Severe Abdominal Pain

I am 27 years old and 110 LB. About 7 years ago I started suffering from severe abdominal and lower back pain shortly after eating.  My doctor ran blood work, conducted allergy tests, as well as an internal/external ultra sound  and found nothing.  After about 3 years I finally realized it was happening after I ingested corn products (any type of corn chips: Dorritos, cheetos, tortilla chips etc, corn muffins, cereals).  However I seem to be able to eat fresh organic corn.  Shortly after eating these foods my whole back tightens, my lower back hurts and my stomach pain is unbearable.  The only thing that helps is to squeeze my stomach and pound on my back to get the air out.  Why do I have this reaction?

[Nikodicreta]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Our immune system is very resilient. It will recognize the difference between genetically
altered or modified  foods - made strong enough to survive the barrage of chemical attacks,
in the form of insecticides, pesticides and herbicides- and organically grown foods.
In your case-good for you- there was an acute warning ,immediately after consuming those
offensive foods.
The majority of people experience mild symptoms, subtle enough that no attention is paid.
The chronic cumulative effects could spell disaster, for one's health.
And the main issue with it is, that it usually no one can make the connection, until it's too late. (if a connection is ever established)
There are millions of sufferers of various serious conditions, with unknown etiologies.
Just surf around the various parts of the forum here. It's becoming an epidemic.
Lupus, Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Multiple Sclerosis.
A combination of polluted air,  food additives and chemicals in food manufacturing,
processing methods, hormones, antibiotics and other drugs for chicken and cattle,  industrial farming techniques and g.m. foods, stress levels,  
are the contributors to most of western societies' health issues.
So your reaction is perhaps a blessing in disguise. You have a Guardian Angel!
Should you have any questions or comments, please post again here.
Blessings
Nikodicreta

[benthic_man]

With respect to earlier posters, thus far, there is no evidence whatsoever that genetically modified foods have differing absorption or allergenic properties, with the exception of when transgenic foodstuffs are made using foreign proteins when you've already got an allergy to the specific protein that is in question.

    In your question, you mentioned that you had a problem dealing with processed corn products, while organic, unprocessed corn seemed to give you no trouble. Do you have any trouble digesting fresh corn that isn't from an organic source?
Personally, I'm not enthusiastic about making claims that can't be tested in repeatable studies, which, unfortunately, is the direction that whole and natural food enthusiasts tend to choose. I'll agree wholeheartedly with Nikodecreta in that unprocessed, natural food is the best food you can ingest, and from the information you list, you've obviously got a sensitivity to something in the foods you've listed, or, possibly, to the sheer volume of something in what you've ingested.
      Most of the solids in corn products are indigestible for mammals. Some animals have bacteria in their gut that can help them absorb a small amount of nutrition from fiber, but we don't. As such, the attempt to digest a lot of fiber is accompanied by a LOT of gas as our bodies try to convert the fiber into sugars. In the process, we do get a small amount of amino acids (I think pantothenic and folic acid, but it's been a while), but the fiber remains mostly unchanged.   In processed corn foods, if your body is really working at pulling something out of the corn, it's going to take a while, and you're going to have a lot of gas and bloating. Kernel corn is full of water and simple sugars- your body can take a lot out of the corn at that point- the skin and fiber are all that's left, but corn flour and processed foods may contain a lot more starch than whole corn- there's a volume issue of indigestible food in you at that point.

I wish I had more concrete answers for you, but for now, it sounds like you need to avoid the processed forms of corn products where you can. Eating organic food, so long as it's from a reputable source and grown in healthy conditions, is always going to be your best bet.

[patient915]

Welcome to the gastroenterology community!  I personally think that you have IBS.  Almost everyone with IBS has a sensitivity to certain foods.  Your sensitivity might be to cooked corn.  I personally don't agree with Nikodicreta's opinions that these foods are contributing to most of societies health issues. I believe they might contribute a little bit to a certain few illnesses.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion though and I am just putting in my opinion.

[Nikodicreta]

The key word in annmarella's post is "Organic". Therefore, the  distinction is between
fresh organic corn and g.m. chemical-laden and or processed corn .
The assumption is that annmarella is reactive also to fresh -not organic- corn, as well.
Dr. Coca's Pulse Test (free download), may be an easy way to establish this.

Regarding patient915's comment, my statement was taken out of context.
It is the combination of numerous contributing factors, rather than just these foods:
"   A combination of polluted air,  food additives and chemicals in food manufacturing,
processing methods, hormones, antibiotics and other drugs for chicken and cattle,  industrial farming techniques and g.m. foods, stress levels,  
are the contributors to most of western societies' health issues."

The "rain barrel effect" is a  concept of our times affecting greatly our health, whether we like it or not. Proving the validity of it, however, in strict scientific terms,
may be impossible.
So yes, after all, what we do post here, is just our opinions.
Blessings to all,
Nikodicreta

[patient915]

Yes, I'd be curious to know if regular corn bothers her.  I found a lot of things wrong in the set up of Dr. Coca's Pulse teat that would cause it to give inaccurate results, but you can give it a shot.  I actually meant my statement to mean that these chemicals are not contributing to most of societies health issue.  The word "most" is what I have a problem with.

[Pained919]

I also have this issue.  I've been stumbling around for the past 2 1/2 years trying to find the source of my pain.  At first I thought it was dairy (I purchase organic milk).  I switched to Soy and then Almond but still had pain.  Then I thought it was possibly Celiac or a gluten sensitivity but while packaged breads, crackers, croutons, (and beer!) cause me to have intense stomach pain that can last 6+ hrs, a fresh loaf of bread or biscuit made from scratch causes me no problems.  Then I found that maybe it was corn or processed corn products.  I used a marinade that has 'corn malodextrin' several times before realizing that it was the cause of severe stomach pains.  Corn Starch also causes severe pain.  But then still there are contradictions.  Garden of Eatin' blue corn chips cause a severe reaction yet the cheaper Santita's brand of yellow corn chips I don't believe causes me any issues if I eat just a few...scared to eat more.  Not sure how I will ever figure the specific source..so needless to say I eat much fewer carbs in general just as a safeguard.