Corn makes my head spin!

[rachael]

My 2-year-old was diagnosed with HFI about 8 months ago. I'm still confused about corn and the dieticians haven't been much help. Since my guy is so little, he can't really tell me if he's feeling ill yet. I know that straight corn is a no-no but can folks tell me about their experiences with cornstarch, cornmeal, and popcorn? Are any of these okay for you in moderation? 

[colormist]

Corn meal seems to be okay, but I'm not sure. Things like Mash, Corn Muffins, etc are hit or miss for me.
Corn flour (like what's in puffed cheese balls/cheese puffs, cheetos, etc) doesn't cause me any reaction whatsoever.
Popcorn is okay in proper portion sizes. It clearly has some fructose in it, though, as I have a small reaction if I over indulge.

I don't eat a lot of corn starch (that I know of), but I know Bill adds it here and there to things. I would suspect this is refined enough (and flavorless enough) that it should not cause a reaction.

What you really have to worry about is sweet corn and whole corn.

Alternatively, I have noticed that Corn Nuts appear to have a similar reaction as Popcorn. Really, corn is ridiculous.

Since you have a little one, I would avoid corn meal, popcorn, corn nuts. Corn starch should be okay. You should be able to do a trial of corn flour though (cheese puffs) to see how he feels afterward--or wait until he's older and can express himself better.

[ukbill]

OK a note about corn and corn flour.

So far as I can find out Corn is the same as all grains there is a tiny amount of fructose in the whole grain and also the digestible fiber (said to be good for "normal" people) actually turns into sucrose (50/50 glucose fructose mix) in the intestines.

So that in mind highly refined white flour be it Wheat, Rice, Corn, Barley is just the starch form the grain with just about everything else removed.. and starch is .. long chain glucose molecules.. so is HFI safe.

Wheat germ for example is really bad for us being by weight very high in Fructose (the oil causes me problems as well but many none animal oils do.. Soya oil is a real gut ache! And is in so many things!

To complicate matters caramelized sugars seem to be relatively safe.. the sugars are basically oxidised to produce the colour of caramel.. however not all the sugar is oxidised (it would be hard black lump of carbon type stuff if it was) so Popcorn is not too bad.. in small amounts, as is puffed wheat breakfast cereal and puffed whole grain rice / corn cakes.

Be careful of the fiber though this will produce a low level background fructose level if digestible fiber is taken every day, and because its so slow being digested it might be causing problems for 2 or more days after eating it.. depending on how fast your digestive tract works.

So in conclusion.. if its got fiber in it go steady, if its got whole grain go very steady, and corn flour, white wheat flour etc. is usually safe. Bean and Pea flours are a different kettle of fish however.. Soya flour is really nasty for me. Chickpea flour and ground chickpeas are fine for me so far as I can test.

[rachael]

Thanks to you both! Can you say more about fiber? I've been trying to work more fiber into his diet because he has really hard stools, but I'm wondering if I should stop that and just go back to the Miralax? I thought that broccoli tops, green beans, cauliflower, leafy greens, and asparagus were safe, but it sounds like that might not be the case after all? What do you eat for veggies, if any?

[rysmom14]

Hi Rachael,

I would stay away from a few of the veggies that you mentioned. the safe veggies are, big white potatoes that are soaked and par boiled then dump the water and finish cooking with new water, tinned green beans (small amounts) mushrooms, dark leafy greens with no stalks ( like spinach or kale).

My son has never had a problem with hard stools so I never really had to look down the fiber road.

[ukbill]

Depends on his age.
After I learnt about fibre I was so much better for cutting it down in my diet and stopping all the wholegrain stuff I was eating.
however the problem with constipation was causing me problems until my Doctor (to whom I am forever grateful) put me on Psyllium husks (whole not ground).

What a difference!

However a word of warning. if you have never had any "detox" type stuff before be prepared for a couple of days of green slimy poop.. after which you will never get a recurrence.

Please check with your Dr to see if it can be used in a young child.

THis is a type of fibre that is none digestible (in its whole hisk form)

Keep smiling

[jenn123]

I know corn is a confusing food for HFI. I picked up some cereal and was wondering if this wording sounds like what would work - Erewhon brand, corn flakes, ingredients are organic milled corn, sea salt. Thoughts ? Thank you.

[tummyache]

I make cornstarch drinks like used in Glycogen Storage Disease to drink when having problems with hypo. It helps me. I eat corn flour torilla tacos and make my own corn flour mini-muffins with only a wee bit of dextrose. However, I would not give the torillas, corn chips, or muffins to a 2 yr old. My son, who shares my sugar aversion, could not tolerate such things at that age. But as an adult, he can eat those things now. I can do popcorn though -- but only in sensible amounts. [So many of the recipes for HFI folks include dairy + wheat. I am 100% dairy free + allergic to wheat.
If I had to also eliminate corn I would really be up the creek!]

[antonia]

I wonder if the problem with the muffins and porridge/grits/polenta could be the enriched corn meals or flours? The last time I tried making Palmera polenta with enriched corn meal she rejected it. She also does this with Cream of Rice hot cereal which is also enriched. How she can detect it (something bad for her) I've no idea, if that's really what's happening.

She does eat the Erewhon brand corn flakes but not as a whole bowl of cereal with milk. Although she would if I let her, but I've been confused about corn too. She likes them sprinkled on yogurt and sometimes I process them and use as a coating for chicken or fish.

[jenn123]

Thank you. I will let her try a little and definitely would be a twist for coating on chicken. Appreciate the feedback.

[knitone]

Antonia, I second the problem with enriched cream of rice. I have trouble with it as well, but no problem with unenriched arborio rice. Interesting because, to me, cream of rice has better flavor than plain rice and I actually preferred it. Thanks for posting about that. How does Palmera do with eggs?

[Stefanie (Ziba)]

I know I am late on the post, but here are my two cents:

Remy is 3 and I have noticed he can tolerate:

A small bowl of popcorn a few times a week, but he cannot tolerate any other corn products except cornstarch (which is great for preventing hypo-- I get the non GMO brands)
He does great with plain white basmati rice, but I stay away from other rice products for now because I suspect reactions.
Remy does get constipated, so he has 3 tbsp of earth's best oatmeal cereal, a pinch of buffered vitamin c powder, 5 drops biogaia protects drops plus 50 mg magnesium powder per day and all of that helps tremendously.

[antonia]

Knitone, my daughter does eat eggs, almost every day. I've not noticed that they make her feel unwell. Some HFIers don't do well with them though. Do you eat them?

[tummyache]

Corn Starch I thought was made up of just a very simple carbohydrate chain of glucose molecules and was therefore a god-send for those with glycogen storage diseases; in fact, "life-saving" for GSD I folks. Sometimes I make an unsweetened rice milk drink with a heaping tablespoon of corn starch mixed in when I feel hypoglycemic-like. It does wonders -- goes to work fast and is very satisfying. The idea being that the glucose molecules break off slowly keeping blood sugar levels even. It should be safe for HFI + FBPaseD. It's a bit "chalky" and takes some getting used to; sort of an acquired taste. GSD blog folks mention not giving it to wee little ones, but then they are doing it many times a day, plus mid night-time as well. Like I said, for them it is life-saving.

Corn Starch is listed on every list I have seen for us as being in the OK/safe column. Regular corn can be tricky though in it's various forms. Beware of commercial bags of micro popcorn --some of the stuff you get in the market has sugar in it these days! So, always check labels.

[knitone]

Hi Antonia, I do eat eggs. I saw the posts that reference the nutrition database showing eggs had fructose, so I stopped eating them last week! Today I saw the link to the Fineli database (posted by Roman) that that shows no fructose in eggs. Shwew. I did not want to give up eggs!

[Stefanie (Ziba)]

Tummy ache,

Which rice milk do you use? I have hesitated because I always worry that it is made with brown rice instead of white, so the only rice I have given Remy is actual white rice, but a new drink option would be fantastic if there is a rice milk brand safe for HFI.

Thank you!

[jenn123]

I found a recipe for rice milk and it look very easy.
I am going to give it a try this weekend.

minimalistbaker.com/make-rice-milk/