cornstarch
  • Cornmeal
  • Vanilla extract (many brands contain corn syrup; some brands do not)
  • Yeast (except Red Star dry yeast)

Home baking to avoid:

  • Commercial backed goods that contain corn syrup or HFCS
  • Biscuits, Bisquick, and pancake mixes that contain corn syrup
  • Muesli bars and biscuits that contain corn syrup or HFCS
  • Modified cornstarch
  • Pie crusts and cake mixes that contain corn syrup or HFCS

Cereals to avoid:

  • Cereals listing corn, corn syrup, or HFCS on labels
  • Corn flakes
  • Grits
  • Pre-sweetened cereals (most)

Sweeteners to avoid:

  • Confectioners sugar (many brands contain cornstarch; some do not)
  • “Corn sugar”
  • Corn syrup
  • Dextrose (iodized table salt contains dextrose)
  • “Fruit sugar”
  • Glucose
  • Golden syrup
  • High fructose corn syrup
  • “Invert sugar,” “invert syrup”
  • Malt, malt syrup, and malt extract
  • Sucrose labelled “from corn”
  • Treacle

Desserts and snacks to avoid:

  • Candy, frostings, and carob desserts that contain corn syrup or HFCS
  • Fritos
  • Digestive biscuits
  • Jellies, jams, and peanut butter that contain corn syrup or HFCS
  • Jello
  • Marshmallows
  • Popcorn
  • Products containing xanthan gum
  • Puddings that contain corn syrup or HFCS

Meats to avoid:

  • Bacon and cooked meats in gravies that contain corn syrup or HFCS
  • Cured ham, sausages, and wieners that contain corn syrup, HFCS, or glucono-delta lactone (GDL)
  • Luncheon meats and sandwich spreads that contain corn syrup or HFCS

Medicines to avoid:

  • Dextrose is common in IV solutions.
  • Most solid or liquid medicines and dietary supplements contain cornstarch. Inquire to the manufacturer, because excipients (additional ingredients) may not necessarily appear on the label.

Miscellaneous products to avoid:

  • Bath or body powder (may contain corn starch)
  • Corn oil is used in emollient creams and toothpastes.
  • Corn syrup is often used as a texturizer and carrying agent in cosmetics.
  • Envelopes, labels, stickers, stamps, and tape may contain corn.
  • Plastic wrap, paper cups and plates can be coated with corn oil.
  • Some plastic food wrappers contain corn.
  • Sorbitol in oral hygiene products (mouthwash and toothpaste) is commercially produced from corn.
  • Zest soap
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Best bets

The following foods are good replacements for corn in the diet:

Replacing medicines and other products that contain corn-derived ingredients may require advice from a chemist or other knowledgeable professionals

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Are there any groups or books?

The Allergy Self-Help Cookbook: Over 350 Natural Food Recipes, Free of All Common Food Allergens by Marjorie Hurt-Jones, Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, 2001.

The Food Allergy Network (information on food allergies, label reading, food preparation, and management and education programs)
www.foodallergy.org

American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
www.aaaai.org

International Food Information Council Foundation
www.ific.org

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Bibliography

Crippa M and Pasolini G. Allergic reactions due to glove-lubricant-powder in health-care workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 1997;70:399–402.

Park H and Nahm DH. Identification of IgE-binding components in occupational asthma caused by corn dust. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol. 1997;79:75–9.

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