Corn Allergy

We don't have corn allergies, but I found this article very interesting. We're in the process of preparing all our son's food for a week for camp (as he gets anaphalaxis to tree nuts), and this article made me think - how hard must it be to avoid corn? It's in just about everything, as you'll see if you read through some of the comments to the article. Made me realise (yet again) how fortunate we really are.

Celia

Celia, corn is about as hard to avoid as yeast is in one's diet (says he with a mild allergy to yeast and other molds).

Wow, I didn't know you could be fully allergic to corn! My paternal grandmother and I get (well, got in her case) really bad vertigo from overripe fresh corn.

Our youngest daughter (now 37!) had a corn allergy. You're all quite right, it is in everything. So we had to make everything from scratch (poor babies!). Have to say it made us much better cooks.

I was allergic to corn as a child, but fortunately grew out of most of my food allergies in adolescence. Corn was a lot less hard to avoid in the '60s, but I do pity corn-allergic children in today's world, where corn products turn up in damn near everything. Michael Pollan cited a fascinating study in his book "Omnivore's Dilemma" in which researchers used corn's anomalous carbon isotope ratio to estimate each person's corn intake, and the number were truly astonishing. Although presumably corn allergens are proteins, I'd bet that you'd have to avoid anything using corn oil or HFCS for fear of trace contamination.

Mark Lipton

Does anyone else find it unusual that kids are allergic to so many things these days? When I was a kid, everyone ate PB&J sandwiches and no one broke out in hives or started bleeding from their ears or collapsed on the floor as a result of the peanuts.

Does anyone know what changed in the last couple of decades that has resulted in kids all of a sudden being allergic to everything from wheat to peanuts?

Industrial by-products in the water, the air, the food supply, carpeting, AC ductwork, etc.

Maybe children did die of food allergies before, but the doctors didn't understand it as such (and the media did not trumpet it).

Litigation is a standard response to tragedy today, hence labels all over food packages.

I'm sure there are other reasons, too.

Does anyone know what changed in the last couple of decades that has resulted in kids all of a sudden being allergic to everything from wheat to peanuts?

Food allergies have always been present, but the rate is increasing. Several explanations have been proffered, but perversely one of the most popular explanations is the lack of exposure of babies to various antigens. In other words, if babies are kept in too clean an environment, they are more likely to develop allergies and asthma. There are other factors likely to be at work, too, but increased hygiene has probably contributed to childhood allergies.

Peanut allergies are fairly uncommon still, but (along with wheat and milk) are most likely to lead to severe allergies resulting in anaphalaxis. It has also been found that people with severe peanut allergies can get enough exposure from airborne peanut oils to trigger anaphalaxis, so in a zero risk society you have to ban peanuts from anywhere that would result in exposure to potentially sensitive individuals.

Mark Lipton

A corn allergy would be tough. My son has a wheat allergy, and that one is extremely difficult, but I think corn would be worse. I am so glad he doesn't have that one.

Dave - My son has multiple severe food allergies. He literally is allergic to almost everything! Wheat, eggs, dairy, peanuts, treenuts, sesame seeds, coconuts, all raw fruits and veggies...plus things like dogs, tree pollen, grass...etc. I have done extensive research on why this seems to be happening more and more (along with a rise in things like asthma and autism), and my personal opinion is the overuse and abuse of antibiotics.

We all have good bacteria that populate our digestive system. This bacteria does alot of things, including keeping bad bacteria and other microbes such as bad yeasts and parasites in check. This good "Flora" also helps to train our immune system. When these good bacteria are killed off by antibiotics, it gives the bad bacteria and especially the bad yeasts a chance to overpopulate the body, and chronic use of antibiotics(or use in early infancy) can make the intestines semi-permeable, a condition known as Leaky Gut Syndrome. When this happens, foods with large proteins are not broken down an these proteins can leak out of the intestines into the blood stream. The immune system sees it as a foreign body and begins it's attack.

When a baby is in the womb, it's intestines are sterile. The act of birth pushes the baby down the birth canal squeezing the fluid out of it's lungs and at the same time populating it's body with the gut flora from it's Mother's Birth canal. The baby obtains more flora through breastfeeding. If, however, the baby is born via C-section, it does not go through the birth canal and thus, it does not get populated by the healthy human gut flora. Or, if the Mother is positive for a bacteria called Strep B (which has been linked to some health issues in babies)in the birth canal prior to birth (which 50 % of woman are at the time of birth), they are given antibiotics 4 hrs before birth.

This was the only difference between my daughter, who has no allergies, and my son who does. I was strep B positive at the time of my son's birth and was given antibiotics. To compound the problem, I gave birth too quickly and didn't receive all the antibiotics I needed, so they gave my son a shot of antibiotics right at birth! Of course, I knew nothing about food allergies or any of this before I had children, so I allowed them to do it.

Nowadays, there are so many C-sections and use of antibiotics during the birthing process. There also seems to be a rise in adult onset allergies (such as allergies to latex, shellfish, and aspirin). There also is a huge increase in an allegies to raw fruits and veggies...it's called oral allergy syndrome. I bet you've probably heard people say they tongue gets tingly if they eat an apple or their lip swells if they eat a peach. It's crazy!

Anyway, I think there are other contributing factors such as genetics, vaccinations, pollution, etc. But I think the main factor is the antibiotics, which are in everything now (foods, water supply, etc.). Sorry for the novel!

Hi Maria,

Thanks for all of the details. Even the birth canal stuff.

I knew you had mentioned in the past that your son has allergies but I had no idea as to the extent of those allergies. I give you an enormous amount of credit for being flexible enough to be able to cook around all of those obstacles.

Perhaps the good news is that at least he will not have to eat school cafeteria food.

and my personal opinion is the overuse and abuse of antibiotics.
[...]
This was the only difference between my daughter, who has no allergies, and my son who does. I was strep B positive at the time of my son's birth and was given antibiotics. To compound the problem, I gave birth too quickly and didn't receive all the antibiotics I needed, so they gave my son a shot of antibiotics right at birth! Of course, I knew nothing about food allergies or any of this before I had children, so I allowed them to do it. [...]

Anyway, I think there are other contributing factors such as genetics, vaccinations, pollution, etc. But I think the main factor is the antibiotics, which are in everything now (foods, water supply, etc.). Sorry for the novel!

Maria,
First of all, my sympathies about your son's allergies. In my own case, I was allergic to nuts, beans, corn, rice, chocolate, pineapple, strawberries, Spring pollens, Fall pollens, cat hair, dog hair, bird feathers and probably some other things I've forgotten about. The good news is that, like many others' childhood allergies, mine practically disappeared when I was in High School. After a decade of antihistamines, decongestants and allergy shots, I was able to dispense with them all and suffer next to no symptoms. Let's hope that your son has a similar outcome.

There is support for your hypothetical link between antibiotic use and allergies:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 064200.htm

Mark Lipton