We Are All Made Of Corn

Is everything made of corn? From the looks of it, that is what America is made of. Corn seems to be in everything! After watching such documentaries as King of Corn, I knew that corn made up a large variety of the foods we consume in America.  We think we are consuming a variety, when in reality we are consuming corn, corn and more corn. What I didn't realize is how many non food items we use every day are also made of corn, that is until I discovered that I am likely allergic to corn.  I have been completing a elimination diet to determine if some of the foods I consume are contributing to the problems I experience. For two weeks I eliminated corn, citrus fruits, and strawberries. I intended to add back one of these items per week and observe whether or not I experience any symptoms after consuming these foods. Week one I added back corn to my diet. I made a delicious salad which included corn and then about an hour later I ate a cob of corn, almost immediately I experienced a terrible headache. My fiancé, my mother and I were playing Scrabble and I could not even complete the game.   I had to stop and go lay down, it was terrible. What I thought was a headache turned into a horrible migraine and forced me to have to leave work early the next day. Nothing seemed to be helping, I took aspirin, which I later discovered to contain corn as well, and no improvement. My mother advised me to take Benedryl and see if that would help my headache, this terrible migraine disappeared within 30 minutes of taking Benedryl. There was no denying this headache had been caused by an allergen, I was forced to accept that corn is in fact a problem food for me. What I didn't expect was to find is that corn is in many non food items as well. Something told me to read the ingredients in the aspirin I had been taking. There it was, starch, I knew that this nearly always meant cornstarch. After some time with my dear friend Google I found that aspirin was nearly always  was made with corn starch. Luckily I found that there was one exception BC Powder. My toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, and also most of my cosmetics also contain corn.  Even my eyedrops listed dextrose, an ingredient derived from corn. There was much work ahead of me in determining all the situations in which I was coming in contact with corn. Although it does appear that corn dominates my life, I have found that most of these items can be found without corn.  Over the course of the next few weeks I intend to rid my life of corn. I hope to see an improvement and have a strong feeling that I will. Through this experience I have come to believe that most of us could rid ourselves  of what we view as health problems by simply eliminating the allergens from our diet.