Are You Allergic to Corn?

by Tristi Pinkston | More from this Blogger

24 Feb 2007 09:28 PM

I've been afflicted with horrible headaches for many years. I've tried every treatment known to mankind, from medication (like iocaine powder, I developed an immunity to it) to chiropractic (which my back and neck loved, but it did nothing for the headaches.) I was finally put on naproxen, which is the prescription name for Aleve. Brand new on the market at the time, it had not yet been discovered just how hard naproxen is on the stomach. Not only did it not take care of the headaches, but it did a number on my stomach.

I didn't know what else to do. The headaches were so bad, they were often debilitating. I got so used to having a headache, my husband ceased asking me if I had one; he instead asked me how bad the headache was.

One day my chiropractor and I were talking about weight loss, and he recommended a book called "Eat Right 4 Your Type." The premise of the book is that you should eat certain foods that have been tested to work well with your blood type. Being an overweight person and wanting to change that, I got a copy of the book.

I'm a B+, and Bs should not eat chicken, tomatoes, and corn, along with several other things. Deciding to give it a go, I eliminated all the no-no's from my diet for a solid month. I didn't lose any weight, but I discovered something amazing. The headaches had completely disappeared!

Because I hadn't lost any weight, I went back to eating the way I had before, and the headaches came back. Oh, boy, did they come back. So I did some experimenting, and figured out that I am allergic to corn.

But not just regular corn. Did you know that corn is in just about everything? It lurks under the pseudonyms maltodextrin, corn syrup, corn solids, dextrose - hey, it's even xanthan gum. Corn is present in a large number of prepared foods currently available on the market, and what's worse - it's a highly addictive substance. Your body wants more once you've had some.

Corn allergies cause more symptoms than just headaches. You can develop itching or hives, heart palpitations, increase in temperature, or difficulty digesting. If you're experiencing any of these symptoms, and especially if your blood type is B, I encourage you to read labels and go without corn for a few weeks, and see if you feel better. You can also go see an allergist and have yourself tested.

It is difficult to avoid corn in foods (Pizza Hut even puts corn meal on the bottom of the pizza crust to keep it from sticking to the pan) but if you are allergic to it, it's well worth eliminating it from your diet.

Related Blogs:

Is There Truth to the Blood Type Diet?

Taking Your Headaches to the Doctor

Allergies and Migraines Linked

Learn more about Tristi Pinkston

I've been a blogger for Families.com since August of 2006.

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