A corn allergy can often go undetected in the United States due to its high prevalence in processed foods. Corn, in some form or another, can also be found in almost every fast food item. In addition to that, corn allergy symptoms vary widely from person to person. While some need only smell popcorn to have a severe reaction, others are somewhat more tolerant and have less severe reaction which is difficult to connect to corn.
The best way to know if you are allergic to corn is to get an allergy test done by a qualified allergist. Barring that, keeping a food diary can be very helpful in checking and cross checking which foods were found to be offensive. But what symptoms are associated with a corn allergy?
Those who suffer with a corn allergy, in its severe form, might go into anaphylactic shock. Most people with this severe allergy to corn know what they are allergic to. However, many suffer their entire lives with symptoms that range from obesity to inflammation to sinus congestion.
Inflammation is one of the most common symptoms. A corn allergy sufferer may not even realize they are swollen because they have gotten used to it. If you wake up tired, have difficulty getting on your knees, think you may have arthritis, notice ankle swelling or overall achy body, you may actually be allergic to corn. If not corn, you may be suffering from some other allergy and it would be prudent to visit an allergist to know for sure.
Most corn allergy sufferers are exhausted and as they age, it usually gets worse. They feel better before they ate than after. Usually, they have trouble making it through the day and around late afternoon, have nearly had it. Many who have corn allergies have been diagnosed with other illnesses. The exhaustion is so terrible sometimes, that after having been exposed to corn, the only thing a corn allergy sufferer can do is sleep it off.
Abdominal troubles are extremely common among those with corn allergies. Some have been misdiagnosed with IBS, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, or other bowel related sicknesses. Your doctor may have told you that you need more fiber. After you eat, your stomach becomes severely bloated. You may experience excessive burping or gas. In extreme times, you may have been to the ER with vomiting or you have experienced what some doctors refer to as "blow outs" where you struggle with alternating constipation then the sudden diarrhea.
Chronic sinus problems are a telltale sign that you may be suffering from a food allergy. My own son suffered for years with shiners, tired eyes, stuffy and runny nose as well as post nasal drip. All of those symptoms were related to corn. He had trouble breathing and even bouts with sleep apnea as a small child.
Pre-diabetic and insulin resistance symptoms can actually be corn allergies. A few times, after nearly passing out after eating, I had wondered if I were becoming diabetic. I had all the symptoms of a pre-diabetic, of someone who was insulin resistant. I even took medication for hypothyroidism. These, of all the symptoms, were by far the scariest. I felt dizzy, in a fog, and cold most of the time. I couldn't garden or exercise as I was afraid I would start to get the shakes. Something was clearly wrong.
As we whittled away at high fructose corn syrup, corn starch, monosodium glutamate, dextrose and eventually switched to sea salt, our corn allergy symptoms began to disappear. My son and I both experienced a rebirth of sorts. My son's nose is clear and his shiners are gone. I planted two trees without passing out. My ankle swelling is nearly gone and we both lost a significant amount of weight without dieting. It's simply a miracle that we figured out the connection between corn and our symptoms. Now, we are on the road to recovery and the quality of our lives is absolutely one thousand percent better.
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