I have to drink cornstarch every three hours to survive

She’s had to navigate the maize of life.

A Brazilian bombshell is going viral due to a rare condition that requires her to consume cornstarch every few hours to survive.

“I’ve been using cornstarch for 29 years,” Leticia Ramos, from Uberaba, told Jam Press.

The so-called “Queen of Cornstarch” specifically suffers from glycogenosis, or glycogen storage disease, a rare metabolic disorder that affects how the body metabolizes glycogen, which is the body’s main energy source, BiologyOnline.com reported.

Affecting about 1 in 25,000 people worldwide, the ailment often results in “enlargement of the liver” and other organs “with progressive muscular weakness” due to excess glycogen accumulation.

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As a result, the pizzeria worker has to drink cornstarch dissolved in water every three hours to prevent dangerous glycogen levels from amassing in the liver. This amounts to around 44 pounds every month for nearly three decades of her life.

Carb-loading to regulate sugar levels might seem counterintuitive. However, the complex carbohydrate “maintains normal blood sugar levels” for longer than most food-based carbs, effectively keeping hypoglycemia — or low blood sugar — at bay, according to CureGSD.com.

Failing to eat the aforementioned amount of cornstarch could prove catastrophic to Ramos’ health. “If I don’t take it [cornstarch], I can go into a coma,” lamented the kitchen assistant, whose parents realized she had a problem when she was 2.

They reportedly became concerned after Ramos exhibited a litany of alarming symptoms ranging from a swollen abdomen to hypoglycemia and even seizures.

However, when they took their daughter to the doctor’s office, physicians simply chalked up her symptoms to a “stomach ache” and “million other things,” according to Ramos. She explained that it wasn’t until her mother “made a scene in the hospital and told them she wasn’t going to leave” that they got a true diagnosis.

Subsequent biopsies revealed that Ramos was suffering from type 9c glycogenosis, one of the most extreme strains, which has caused her a smorgasbord of complications, Jam Press reported.

“I have no idea how many times she was hospitalized,” Ramos’ mother lamented. “She stopped walking for some time due to the condition, as it caused muscular myopathy.”

To maintain normal glucose levels, Ramos is forced to — along with eating cornstarch — wake up at dawn to take a pharmacy’s worth of medications and adhere to a strict, sugarless diet.

“I take 13 medicines a day and my diet is well regulated,” Ramos said. “It also involves not eating anything while out and about.”

Despite the grueling health regimen, Ramos claimed that the condition becomes “easier to live with” once you start “organizing yourself.”

Far more difficult was the social ostracization she suffered as a result of her unusual diet. “I used to be very ashamed to eat cornstarch, I always wanted to run away and hide,” she rued. “I was removed from school a few times because of problems with dengue (viral disease) because I couldn’t catch it.”

She added, “It was a life that was kind of separate from other people.”

Fortunately, Ramos has since found a community on social media, where she frequently shares updates about her condition to her more than 40,000 adoring TikTok followers.

“The story of this girl shows us that we adapt to everything in this life,” gushed one fan on the platform. “We need to try to go on with life and be happy despite the problems.”

“You are a warrior, Leticia!” wrote another on Instagram, where she boasts 12,000 fans. “What an inspiring, beautiful and determined woman! Success, health and achievements for you!”

Many commenters shared their own experiences with the disease with one writing: “Warrior… thank you for demonstrating with lightness what it’s like to live on schedule with the commitment to survive! My daughter is 10 years old and has Glycogenosis type 3 B.”

Ramos was overwhelmed by the responses. “I didn’t expect all this attention!” she said. “I hid it for so long that I needed cornstarch and then I just decided to show it to everyone.”

She added: “The most common messages I receive are from mothers of young children who still don’t know how to deal with the condition. They are very scared and uncertain about what could happen to their child, so I always help them calm down, and that’s very gratifying.”