The Trouble With Soy- Trouble With Soy Lecithin, Too?

[oceangirl]

Hello, Fellow Food Issue People-

Could I hear from those of you who are soy-free in regard to soy lecithin and whether it gives the same dismal symptoms as soy? I think I read somewhere that lecithin can be tolerated. Here's why I ask: I would just like to try a little bite of some Hershey's chocolate but it has soy in it. OR, if you have a favorite chocolate bar that is definitely gluten and soy-free I'd love to hear about it. Thanks so much in advance!

lisa

[jnclelland]

Hello, Fellow Food Issue People-

Could I hear from those of you who are soy-free in regard to soy lecithin and whether it gives the same dismal symptoms as soy? I think I read somewhere that lecithin can be tolerated. Here's why I ask: I would just like to try a little bite of some Hershey's chocolate but it has soy in it. OR, if you have a favorite chocolate bar that is definitely gluten and soy-free I'd love to hear about it. Thanks so much in advance!

lisa

This is one of those "everyone's different" things. For me, soy lecithin in a chocolate bar (even one with no gluten or dairy, which are my other problem foods) makes my hands break out in a rash for a few days, so I definitely react to it. But not everyone does.

Jeanne

[jerseyangel]

Yes--it's an individual thing, I think.

I can tolerate soy lecithin, but soy gives me GI distress.

[gadgetgirl]

OR, if you have a favorite chocolate bar that is definitely gluten and soy-free I'd love to hear about it.

I have no problems with Lindt 70% or 85% Dark chocolate bars. I can buy them at my local Jewel here in the Midwest.

I also have had the Rapunzel Organic bars - bittersweet 70% cocoa - I get them at Whole Foods

Certified organic ingredients: cocoa liquor (100% crushed cocoa beans, non-alcohol), Rapadura

[JNBunnie1]

Hello, Fellow Food Issue People-

Could I hear from those of you who are soy-free in regard to soy lecithin and whether it gives the same dismal symptoms as soy? I think I read somewhere that lecithin can be tolerated. Here's why I ask: I would just like to try a little bite of some Hershey's chocolate but it has soy in it. OR, if you have a favorite chocolate bar that is definitely gluten and soy-free I'd love to hear about it. Thanks so much in advance!

lisa

Hello! If you must have chocolate, Enjoy Life choco chips are free of all standard allergens, no soy!

[Juliebove]

My daughter is allergic to soy. I do not allow her regular chocolate of any kind and instead make things from Enjoy Life Chocolate chips. She also has a dairy allergy. I do however allow her occasional treats with soy lecithin in them such as gluten-free ice cream cones and special cupcakes where the chocolate in the icing has soy lecithin in it. In the case of the cupcake, she doesn't really eat it. Just takes a few licks of the icing. A waste of money, I know but she likes to bring them to birthday parties. She does not seem to get sick from this small amount on occasion but it is hard to tell. With her, often the clue to the allergy is a nose bleed.

[gf4life]

For me I am allergic (itchy rash and breathing trouble) to the soy proteins, and I tolerate the oils and lecithin just fine. I still try to limit them, but I don't avoid them outright. About the only time I every knowingly eat soy protein is when we go to P.F. Chang's and I order some of their gluten-free dishes that contain wheat free soy sauce and I follow up the meal with a dessert of Benadryl! The rest of the time I avoid soy protein like it is gluten!

I wish I could say the same for dairy. I don't seem to be able to eliminate it completely out of my diet. I try, but then I think a little won't hurt...then I end up suffering with GI distress. Why can't I be more self-controlled with the dairy free part.

[oceangirl]

For me I am allergic (itchy rash and breathing trouble) to the soy proteins, and I tolerate the oils and lecithin just fine. I still try to limit them, but I don't avoid them outright. About the only time I every knowingly eat soy protein is when we go to P.F. Chang's and I order some of their gluten-free dishes that contain wheat free soy sauce and I follow up the meal with a dessert of Benadryl! The rest of the time I avoid soy protein like it is gluten!

Well, thank you all so much. Perhaps I'll try a nibble. Yes, I have enjoy life chips as my only occasional chocolate treat; I've just been lusting for something a little more seriously "chocolate". Thank you everyone for your thoughts.

lisa

I wish I could say the same for dairy. I don't seem to be able to eliminate it completely out of my diet. I try, but then I think a little won't hurt...then I end up suffering with GI distress. Why can't I be more self-controlled with the dairy free part.

[oceangirl]

Okay, something wacky just happened. I apologize; hopefully it can be deciphered.

lisa

[hathor]

I think it might make a difference whether you are allergic to soy or intolerant to it. For the former, it sure seems like everything I've read says to avoid lecithin. For the latter (my category), Enterolab told me that they though lecithin would be OK for me.

Of course, what is important is how your body reacts ...

[gf4life]

It certainly does matter most what happens in each individual's body in regards to soy. Each person will have a different tolerance to it. I am allergic (IgE mediated allergy) and I do not have a problem with the oils or lecithin (which is derived from soybean oil). Even this article here from the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network mentions that studies have shown people allergic to soy can usually tolerate the oils.

Open Original Shared Link

Lisa, do you know if your problem with soy is an allergy or an intolerance? I try to limit my middle boy's access to too much soy, since it seems to irritate his tummy. We figured that out when he first went gluten and dairy free and we filled in soy milk, soy ice cream treats, etc... He does fine with lecithin though.

[hangininthere]

Wow! I'm gonna try a candy bar with lecithin in it and see if I can tolerate it, me and son miss candy bars so much, and he was wanting some granola bars and the like, which all contain soy in one form or another, as with most all processed ready-made foods!

He said he had a Caramello candy bar the other night while out and that it didn't nauseate him! Then I read the ingredients on one while at the store and it did have lecithin in it as all the mainstream chocolates do. I started wondering! And now with this thread here I'm starting to feel hopeful!

I'm kind of afraid to try the soybean oil though, as my son did get nauseated on the regular peanut butter we used to buy, and I had my bad reactions too.

I might try some salad dressing with the soybean oil again, and see if I get a reaction. It would be wonderful to have other salad dressings beside the homemade Italian dressing I've been making and am sick of, ha!

I'm my son's 'King's Taste Tester', because I don't get violently ill with vomiting or lose weight on the glutens like my son does (and soy just nauseates him). My symptoms are severe exhaustion and depression and brain fog and achiness and dark allergy circles and puffy bags under my eyes on the allergens, bad enough, I get sick as a dog in that way, but at least I can try stuff out before my son has it, on a day when I have nowhere else to go for the next three days in case I get a bad reaction!

This could open up a whole new world for me and son if we can tolerate lecithin and even soybean oil, or at least just lecithin, even if it's only him that can tolerate it and not me, wow! I'll let everyone know how it works out for me and him, when I get the nerve to try it!

I had a mild reaction to some generic relish yesterday which means my son would have had a severe reaction to it. I know to try just about EVERYTHING out before I serve it to my son, because even though it's required to label properly, there is a certain percentage of the ingredient that isn't required to be labeled, such as I got sick for three days and even awful nausea the whole time when I tried drinking a few sips of Coca Cola (I had e-mailed the company and they e-mailed me back warning I may have a reaction if super-sensitive to glutens, they were very thorough, good of them). My bad reaction from the relish only lasted a few hours this time, just a little relish in ham salad I made. I just got worse brain fog from it is all.

Hard to believe that relish could have a gluten or soy allergen in it. Was so glad to find out we could have things that contain vinegar in it, and it has worked well for us! But I did read the labels on some name brand pickles and it said they contained wheat, so that's why I was careful with the relish since I hadn't tried that out yet. Yet the generic (Save-A-Lot and Aldi's storebrand) pickles and peppers agree with us completely. Yet the generic apple pie filling had wheat snuck into it, no allergens were labeled on it and I got sick as a dog for days from it. Good thing I ate it before my son had some, that's what alerted me to the fact that I need to be my son's taste-tester!

Well, I'm so excited to hear about the lecithin! Will give it a try! Kind of afraid to try the salad dressing with soybean oil though, but some of hubby's Ranch dressing would sure taste good for a change, ha!

Best wishes to all!

[hathor]

Bear in mind from the posted link that the soybean oil that most can tolerate is the stuff that is NOT "cold pressed, expeller pressed, or extruded oil." How common are these forms? And how often do lists of ingredients even tell you how any soybean oil was produced? I've only ever seen "soybean oil."

[hangininthere]

Yes, that's what I was wondering, and trying to look up on-line if the regular soybean oil in salad dressings and peanut butter and the like is cold pressed, expeller pressed, or extruded oil!

I'll probably skip the oil, but if the lecithin agrees with me and/or son, that will be great!

Best wishes to all!

[oceangirl]

Yes, that's what I was wondering, and trying to look up on-line if the regular soybean oil in salad dressings and peanut butter and the like is cold pressed, expeller pressed, or extruded oil!

I'll probably skip the oil, but if the lecithin agrees with me and/or son, that will be great!

Best wishes to all!

Wow,

lots of info on this site while our power was out! Thank you all. I've never been tested for soy, I've just known all my life that I get an upset GI tract with it and of course now with the whole gluten intolerance thing just about ANYTHING can upset my intestines! FUN! However, I am going to get brave and do a little "Lecithin Test". I'll let you know what I find out.

Thanks,

lisa

[hangininthere]

Glad you made it through the storm, I'm assuming it was that big N'East one.

I went out today and bought a milk chocolate bar, but it probably won't agree with me because I just remembered that vanilla extract gives me a wheat reaction for some reason, the alcohol in it must not agree with me, alcohol is wheat or grain based but is supposed to lose the glutens in the distilling process. I'm assuming alcohol is always distilled, has to be?

Vanilla extract doesn't give my son a bad reaction though, so don't know what my problem is with it. Son didn't get a reaction to beer he drank one night at a party either, Budweiser or the Lite I think it was. I don't need to try the alcoholic beverages though, been on the wagon for about thirty years, ha.

I'll have my son try a tiny taste of our favorite milk chocolate bar (giant size, ha) and see if a reaction comes on, it can take him a few hours or all day for a tiny bit of soy to hit him (wheat hits him immediately though, almost like a mild anaphylactic shock type reaction, chills and vomiting and weakness, lays under a quilt shivering and vomiting), so he'll start out slow on that chocolate bar.

I might try it too, just for the heck of it, ha. A tiny bite, ha.

Yes, let's let everyone know how we do with trying the lecithin, thanks!

Best wishes to all!

[hangininthere]

Amazing!

The chocolate candy bar with soya lecithin agreed with me and son!!!

First chocolate candy we've had in a year, wow!!!

I had a very slight mild brief reaction to the vanillan in it, but it wasn't bad, I can still have that particular candy bar any time I want, ha!

I've just tonight been reading a thread on another gluten-free forum to watch out for Hershey's chocolate candy, such as the Hershey's Kisses some people had a reaction to gluten-wise, as it may have a tiny bit of gluten in it, so not all chocolate bars are safe, even if the ingredient label looks like it's safe.

My chocolate bar was from Aldi's grocery store, not a Hershey's bar. Beware of Hershey's, could contain a small amount of gluten!

So we need to be careful with each new thing we try, just in case!

So thrilled to be able to have stuff with soy lecithin!

But maybe people with a very severe soy allergy may not be able to have the soy lecithin, be careful with a severe allergy!

Lecithin can be made from eggs or soy. But my chocolate bar said soya lecithin on the ingredient label.

Best wishes to all!