This all started because of Julia. Julia has some issues with corn. The only way we found out is when we were getting ready to go to Thailand. I was exclusively nursing Julia but wanted to introduce formula to her for the trip during times that I was unavailable. We knew going into it that Julia had some sensitivities (most likely dairy & soy) so we shopped around for Hypo-allergenic formulas. The top 4 are Similac Alimentum, Enfamil Nutramigen, Nestle Good Start and Neocate.
We trialed her on Nutramigen for quite awhile until one day we started noticing that her face would get really red after drinking it. After a lot of going back and forth between different formulas, we discovered that Julia had issues with Nutramigen. Long story short, Nutramigen's #1 ingredient is Corn Syrup. That set off red flags for us with corn. We trailed it again several months ago and the same reaction.
A few months ago, Julia was teething (multiple teeth at once) and was in pain. I grabbed a Minute Maid Fruit Pop out of the freezer and just let her gum it (not opened). I figured it would feel good on her gums. Julia managed to cut into the wrapper with her teeth so I ended up taking it away from her and throwing it out. About an hour or so later, we noticed Julia had 2 rash-like spots on her face and a rash on her stomach. I checked the ingredients on the ice pops, High Fructose Corn Syrup. AH! Corn again!
The question that pops up now, is how deep is this corn allergy? We're scheduled to see an allergist on Sept 3rd for testing so we'll know more then (maybe). I began to do some research into corn allergies and corn derivatives. It absolutely blew my mind.
Did you know that corn is the #1 crop in the US? Did you know that corn is the most "government subsidized" crop? Did you know that the type of corn that is grown is not even edible by humans! How about that, huh? I became even more disgusted when we recently watched the movie King Corn. Please check out this movie. We just got it from Netflix but you may be able to catch it on PBS
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/kingcorn/
It will open your eyes. It really is everywhere: our foods, Vanilla Extract (the alcohol is from corn), lotions, toilet paper, deodorants, meats (in addition to being corn-fed, they coat it with a solution that contains corn), shampoos, diapers, baby wipes and anything with plastic film (corn starch prevents sticking). How about organic bananas? Yep. They spray the bananas with a corn-based solution to help ripening. Honestly, I could go on and on. The worst thing though is baby formula.
Would you believe that Alimentum is the ONLY formula on the market that does contain any corn. Not just any Alimentum either, it's only Alimentum Ready To Feed liquid. Is that not insane?! The sad part is Alimentum is milk based and Julia does have issues with dairy. We only feed it to her because we have no other options. She tolerates it much better than she used to. I'm sure some of you are thinking, why don't you just nurse her? Well, I wasn't winning there either. She would react to foods in my diet. I lost over 10 pounds trying to limit my diet while nursing. It wasn't healthy for either one of us. We both lost weight.
We're really trying to limit Julia's exposure to corn and all corn derivatives. This is definitely an allergy we would like for her to outgrow (for her sake). We had no idea how hard it would be. I found some corn-free sites that have really helped determine what products are actually corn-free. It's nice to go to the supermarket and just pick up things rather than check my corn allergen list for questionable ingredients. The list is soooo long.
Look at this crazy list! Check your ingredient labels when you have some time. It's absolutely amazing how many things contain corn. Just unbelievable really. (small disclaimer here: That's not to say that everything here is corn based but odds are high that if you see say alcohol on the label that it IS from corn)
Corn Allergen List
- Acetic acid
- Alcohol
- Alpha tocopherol
- Artificial flavorings
- Artificial sweeteners
- Ascorbates
- Ascorbic acid
- Astaxanthin
- Baking powder
- Barley malt
- Bleached flour
- Blended sugar (sugaridextrose)
- Brown sugar
- Calcium citrate
- Calcium fumarate
- Calcium gluconate
- Calcium lactate
- Calcium magnesium acetate (CMA)
- Calcium stearate
- Calcium stearoyl lactylate
- Caramel and caramel color
- Carbonmethylcellulose sodium
- Cellulose microcrystalline
- Cellulose, methyl
- Cellulose, powdered
- Cetearyl glucoside
- Choline chloride
- Citric acid
- Citrus cloud emulsion (CCS)
- Confectioners sugar
- Corn alcohol, corn gluten
- Corn extract
- Corn flour
- Corn oil, corn oil margarine
- Corn starch
- Corn sweetener, corn sugar
- Corn syrup, corn syrup solids
- Corn, popcorn, cornmeal
- Cornstarch, cornflour
- Crosscarmellose sodium
- Crystalline dextrose
- Crystalline fructose
- Cyclodextrin
- DATUM (a dough conditioner)
- Decyl glucoside
- Decyl polyglucose
- Dextrin
- Dextrose (also found in IV solutions)
- Dextrose anything (such as monohydrate or anhydrous)
- d-Gluconic acid
- Distilled white vinegar
- Drying agent
- Erythorbic acid
- Erythritol
- Ethanol
- Ethocel 20
- Ethylcellulose
- Ethylene
- Ethyl acetate
- Ethyl alcohol
- Ethyl lactate
- Ethyl maltol
- Fibersol-2
- Flavorings
- Food starch
- Fructose
- Fruit juice concentrate
- Fumaric acid
- Germ/germ meal
- Gluconate
- Gluconic acid
- Glucono delta-lactone
- Gluconolactone
- Glucosamine
- Glucose
- Glucose syrup (also found in IV solutions)
- Glutamate
- Gluten
- Gluten feed/meal
- Glycerides
- Glycerin
- Glycerol
- Golden syrup
- Grits
- High fructose corn syrup
- Hominy
- Honey
- Hydrolyzed corn
- Hydrolyzed corn protein
- Hydrolyzed vegetable protein
- Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose
- Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose pthalate (HPMCP)
- Inositol
- Invert syrup or sugar
- Iodized salt
- Lactate
- Lactic acid
- Lauryl glucoside
- Lecithin
- Linoleic acid
- Lysine
- Magnesium fumarate
- Maize
- Malic acid
- Malonic acid
- Malt syrup from corn (barley malt is fine)
- Malt, malt extract
- Maltitol
- Maltodextrin
- Maltol
- Maltose
- Mannitol
- Methyl gluceth
- Methyl glucose
- Methyl glucoside
- Methylcellulose
- Microcrystaline cellulose
- Modified cellulose gum
- Modified corn starch
- Modified food starch
- Molasses (corn syrup may be present; know your product)
- Mono and di glycerides
- Monosodium glutamate
- MSG
- Natural flavorings
- Olestra/Olean
- Polenta
- Polydextrose
- Polylactic acid (PLA)
- Polysorbates (e.g. Polysorbate 80)
- Polyvinyl acetate
- Potassium citrate
- Potassium fumarate
- Potassium gluconate
- Powdered sugar
- Pregelatinized starch
- Propionic acid
- Propylene glycol
- Propylene glycol monostearate
- Saccharin
- Salt (iodized salt)
- Semolina (unless from wheat)
- Simethicone
- Sodium carboxymethylcellulose
- Sodium citrate
- Sodium erythorbate
- Sodium fumarate
- Sodium lactate
- Sodium starch glycolate
- Sodium stearoyl fumarate
- Sorbate
- Sorbic acid
- Sorbitan
- Sorbitan monooleate
- Sorbitan tri-oleate
- Sorbitol
- Sorghum (not all is bad; the syrup and/or grain CAN be mixed with corn)
- Starch (any kind that's not specified)
- Stearic acid
- Stearoyls
- Sucrose
- Sugar (not identified as cane or beet)
- Threonine
- Tocopherol (vitamin E)
- Treacle (aka golden syrup)
- Triethyl citrate
- Unmodified starch
- Vanilla, natural flavoring
- Vanilla, pure or extract
- Vanillin
- Vegetable anything that's not specific
- Vinegar, distilled white
- Vinyl acetate
- Vitamin C and Vitamin E
- Vitamins
- Xanthan gum
- Xylitol
- Yeast
- Zea mays
- Zein
8 comments:
I understand where you are coming from here...I have gluten intolerance---wheat is in everything too!
Hey Nikki- Yes, gluten is a doozy too. We're avoiding that one too because of the other issues. It makes feeding time so hard. I have discovered some great substitutes though. Rice flour, potato starch/flour, tapioca starch/flour have been saving graces for us. I make Julia pancakes all the time. I do meatballs with either mashed potatoes or rice. I am now trying to make a birthday cake for Julia with no wheat, eggs or dairy and I think I have one. Let me know if you want any recipes.
holy @#$&! you have really got your hands full! hopefully your allergist will be able to shed some light on the situation and how to manage it...
good thing she's cute. ha!
wow, that is crazy!!! if you need a wheat, egg and dairy free cake recipe, my friend carma is vegan and she made the most awesome vegan cake for me -i can get the recipe if you are interested-or if you even want more ideas of where to look for food ideas, let me know and ill give you her info.
Amy- Yes, it's a good thing cuteness counts :)
Michelle- I would love the recipe! Thanks!
I am currently dealing with a possible corn allergy with my 7 month old. She is on Alimentum RTF too. Have you found a corn-free diaper rash cream? I can't seem to find anything.
Thanks!
Try this site:
http://corn-freefoods.blogspot.com/2007/12/corn-free-foods-products-list-dec-2007.html
It's been such a God sent for me. Fortunately my little one doesn't get diaper rash too often but we've used Boudreaux Butt Paste without any problems. But like I said, we don't use much. We've had the same tube since she was born and she'll be one tomorrow.
I have 2 children, now 3 and 5 who are allergic to milk and corn. My 5y/o son did okay on Alimentum RTF but 3y/o daughter was a nightmare to feed. I finally found a soybased corn free formula that she could tolerate. Baby's Only Organic (comes as milk or soy based) I hope this helps. I would like to tell you it gets better but it doesn't. We just get better at dealing with it. Good Luck! Pam
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