Question:
My son
(who turns 4 in February) seems to be allergic to corn. He has a
history of health issues such as chronic ear infections, and had a runny
nose constantly until he had his tonsils and adenoids removed at the age
of 3. He has struggled with hyperactivity and behavior as long as he
could walk. He has just had his 3rd set of ear tubes placed. After all
of this, he started getting hives on his arms and legs about 2 months
ago. After eliminating his favorite lunch (peanut butter sandwiches) at
the suggestion of our pediatrician, we determined he did not seem to
have a peanut allergy. We then moved on to eliminating dairy for 2
weeks, but there were no significant changes. Almost by accident, I got
a clear indication that the offender is likely corn. I took my son to
see a movie 2 weeks ago where he munched on a bag of popcorn and a
bottle of lemonade (sweetened with corn syrup). When the lights came
back up, I noticed that his cheeks had gotten really red and blotchy and
they were hot to the touch. He was also quite unruly and difficult to
manage. I couldn't conclusively say that it was the corn that triggered
these symptoms, so since I was still in the midst of our dairy
elimination period, I decided to play a wait and see game. Then, the
other day, his Preschool teacher described the exact same symptoms after
he ate popcorn for his snack. This is a little boy who absolutely loves
tortilla chips, quesadillas, wraps, etc and is going to have his entire
diet turned upside down.
Are there any kid friendly snacks/treats that you can recommend to
appease the poor guy? He thinks I'm the meanest mom in the world right
now. :)
Answer:
Fortunately, corn is NOT the most difficult allergy to get around. Your
big problem will be CORN SYRUP which is added as a sweetener to nearly
everything in the world.
For the time being, try baking your own treats. If you're not
accustomed to cooking from scratch, don't worry. You'll get very good
at it very quickly. Have your son help you. You can make, for example,
a double batch of chocolate chip cookies (check the label on the chips,
of course). Turn them into slice-and-bake by rolling the batter into
the right shape, wrapping it securely in wax paper and then in a freezer
bag. Then freeze! (You're both going to be excellent cooks after a few
years of this, by the way.) If he's an ice-cream fan, and you can't
find an ice-cream that's free of corn syrup, invest in a small electric
ice-cream maker. (Also some popsicle molds.)
When the Jewish holiday of Passover comes around this spring, you can
stock up on treats for the whole year. Many foods that are marked
"kosher for Passover" are corn-free, since the religious laws for
Passover make it difficult to use corn in food products. Coca Cola, for
example, makes its kosher-for-Passover products with cane sugar instead
of corn syrup.
I'm confident that there are people who have made lists of "safe"
products for people with corn allergy. You may find some at the Food
Allergy and Asthma Netword (www.faan.org). You are also likely to find
some good practical advice by doing a search for "corn allergy" on the
web.
Be vigilant in reading food labels. You WILL find plenty of food,
treats and otherwise, that your son can safely eat.
You can bake your own, using whole wheat flour and no corn products. Raw
sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds should be OK, and raw nuts too. Fresh fruits
make good snacks.
AFAIK wraps and burritos and the like are *always*
made with wheat flour. Corn flour just doesn't
stick together well enough. Qesadillas can be,
and often are often made with flour tortillas.
Just remember that in Mexican food *flour* means
*wheat* *flour*, and ask. I am sure you can find
some kind of cracker to replace tortilla chips:
or how about potato chips?
Yes - he'll eat potato chips, sometimes, so we're good there. As for the
wraps and burritos - every single kind I've had in the past has cornstarch
in them, so brand suggestions are definitely welcomed! We're also going to try Rye crackers, but I've read (somewhere?) that the
salt can cause a reaction due to the iodine.
Potato Chips, take a look at UTZ, I think they will be OK. You have to be
careful, some will be made with corn oil. For Rye Crakers, I found Kavli. It is a thin crispbread, made with whole
rye flour, water and salt.
I had a lot of food allergies and found a lot of good things in the
health food stores. The people who worked there, were very helpful. The
main thing is you have to read everything, corn is in so many food
products, it is really a pain.
I hope your son will outgrow his food allergy, but if he doesn't take a
look at "naet". It is strickly alternative, but has eliminated all of my
food allergies.
