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Corn must be eliminated or restricted in all of its forms: polenta (mush), corn meal, corn flour, corn kernels, popcorn, cornflakes, corn oil and cornstarch. In addition, the following foods must be excluded (or consumed in a restricted manner) from the diet:
— Industrially produced sauces: mayonnaise, cocktail sauces and the like, where cornstarch is often utilized as a thickening agent. Corn oil may also be found among the ingredients.
— Homemade cakes: cornstarch is a typical ingredient due to its lightness and swelling action. Other types of sweets may contain corn flour.
— Matzo bread and special breads: the first item may contain cornstarch, the second items may include corn flour among their ingredients; in addition, almost all special breads contain fats or oils.
— Industrially produced pastries and snacks: Danish pastries, croissants, cakes, cookies, snacks frequently contain corn starch or corn flour (and their presence here is more difficult to verify than in homemade sweets). Chocolate may be eaten, if the doctor allows it, but it must be a high quality product and cannot contain fats other than cocoa butter.
— Special pasta: some types of pasta that are produced today contain alternative substances (like corn). Due to the frequent cases of intolerance to other substances (like wheat), be sure to check the ingredients list.
— Margarine and various seed oils: these oils usually contain some corn oil. Generally speaking, single seed oils (such as soy, sunflower, safflower, grapeseed...) may be consumed as an alternative, if the doctor agrees to it. Contrary to mixed seed oils or those labeled as “vegetable fats” (without specific identification), these oils are more trustworthy, even though the possibility of finding residues from mixed seed oils cannot be completely excluded. An oil that has been “cold pressed” offers further guarantees the presence of a single seed as well as the nutritional quality of the product (cold pressing helps preserve a considerable portion of the seed’s vitamin content- especially Vitamin E- and particularly the polyunsaturated, Omega-3 linolenic, and Omega-6 linolenic fatty acids in their correct ratio).
— Products containing vegetable fats (hydrogenated and non): since it isn’t possible to retrace the oils contained in the products, these foods must all be eliminated from the diet. Hypersensitivity to these particular substances is quite frequent and can be linked to reactivity towards corn, soy, lecithin, single seed oils, olive oil, nickel sulphate and legumes (see profile on Vegetable fats).
Many alternative recipes can be found, together with instructions for rotational diets, in the books by Dr Attilio Speciani “Le allergie: cause, diagnosi, terapie” ([Allergies: Causes, diagnosis, therapies] with Marina Speciani Necchi), “Resistere all’inquinamento” [Surviving pollution] and “Superare le intolleranze alimentari” ([Overcoming food intolerances] with Francesca Speciani), all published by Tecniche Nuove, Milan.
Alternatives
It’s not very difficult to eliminate corn and its by-products from one’s diet: it’s usually sufficient to read the ingredients label to know if a product is appropriate or not. Other industrially prepared products should probably be substituted with homemade ones in order to be sure of the ingredients.
Cornstarch can be substituted in any preparation with potato starch. As far as oils are concerned, remember to give preference to single seed oils (preferably cold-pressed) or olive oil, as long as there are no specific hypersensitivities to these. Additional suggestions can be found on the Vegetable fats food profile.
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© This food profile is copyright of SMA Srl Servizi Medici Associati, Via Ariosto 28, 20145 Milan,
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. Health director: Dr Attilio Speciani, M.D., Clinical allergist and immunologist. This material may not be used or reproduced without the publisher’s permission.
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