Disclaimer

    While my goal here is to share tips, sources and recipes that can help others who need to avoid corn, it is important that you, the reader, take responsibility for knowing what sources are safe for you.  If you are new to this, do your research.  Corn allergies are complicated, and what is safe for one person may not be for another, based on sensitivity levels and the types of allergic reactions experienced.  Bearing this in mind, I am not responsible for reactions a person may experience based on things that I share that work for us.  Always, always use safe-for-you ingredients; at times I may share specific brands we have had success with, but I in doing that I am in no way stating that said brands will work for everyone.  I do think that based on how dramatic my daughter's reactions have been and how highly sensitive she was at her worst point, what we are doing over here can be helpful to a lot of people, but you really do have to go through your own research and trialing process.  Also bear in mind that if you are dealing with a corn allergy/sensitivity, you probably have multiple sensitivities and so a reaction could be coming from another source.

    The first thing to do is print off the derivatives list from Jenny Connors' website (see links provided on left sidebar), read through it, and take it everywhere with you to check against ingredients lists.  Read ALL INGREDIENTS lists when you are shopping.  Also print a copy of The List (also provided in links) to get a starting point for safe product sources.  Besides food, you are also going to want to take a serious look at household cleaners and other treatments, grooming products and hygiene items, medications, art supplies, etc.  Then you need to go to work on learning where the hidden sources are. Online support groups have been the most invaluable way for me to track these down; I will do my best as time goes on to address these things here on my blog, but there is so much I have had to learn that it's hard to know where to start sometimes as far as what to write. Now that we're past the crucial "what the hell is going on" curve, I'm finding that things will pop into my mind to post when I'm doing something like getting a prescription filled, etc. and that will give me a "hey, I haven't talked about this yet on the blog" moment.  As that happens I hope I can increase the amount of helpful information found here.

    A tricky aspect of managing this allergy is staying on top of safe sources, because manufacturers often change their practices and sources, sometimes making it so that a product that was once safe becomes one that causes reactions.  Keep in mind that corn derivatives are often used during production, and when they are used as agents rather than an ingredient in a recipe, companies aren't required legally to list those derivatives in the ingredients. Corn is also not officially considered one of the top allergens (something that I hope will change soon) and so the FDA does not require a notice to be given if a facility processes corn so a person can be alert to possible cross-contamination.  I encourage you to stay current through the Facebook group, Delphi Avoiding Corn forum, and by staying current with "The List."  The author of the site The List is on also has a monthly digital newsletter available through subscription for a minimal monthly fee.