Allergic to Soy?

Shannongr29

Is anyone else here allergic to soy? I have been for years, but I’d like to finally try a diet elimination. I know soy is often labeled or hidden under other terms/names as well as included in a lot of items like body lotions, makeup, hair products, etc.

Any advice on specific ingredients that are soy labeled under other terms would be greatly appreciated, any recipes, or any general tips are also welcome. any help is great, as my immunologist/allergist was a bit vague on where to start.

Thanks in advance!!

shaumom

I am allergic to soy, too. I don't have a severe allergy, so ingested soy is mainly my issue, so there may be some things that might have contamination that I miss, but for what it's worth, for labeling and trying to avoid soy in food...


- in the USA, soy is one of the 8 major allergens and soy ingredients will typically be labeled (exceptions mentioned below) on processed foods that the FDA regulates. Depending on your sensitivity, though, you may also react to contamination. In that case, it's important to know that the labels that say things like 'also processed on equipment/in a facility that also processes soy' is a voluntary label, not a mandatory one. The company judges the risk level. I don't know for soy, but for wheat, there have been tests and about a fifth of the foods tested, that were without that label, had detectable levels of wheat. I figure soy is likely similar. So if you are really sensitive, you may need to call up companies to see if there is a risk of contamination of soy for any processed foods.
- Also, alcohol is not regulated by the FDA. Soy labeling does not apply for it, as a result, so you would need to call up companies to check on ingredients or risk. I would guess flavored alcohols would be more risky.
- Cold-pressed, expelled or extruded soy oil (often gourmet oils) is more risky than refined soy oils. Highly refined soy oil is not required to be labeled as an allergen. Studies show that most people with soy allergy can safely eat highly refined soy oil as well as soy lecithin. But again - it's most, not all, so you need to judge your own level of sensitivity and risk.


- Words to look for in foods. Obviously, soy or soy bean, but also it can be labeled: Tamari ( a type of soy sauce), Tempeh, Textured vegetable protein (TVP), Soya, shoyu, natto, miso, edamame, tofu.
- foods to be wary of - pretty much everything, sadly. Like gluten, soy is used in a lot of things in weird ways. so vegetable gums, asian foods, starches, canned goods, baked goods, dairy products like flavored yogurts - you pretty much have to read all the labels. It can be easiest, starting out, to just go 'whole foods' and make everything from scratch.

re: things that are not food
- This is a pretty good article to get you started on what to avoid. some weird ones we might not think of, like soy based inks are pretty common in books, newspapers, games and puzzles. And gluten free play doughs or crayons can be soy, too. And most carpeting I believe has soy as well. It's REALLY common. I believe there are some soy based 'eco friendly' things now too, like disposable dishes or plastic utensils(I know there are wheat ones; believe there are soy as well).

https://www.verywellhealth.com/non-food-soybean-products-1324500



as for recipes - if you can do coconut aminos, most asian recipes from scratch, using that, are pretty nice. a lot of Indian food is soy free naturally and very good, if you make sauces yourself. Otherwise, just a lot of cooking from scratch.