Soy

[Kaycee]

Wouldn't it be nice if we could blame all our complaints on gluten.

Well the fact that I couldn't sleep very well some nights, I would blame gluten, but I am beginning to think it is something else, as there seems to be a pattern emerging in my food diary.

I have narrowed it down to what I think is soy lecithin, or maybe any soy at all. As the only soy that I eat is in chocolate, because that is so nice, and because it is Christmas. Of course last night I had a chocolate treat an hour or so before bed, so the amount of soy would be minimal. It doesn't seem to do much more than keep me awake, or maybe give me a cough like an asthmatic cough? I drop off fine, while Jim is watching TV, but come 1am and I am tossing and turning, switching on the radio etc etc, and that would go on for nearly the rest of the night.

Is it okay to have soy in moderation if that is the case, or does soy like gluten do damage as well. I guess anything that gives grief should be avoided at all costs. It would be quite easy to eliminate it all together, and that would only leave me with only one chocolate treat, and that would be a Cadbury Flake! But they are yum, so I could live with that.

As a rule I have cut out peanuts as they give me D and I try to avoid chickpeas and lentils for the same reason. I know they are all legumes so soy is probably the best bet for what is giving me a hard night's sleep.

Thanks, and hope you all had a merry Christmas.

Cathy

[Eliza13]

I want to get super healthy this year, but I am not sure what else to cut out of my diet. I have heard that soy can be problemmatic, and am not sure if I should eliminate it. I know that I probably should be eliminating other foods for maximum health. Some interesting things: I throw up when smoke tobacco, don't like any dairy products, don't like egg whites, hate coconut, throw up when I eat cod, throw up when take vitamins on empty stomach, throw up when eat pickled beets, hate tomatoes (unless cooked)....there are more, but I can't remember right now. Does anyone see a pattern here? I know that many of you are quite savvy and may be able to help.

[RiceGuy]

Sounds like there's an easy way to find out if soy is causing your inability to sleep. You only have to obtain some will power to find out. I'd recommend not eating chocolate too, as that is also from a bean. I know carob doesn't quite replace chocolate, but perhaps with a bit of imagination it will pacify enough to get you through a trial period. Apparently carob isn't made from beans, but the pods which contain the beans, so maybe it won't have the same effect on you as a legume.

Besides the caffeine, it seems chocolate also contains a muscle stimulant called Theo bromine, so maybe that explains something.

[Kaycee]

Sounds like there's an easy way to find out if soy is causing your inability to sleep. You only have to obtain some will power to find out. I'd recommend not eating chocolate too, as that is also from a bean. I know carob doesn't quite replace chocolate, but perhaps with a bit of imagination it will pacify enough to get you through a trial period. Apparently carob isn't made from beans, but the pods which contain the beans, so maybe it won't have the same effect on you as a legume.

Dear nice RiceGuy,

you make me sound like a real chocoholic! I wish I was, but I am not, and it will be easy to give it up, along with the minimal amount of soy I eat. I gave chocolate up about 4 years ago for a couple of years, thinking that was what was causing grief for my digestive system. I don't seem to miss things if I know it is not good for me. But I do miss the lack of readily available treats around, it just means I have to slave over the stove to create them and then overeat!

Chocolate I am sure is addictive, if I don't control it, I will be eating more and more of it, I am now trying to think what my poison is, wine probably and coffee, but food does not hold the atrraction I used to have for it.

You more or less state that chocolate is from a bean, I know that, but what I want to know is if it a legumous bean? I have been searching that out on the net for quite a while with no joy. Coffee is a bean, so is that a legume? Nobody anywhere on the websites anywhere seems to confirm it for me either way. I hope you can help me with that question.

Thanks

Cathy

[Kaycee]

I want to get super healthy this year, but I am not sure what else to cut out of my diet. I have heard that soy can be problemmatic, and am not sure if I should eliminate it. I know that I probably should be eliminating other foods for maximum health. Some interesting things: I throw up when smoke tobacco, don't like any dairy products, don't like egg whites, hate coconut, throw up when I eat cod, throw up when take vitamins on empty stomach, throw up when eat pickled beets, hate tomatoes (unless cooked)....there are more, but I can't remember right now. Does anyone see a pattern here? I know that many of you are quite savvy and may be able to help.

Eliza,

From what I believe soy can be problematic, but I don't know if you have to cut it out only because you think you should. If it was causing problems for you, then yes I would cut it out. To cut out soy would mean there would be even less that you could eat.

Smoking makes you sick, give it up. Hard I know, as I gave up a few years back and that was harder than maintaining a gluten free diet.

You don't like dairy, but does it give you problems, as in cramping and diarhoea? If it does that you might be lactose or casien intolerant.

You might have an allergy to seafood, I know of people with shelfish allergies, so it could work with seafood.

Maybe your pickled beets have malt vinegar in them? And your vitamins might have gluten in. Check labels.

Eliza you have every right not to like something, but just because you don't like it does not mean it is bad for you, if you were throwing up the food you hate then that would be a different thing.

Eating right is only half the answer to get super healthy. The next best thing you can do is exercise. Keep moving. Find something you enjoy doing. Swimming, hiking, the gym etc etc. I walk the dog everyday, and during term time, I walk with a friend early in the morning, only really to catch up on work gossip. No, but there is a lot of talking going on. I know I do not do alot as in exercise, as I work as well and time is pretty precious to me, but it is just that amount that has made my life more bearable while I was sick trying to find answers to what was wrong with me. I actually 6 months before diagnosis told my friend that I was feeling fitter than what I had been in my thirties. But now, I think I have that sparkle back in my eyes.

Cathy

[Nooner]

I'd recommend not eating chocolate too, as that is also from a bean. I know carob doesn't quite replace chocolate, but perhaps with a bit of imagination it will pacify enough to get you through a trial period. Apparently carob isn't made from beans, but the pods which contain the beans, so maybe it won't have the same effect on you as a legume.

According to Wikipedia, cocoa beans are not really beans, but are non-legume seeds. Coffee and vanilla are also not legumes, even though in English we refer to them as beans.

I get restless nights and anxiety from just a tiny amount of soy or any nightshades like potatoes or peppers. So instead of eating commercial chocolate bars, I now make fudge using cocoa powder to satisfy any chocolate cravings.

You could test soy vs. chocolate with a little cocoa powder and see if it gives you the same effect.

[RiceGuy]

Dear nice RiceGuy,

you make me sound like a real chocoholic! I wish I was, but I am not, and it will be easy to give it up, along with the minimal amount of soy I eat. I gave chocolate up about 4 years ago for a couple of years, thinking that was what was causing grief for my digestive system. I don't seem to miss things if I know it is not good for me. But I do miss the lack of readily available treats around, it just means I have to slave over the stove to create them and then overeat!

Chocolate I am sure is addictive, if I don't control it, I will be eating more and more of it, I am now trying to think what my poison is, wine probably and coffee, but food does not hold the atrraction I used to have for it.

You more or less state that chocolate is from a bean, I know that, but what I want to know is if it a legumous bean? I have been searching that out on the net for quite a while with no joy. Coffee is a bean, so is that a legume? Nobody anywhere on the websites anywhere seems to confirm it for me either way. I hope you can help me with that question.

Thanks

Cathy

My apologies. I obviously perceived a stronger liking for chocolate than you actually have.

As for whether the cocoa bean is in the Leguminosae family, that is a good question! According to Open Original Shared Link and the [url=Open Original Shared Link

[Kaycee]

Rice Guy,No problem, you must've mistaken me for my mother who has the sweetest tooth out!

Every now and again I just want to feel normal and all I wanted was to try and have a treat because I don't get many, especially treats I don't have to cook, and I put one and one together thinking it could be soy, which I usually avoid, but over the Crhistmas period soy has been sneaking back in, and my sleeping has been getting worse.

I remember going to my parents for a holiday and I had a gluten free loaf of bread made for me, and I just could not sleep the entire couple of weeks and I had a cough, but no obvuous gluten symptoms. Looking back now, I know for sure that the bread mixture used had soy in it, and that is really what makes me sure about the soy.

You may ask why I am defensive, ask my dad, he would go tut-tut everytime when I was younger if I over ate. And I have been obese and am now overweight, so the thought of people thinking I eat too much chocolate does appals me.

And Nooner, last night I ate potato and capsicums and I don't seem to have a problem with that, and I slept well. Thanks for mentioning that soy keeps you awake as well. I will give that cocoa a test. Cup of cocoa tonight? Too hot for that. But I have found a Cadbury Flake Bar without soy, I think it is the only bar of chocolate in the world to have no soy.

Thank you both for your searching, I will now sit back and enjoy my coffee.

Cathy

[RiceGuy]

I will give that cocoa a test. Cup of cocoa tonight? Too hot for that. But I have found a Cadbury Flake Bar without soy, I think it is the only bar of chocolate in the world to have no soy.

I recall having many a cup of cold chocolate milk, and that's what school lunches offer next to the unflavored milk.

Anyway, I'd bet you could easily make your own soy-free chocolate bars that not only taste great, but would be more healthy too. You could use stevia instead of sugar, and include any sort of other stuff you like, such as coconut, almonds, raisins, etc.

Here are some chocolate bar recipes:

Open Original Shared Link

Here's a no-bake chocolate Mallowbars recipe:

Open Original Shared Link

On a somewhat different note, I just read that peas, like peanuts, are legumes.

[Juliebove]

Enjoy Life Foods makes a soy and dairy free chocolate in the form of chips. These are easy enough to make into bars and other shapes if you have a mold. You can microwave them at 50% power, stirring every 30 seconds or so just until they start to look shiny. You can also do this over the stove over hot (not boiling) water. The trick is to just get the chocolate started melting then stir to fully melt. Use a small spoon to pour it into the molds being careful not to overfill. Tap the molds down lightly on the counter to remove any air bubbles. Put in the freezer until they lose their shine, then unmold.

If you want filled chocolates, get a special mold just for those. Put a small amount of chocolate in the bottom of each mold, then use a clean paintbrush to bring it up the sides. Hold the mold up to the light and check to make sure no light gets through. If so, you need to make the chocolate a bit thicker in that spot. Put in the freezer until it loses its shine, then add the filling of your choice. Freeze again until the filling is hard then carefully top with more chocolate.

If you don't want to get molds you can easily make clusters by melting the chocolate then adding nuts, coconut or crushed hard candies like peppermints or butterscotch. Drop by spoonfuls on waxed paper and put in the freezer or other cool location until set.

While it is possible that soy is the problem, it's more likely that the chocolate is the problem. It does contain caffeine and it also can cause the throat muscle to relax. I was recently diagnosed with GERD but I didn't think I was having symptoms. Until I ate chocolate. I did not sleep at all that night.