Did you know that according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Soy is among the most common foods that cause allergic reactions? Soy is as prevalent in the foods we eat today as high fructose corn syrup! Soy milk, soy flour, soy grits, soy meal, soy sauce, soy oil…and more!
Since my detox experience last year, I’ve been really trying to pay better attention to my food choices, and have come to realize how eating things that I’m slightly allergic to affects my system. For most of my food allergies – thankfully I don’t need an epi-pen. But that really shouldn’t give me license to eat things I know aren’t great for my system.
I’ve known for years that I’m allergic to peanuts and beans. Especially peas & lima beans – really everything in the bean family is an allergy problem for me. But it wasn’t until chatting with my friend Kirsten Carey who runs a fabulous gluten-free, soy-free, lactose-free, nut free restaurant in Scottsdale, AZ – Nourish123, that I realized Soy is a bean! Know that sounds funny…you’d think I would have put this together a little bit sooner.
Soy milk, and Chinese food were things I quickly realized I needed to give up. Then I started reading labels…
Soy lecithin is a binder in many, many foods – most chocolates & chocolate chips contain soy. Soy sauce is used as a flavor enhancer in many sauces & dishes. Soy is in most mayonnaise and salad dressings. Most vegetable oils contain soy. Many of the foods in your kitchen contain soy, and I seriously doubt you can eat out at a regular restaurant and avoid soy.
Here are other terms that imply soy is an ingredient:
- Glycine max
- Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
- Lecithin
- Miso
- Mono-diglyceride
- Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
- Natto
- Tempeh
- Tofu
- Vegetable oil
- Vitamin E contains soy bean oil
And this is just what we are eating!
Did you know that soy is also a commonly used ingredient in medicines, cosmetics, lotions, creams, and ointments?
For me, with a known soy allergy, slathering skin care products on my body that contain soy are just as harmful as ingesting it!
I have had to seriously adjust my lifestyle to work on becoming soy-free. Know I’m not 100% soy-free yet, and thankfully the repercussions of small amounts aren’t causing me major distress. But I can tell you that the less soy I eat, finding skin-care products that are soy-free (along with avoiding several other things I know I’m allergic to…) I am breathing better, feeling stronger, my digestive system is starting to work better – finally!!! I am more energized, and noticeably healthier.
It takes a bit of work to clean the soy out of your kitchen, but for me – the benefits of becoming soy-free are life changing in a fabulous way!
To learn more about Soy Allergies click the link to AAFA.
If you too are striving to stay healthy & Soy-Free and have product recommendations, or healthy recipes – please post a comment & share! And here’s hoping that if enough people start to take action and stop using soy-based products, that we can get better allergy-free options on the shelves for healthy, whole-food, soy-free living.
Thank you for this blog on soy allergies. I was under the impression that soy was good for me, especially in the menopausal phase of life. I purchased many soy products for the natural estrogen that I have read about. Now, I am finding out that I feel much better by eliminating soy. I did not realize that soy is included in so many products. I am feeling less stomach irritation and less arthritic pain since eliminating soy. I have also found some great information on soy allergies and food allergies in general at http://www.conqueringarthritis.com.