Soy Question

[alfinkel]

Hi, I am a 26 year old vegan, recently diagnosed with Celiac's.

I've been on the diet for just under a week.

I'm having difficult searching the board for some reason, so will make my own post.

How do I find out if I have soy issues? Is there a test for that?

Also, is it possible/likely that I will develop problems with soy in the future if I don't now?

Being a celiac vegan, soy intolerance would be a major problem for me.

Thanks!

[Lauren M]

Hi, I am a 26 year old vegan, recently diagnosed with Celiac's.

I've been on the diet for just under a week.

I'm having difficult searching the board for some reason, so will make my own post.

How do I find out if I have soy issues? Is there a test for that?

Also, is it possible/likely that I will develop problems with soy in the future if I don't now?

Being a celiac vegan, soy intolerance would be a major problem for me.

Thanks!

Hi and welcome!

I'm 24 and have been a vegetarian since I was 4. I mostly eat vegan too (soy cheese and soy milk products, though I do eat eggs in recipes), and I too, definitely rely on soy as a major protein source.

I don't really have an answer for you, but wanted to let you know that you're not alone in this concern. There is a lot of hype out there about whether soy is good or bad for you. I see a nutrionist and she recommended "everything in moderation" and did not think I needed to worry about limiting my soy intake at all, unless of course, I seem to develop and intolerance to it.

Best of luck with the transition to the gluten-free life. I know it's hard, especially when you don't eat meat, but my Celiac diagnosis was nearly 3 years ago, and I'm still going strong! Of course we also have beans and nuts (which, combined with rice or corn, make a complete protein). Good luck, keep posting!

- Lauren

[burdee]

Lauren:

You certainly could have a soy allergy or intolerance. You could test for soy allergy with the ELISA (blood test for IgG antibodies) if you are still actively consuming soy. OR you could test for soy intolerance with the Enterolab stool tests (for IgA antibodies) even if you only eat soy occasionally. I had not eaten soy for several years, because I thought I had soy reactions (similar to my gluten and dairy reactions). So soy did not show a reaction on my ELISA test. Then I ate a little soy (soybean oil in a chopped garlic product) for a few days and ordered the Enterolab test. That test was positive for soy IgA antibodies and confirmed my suspicions about soy.

If you had undiagnosed Celic symptoms for awhile before your diagnosis, I recommend you get either blood or stool tests for other food allergies/intolerances. Many celiacs have milk intolerance to lactose (the milk sugar) which goes away after the intestinal villi heal. However other celiacs have true milk delayed reaction (IgG) allergy to CASEIN (the milk protein). Others have allergies to many of the 8 major allergen foods which includes soy. If you abstain from gluten for 6 months and STILL have symptoms, I suggest you consider other food sensitivites or bacterial problems.

I have soy, egg and dairy allergies. So I combine beans with gluten free grains or nuts or seeds with grains for complete proteins when I prepare vegan meals. I drink and cook with nut milks (almond or coconut). Even without gluten, dairy, eggs, soy and cane sugar (my allergies) there are still LOTS of food choices out there. You'll eat an overall healthier diet when you eat those foods.

BURDEE

[myserenityprayer]

Hey Lauren,

I too am fairly new to the world of Celiac Disease and being gluten free. I was a vegetarian for many years until going away to college and getting so sick from eating french fries and grilled cheese every day. And had little choice but to start eating some meat. Clearly that did not help my gluten intolerance. I didn't know then about Celiac disease and I am sure drinking a ton of beer didn't help much either. Anyways, I have always eaten a ton of soy, especially soy milk and tofu like it was going out of style. And I thought I was being so healthy, until about a month ago when I was diagnosed with Celiac. It was really hard for me at first because my dr. told me I needed to eat more iron because I was anemic and my protein levels were really really low. Since college I started to eat a little meat, but mostly fish which I do really like. I nearly threw up after attemting to eat roast beef. NEVER AGAIN!!! I went back to eating my tofu pancakes and soy cheese and soy milk, soy salad dressing, and tofu. And while I was not eating any gluten I was still really sick, maybe even sicker than I was before going gluten free. Through an elimination diet (I just stopped eating all forms of soy for a week) I learned on my own that I am also intolerant to soy, as many are. I also have autoimmune hypothyroidism which has been recently linked in many studies to a large consumption of soy as a child ( I drank soy formula as a baby). There is a lot of controversy about soy and the dangers. Basically what I have read is that while soy may be okay for some and the isoflavones may have some cancer reducing results, the high levels of estrogen in the nonfermented soy (soybean oil, tofu, soybeans, soy milk, etc) can actually be extremely toxic to many, especially if you already have an autoimmune diease, such as Celiac.

Many on this forum have gotten other intolerance tests from a place called Enterolab. It might be something to consider. From what I have read it seems like its some mail order lab where you send in a sample of stool and they test it for other intolerances such as soy, yeast, casein, eggs, and gluten. Its very expensive so I have chosen to hold off for now as it seems that soy and gluten are my main intolerances, at least for now. Although I am lactose intelorance but I am hoping that is only temporary. I have been feeling a gazillion times better now that I do not eat soy or gluten. You can check out Enterolab's website, just search for them on Google. There are a lot of people here who are trying to follow a vegan diet who may be able to give you more advice. It has helped me a lot to also speak with a nutritionist who is educating on Celiac. Good luck, and welcome!!

[Lauren M]

Marissa,

But if I don't notice any problems while eating soy, do you think I could still have a problem?

(of course, this is coming from a girl who had never heard of Celiac disease and didn't think she had any other issue than a problematic pancreas, pre-biopsy....)

- Lauren

[myserenityprayer]

Marissa,

But if I don't notice any problems while eating soy, do you think I could still have a problem?

(of course, this is coming from a girl who had never heard of Celiac disease and didn't think she had any other issue than a problematic pancreas, pre-biopsy....)

- Lauren

That I don't know. From what I have read about soy intolerances sometimes the long term results are hidden and disguised as other things, similar to autoimmune diseases. And there are many gluten intolerant people who do not get sick from consuming gluten but have been effected other ways like developing osteoporosis or cancer. Definitely do some research about it, I have found a ton of stuff on the internet (which you always have to still be weary of). Maybe you should consider starting off eating minimal things and slowly introduce foods back in, I guess like an elimination diet, that has seemed to help a lot of people on here. If you are really concerned and want immediate answers and don't mind spending the money, maybe you should look into the Enterolab tests. There are many people who can tolerate soy without any problems. But the best foods to eat to be the healthiest with Celiac is eating fresh whole non processed foods. The nonfermented soy products out there aren't necessarily "whole". Oh gosh, I hope that helped. Just try not to freak out. We are all still learning together.

[Lauren M]

And there are many gluten intolerant people who do not get sick from consuming gluten but have been effected other ways like developing osteoporosis or cancer.

That's kind of like me. I had stomach issues here and there (who doesn't), but never associated them with eating gluten - maybe b/c it was such a constant in my diet. Then it all erupted when I had a severe bout with pancreatitis, which we now know was caused most likely by undiagnosed Celiac disease. 2 months after the pancreatitis scare, I had an endoscopy to check out my pancreas (I was still having awful bloating and pains) when they discovered my non-existent intestinal villi. Biopsy was taken, and the rest is history. My main symptom pre-pancreatitis was anemia, and now I know that I also have osteopenia.

Oops, sorry, went off on a tangent there. I think my point was that even when I was feeling "off" health-wise, I never associated it w/wheat or gluten. I might try the soy elimination thing for a little while, though I have no idea how I'd get enough protein! There's only so much cheese and eggs a girl can eat! (I consider beans and nuts as lesser sources of protein)

- Lauren

[alfinkel]

Thanks for all the feedback! I'll continue eating soy and see how I feel my body recouperates from the years of gluten!

[AndreaB]

Hi you guys or should I say gals!

I am one of those people that didn't have symptoms. I tested IgG allergic to wheat/gluten/gliadin/soy and some beans etc....see sig. I ordered the enterolab tests (for everything) and found I'm intolerant to gluten and soy. I have not eaten soy in the form of anything but soyoil/lecithin since February and went off the rest of it in April I believe which is when I got my allergy results. Enterolab results were the beginning of June. I think I had some tamari a few times before June. I was lacto-ovo veg for 3 years, ovo for 1 year and vegan for 3. Since I am allergic to so much of the vegan protein staples I have resumed a meat eating diet, but only buy the best meat I can (which gets expensive, but is worth it). I was raised a meat eater so it wasn't difficult for me to switch back. My metabolic type leans towards the more protein side. I had been eating tons of soy and gluten prior to the tests. Made my own tofu for a time, my own gluten, bread etc.

I would encourage testing by enterolab if you are not one that has much in the way of symtpoms. Lauren, I'd be curious how your soy elimination/challenge go.

Alfinkel,

Keep us posted on how you're doing and make sure to post or look for any questions you have. I did post an article on soy allergies. I'll post this and go look for the link and add it on.

Ok, I found the thread. Soy does cause villious atrophy also.

Open Original Shared Link

[bluejeangirl]

Open Original Shared Link

About the Whole Soy Story

Here's a book about soy. If the link works,...sorry if it doesn't.

gail

[alfinkel]

here's the publisher.

Open Original Shared Link

they also talk about how great milk and cholesterol are.

seems like a marketing plan...

ech.

[hineini]

I am sure that it's possible to have a soy intolerance or allergy and no symptoms, however... One of the ways I'm figuring out exactly how sick soy makes me, is I've cut gluten out completely but I'm still getting sick... And when I look at what I eat when I feel sick, it often involves soy.

For instance, I will eat a meal with almost no common allergens (brown rice and veggies, for instance) and some soy sauce or some other soy-containing ingredient... And I get sick. I know it's not the brown rice, and the veggies are unlikely, and the reaction to soy is fairly consistent. That's enough information for me to know I need to stop eating it. It's like an unofficial, less thorough elimination diet of sorts.

However, easier said than done. I'm still working on cutting it out of my diet. It's hidden in everything, and it's hard enough just keeping gluten out of my food! I do feel better when I avoid it, though.