Soy Intolerance?

[Corkdarrr]

So, quick background. I've been doing an elimination diet and I just added soy back in two or three days ago. I chose soy because it's IN a lot of things, although I don't ever really eat a whole lot of it.

The last two days I ate tofu stirfry, as it's best to reintroduce an item using its purest form. And while soy is IN a lot of things, I wasn't really sure what else I could use.

Yesterday I felt fine after dinner. Today I had some Imagine or Pacific gluten-free CF cream of mushroom soup - which uses soy milk. After eating that I felt somewhat nauseous which then gave way to some mild gas and mild bloating. An hour or two later I made my tofu stirfry again and didn't feel nauseous, but had the same mild gas, mild bloating and also some mild heartburn.

I don't know if I felt sick simply because I was so hungry and had simply waited too long to eat, or if I do, in fact, have a soy intolerance. Or maybe because the soup was kinda ucky? I'm sorry..there's just no replacement for casein.

I guess I'm wondering how I can tell the severity of this soy thing. Because I never eat tofu and the only soy I normally would consume would be in small amounts in prepackaged items, do I need to be that worried about it?

I have been eating chocolate wiht soy lecitin in it for a few days now and it hasn't bothered me at all. Is this enough proof that I should avoid soy in the future? Should I continue to eat tofu for the next few days and see if the symptoms worsen or stay the same? Or can I please move on to something else...like tomatoes!

Thanks

Courtney

[lonewolf]

Soy can cause minor digestive upset like you described. Soy lecithin doesn't cause me trouble at all, and I react badly to soy. What this might be telling you is that large amounts of soy protein upset your stomach, but small amounts don't. Sorry I'm not much help - it's been a long day.

[Corkdarrr]

Thanks, Liz! That's what I'm hoping. I guess my big question is that I don't know is if small amounts can build up in your system and end up causing problems, or how any of that works.

I just finished eating a little bit more of my chocolate and about a half cup of soy milk, so we'll see what that does...

Anyone else out there with soy intolerances/sensitivity that could perhaps shed some more light on this?

Courtney

[AndreaB]

I went off soy in February and found out later that I was intolerant to it. I haven't wanted to test it to see what reactions I would have.

Soy lecithin and soy oil are touted as being ok, but many people still react to them. It's really a personal choice. Probably wouldn't hurt for the occasional thing, I wouldn't worry about it....unless you start getting reactions.

[Budew]

Cork-

I react to all of the things mentioned in your signature except caffine. I have found it helpful to avoid grain lectins, dairy lectins, and nightshade lectins. Try looking at classes of foods, it may save you time and illness.

Sometimes foods can be tolerated in small infrequent amounts. Glutens should be avoided 100% if you test positve for it.

I eliminated soy and corn recently, I still have some pain issues. I hope by cutting out the all the grain lectins (including rice) will help with the muscle pain.

You might want to read the Lectin Story.

Best of luck.

[RP4Me]

Hi Cork -

I too am on the elimination diet - isn't it a pain??? I just found out I can tolerate corn, so I'm happy about that, but like you I can't tolerate casein. I just found that out yesterday after eating mozzerrela cheese and becoming tired, anxious and really crabby about two hours after eating it. My mood went from pretty good to terrible within hours - crazy! My symptoms aren't so much gastrointestinal as they are mood and headache.

I'd been gluten-free for years but still had trouble, so my doctor suggested I do this. I'm just hoping I can figure it all out. Next on my list is soy, so I'll let you know.

Kelley

[Guest Kathy Ann]

I recently talked to a notable scientist with a supplement company. He said that most allergies are actually due to the proteins in foods. So in that case soy protein isolate might be the worst and other parts of soy might be OK in moderation.

I showed a soybean allergy on an ELISA test. I really need to do the Enterolab test for soy to see if it's truly an inherited intolerance to the protein in the soy or just an acquired allergy that could eventually go away.

And it's true, there seems to be no substitute for casein. I'm still looking for a dynamite mayonnaise and even a good tasting cheese substitute when you can't have dairy, soy or eggs.

[haphenomenon]

I am starting to wonder whether I have a soy intolerance also. I've been vegetarian my whole life so it has always been a big part of my diet. I have been gluten free for four years and finally broke down and admitted casein problem and eliminated it completely two years ago. I have been wondering about soy....

I live in India where the diet is very starch based. I tend to have blood sugar disturbances as it seems many of us do.... So I always try to find protein sources. I may have gone overboard on the soy in the past week but I've had some major gastro disturbances. I have had soy nuts, soymilk, I made soy yogurt from kefir starter, and ate some gluten-free cookies with soy lecithin.

I thought maybe the yogurt was bothering me since perhaps the kefir starter was grown on dairy even though its dried and sterilized...

When i've had soy I get headaches, feel kind of "clogged" in my head and lethargic, and I tend to fall asleep right after eating it. Also heartburn, bloating, gas etc

It would be dissapointing not to be able to use soy as a protein source but important to know for sure.

Has anyone found a protein powder that is gluten free, casein free, and soy free? I"ve used hemp seed protein before but it was sort of unpleasant tasting.

Does anyone know if whey protein can be casein free?

[Corkdarrr]

I am starting to wonder whether I have a soy intolerance also. I've been vegetarian my whole life so it has always been a big part of my diet. I have been gluten free for four years and finally broke down and admitted casein problem and eliminated it completely two years ago. I have been wondering about soy....

I live in India where the diet is very starch based. I tend to have blood sugar disturbances as it seems many of us do.... So I always try to find protein sources. I may have gone overboard on the soy in the past week but I've had some major gastro disturbances. I have had soy nuts, soymilk, I made soy yogurt from kefir starter, and ate some gluten-free cookies with soy lecithin.

I thought maybe the yogurt was bothering me since perhaps the kefir starter was grown on dairy even though its dried and sterilized...

When i've had soy I get headaches, feel kind of "clogged" in my head and lethargic, and I tend to fall asleep right after eating it. Also heartburn, bloating, gas etc

It would be dissapointing not to be able to use soy as a protein source but important to know for sure.

Has anyone found a protein powder that is gluten free, casein free, and soy free? I"ve used hemp seed protein before but it was sort of unpleasant tasting.

Does anyone know if whey protein can be casein free?

I, too have asked the whey question. I believe CarlaB answered me by saying that she doesn't trust it since how do you really separate the two proteins that make milk...

I use a protein powder called MediClear. You can find it on Naturallyempowered.com. It tastes very much like powdered cardboard, but you get used to it after a while.

[Rebecca47]

I started another food diary on the 22nd, Nov to see what else has been getting me. The other day i had refried beans and the contained soy and I felt sick. So here we go again. Milk in my cereal seems to be ok so far.

anyway i thought I would add my 2 cents.

rebecca

[marciab]

I'm still on the elimination diet too ...

Sounds like you can handle small amounts of soy. But the negative reaction you had to the tofu and soy milk is not considered acceptable. Food should not make you uncomfortable.

I can eat a small amount of soy too in chocolate, but if I drink soy milk, I get tons of phlegm in my throat immediately.

To answer your question about it building up ...

My sister has a not so pleasant to look at reaction to chocolate, like Will Smith in the movie Hitch. Her face swells unevenly. But, she can eat a small amount every few days and be fine. She has been like this all of her life. And she is 50 ish.

If I were you, I'd move on to tomatoes and avoid large quantities of soy. Worst case scenario is that you check it again sometime down the road.

Marcia