Trouble Digesting Corn? Here's What Your Body's Trying to Tell You
By
Jody Braverman, CPT, FNS, RYT
Updated on July 31, 2025
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Corn on the cob can round a meal. But some people get diarrhea, gas, bloating, or other gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms after eating corn.
This may be due to the fiber content in certain parts of a corn kernel, which can be hard for the gut to digest. Some people also have underlying health problems, such as congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency (CSID), which makes it difficult for them to digest certain sugars in corn.
Here's more about why some people have trouble digesting corn and what you can do about it.
Corn’s Fiber Content Can Cause Gas
Corn is a rich source of cellulose, a type of insoluble fiber the body can't break down. Cellulose passes through your digestive system mostly unchanged, adding bulk to stool and helping it move through the intestines.
Getting enough fiber supports digestive health, but adding too much fiber to the diet too quickly can cause problems for some people, including bloating, gas, and abdominal cramps.
One 145-gram (g) cup of yellow sweet corn provides 2.9 g fiber. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s daily values, a person should consume around 28 g fiber daily, although this varies with age and sex, per the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Therefore, a cup of sweet corn provides around 10.4 percent of a person’s recommended fiber intake.
On the face of it, this isn't a huge proportion. However, if you eat more than this, you could get a reasonably large fiber serving at one time. Especially if you haven't been eating a lot of fiber, this may be too much for your body to process smoothly.
Different types of fibers also affect people in varying ways. For example, you may have problems digesting corn’s cellulose, but not oat bran, psyllium, or soy fiber.
You Could Have a Condition Affecting Carb Digestion
Sweet corn is a high-carbohydrate food, containing just over 27 g per cup. This includes three types of carbs: fiber, starch, and sucrose. All three can cause gastrointestinal problems for certain people.
As its name suggests, sweet corn is full of natural sugars. It contains small amounts of maltose, glucose, and fructose, but the primary sugar content is sucrose.
People with a genetic disorder called congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency are unable to break down sucrose and maltose, which can cause watery diarrhea after eating corn, as well as abdominal pain, bloating, gas, nausea, vomiting, and reflux-like symptoms.
This disorder can also cause malabsorption of other nutrients, leading to more serious nutritional problems.
Some people with CSID also have an intolerance to starch. Their digestive system can't properly break it down, and they experience symptoms similar to those associated with sucrose intolerance.
How to Deal With Gastrointestinal Problems From Corn
If you experience gastrointestinal symptoms after eating sweet corn, you may need to limit your intake or eliminate corn from your diet altogether.
If your corn-related GI problems stem from a sharp increase in fiber intake, simply limit yourself to a single serving at a time. If you haven't been eating a lot of fiber, start with a small serving and gradually increase your intake over a few weeks. Your body should adjust, and the symptoms are likely to improve as it does.
If you have a carbohydrate intolerance that eating sweet corn triggers, you may need to strictly limit or avoid it. A healthcare professional can diagnose you using various tests, including endoscopic biopsy or a breath hydrogen test, and work with you to determine the best course of treatment.
The Takeaway
- Eating corn can induce gastrointestinal symptoms such as gas, bloating, and stomach pain due to its high fiber content and the presence of certain indigestible carbohydrates.
- If you experience GI issues after consuming corn, it may help to gradually increase your fiber intake over time or reduce portion sizes to allow your digestive system to adjust.
- For those with congenital sucrase-isomaltase deficiency or other carbohydrate intolerances, avoiding corn is best.
- If your corn-related GI symptoms persist or are severe, consult a doctor to explore potential nutrient absorption issues or underlying conditions associated with carbohydrate intolerance.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
- 6 Health Benefits of Corn. Cleveland Clinic. August 3, 2023.
- Dietary fiber: Essential for a healthy diet. Mayo Clinic. December 11, 2024.
- Corn, sweet, yellow, raw. U.S. Department of Agriculture. April 1, 2019.
- Daily Value on the Nutrition and Supplement Facts Labels. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. March 5. 2024.
- Dietary Guidelines for Americans. U.S. Department of Agriculture.
- Foods Likely to Cause Gas. International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders.
- Congenital Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency (CSID). International Foundation for Gastrointestinal Disorders.
- Starch intolerance. Food Intolerance Diagnostics.
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Rabia de Latour, MD
Medical Reviewer
Rabia de Latour, MD, is a therapeutic endoscopist and gastroenterologist at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, where she serves as the director of endoscopy and chief sustainability officer at Bellevue Hospital. She is the host of Sirius XM Doctor Radio Internal Medicine Show.
