How can I safely figure out which gluten free foods upset my GI tract when people react to so many different foods?

[David 0]

Hey Everyone:

Well, I took a lot heat in an earlier posting in this forum for (heaven forbid) wanting to see a doctor to explain my multiple and undiagnosed food allergies and intolerances in addition to gluten (or at the very least to rule out that I don

[mushroom 1,209]

Hey Everyone:

Well, I took a lot heat in an earlier posting in this forum for (heaven forbid) wanting to see a doctor to explain my multiple and undiagnosed food allergies and intolerances in addition to gluten (or at the very least to rule out that I don

[David 0]

I really don't think there is a Soy 101 class; we pretty much have to be our own teachers; even the doctors and nutritionists don't have manuals for this kind of stuff.

Just to clarify, I didn

[darkhorse 0]

Soy is a bit easier to avoid simply because it must be listed as one of the big 8 allergens. My best suggestion is to do a Google search with the terms "soy free" or "soy allergy" and read the information that comes up. You don't need much more than that. I don't know about you, but I tend not to eat many specifically soy products like tofu or the like. All of those are really unnecessary and easy to avoid. The only thing you should need an alternative for would be soy sauce since that is in so many sauces and products. I have seen soy free recipes for soy sauce but have never tried them. The harder thing is to avoid soy in processed foods and to do that you simply need to read labels. Earth Balance spread does make a soy free margarine that tastes great. You could also try ghee as a butter alternative, but I have never tried it so I can't really give an opinion. Soy really can't be hid because of the labeling laws.

Here is a list of soy products that I got from doing a Google search. I don't remember where I got it otherwise I would add a link. I hope this helps.

Edamame

Miso

Natto

Shoyu sauce

Soy bean products

Soy (fiber, flour, grits, nuts, oil, sprouts)

Soy (milk, yogurt, ice cream, cheese)

Soy protein (concentrate, hydrolyzed, isolate)

Soy sauce

Tamari

Tempeh

Textured vegetable protein

Tofu

Vegetable oil (almost always made from soy)

I have also heard that soy lecithin does not have to be labeled because people don't always react to it. So that is one thing you may have to avoid until you feel better and then try it out to see if it causes a reaction. But again, your best bet is to simply research on your own using those search terms from above.

[AliB 6]

David, I concur with 'Mushroom'. We didn't mean to be 'heavy' on this but we have been there, done it, and bought a whole heap of T-shirts!

There are no easy answers. How we all wished that someone could just say 'do this or that and you will be better'. In reality of course, it doesn't work like that. The Medical Profession would have it that you just drop gluten and hey presto! you're well. In reality there are many for whom gluten-free alone is not the panacea they hoped for.

As Mushroom said, we are all different and we all work in different ways. What I lack, you may have an overload of. The way soy, or corn, or gluten, or any other 'reactor' hits you will undoubtedly be different to others, because, well, you're you.

By far the best thing you can do (as we have found from experience) is follow an elimination diet. that way you start at the bottom and work up. Otherwise it can be difficult to pinpoint what it is that you really are reacting to.

You think it may be soy, and it well might be, but then again it might be something else - or it might be soy AND something else, or several 'something else's'!

The reason you are feeling similar to the way you get with gluten is likely because your gut is still damaged. Although they may not necessarily set up reactions as radical as gluten, the fact that you are reacting to other things is an indicator that there is still damage going on. Your body is out of balance. Your gut flora is likely out of balance. While you are eating foods that keep the damage going, you keep the damage going.

If you want spread, why use margarine at all? Why not use butter, or ghee, or refrigerated coconut oil? All margarine is processed and highly likely contains chemicals or processing factors that are not healthy (although the label may tell you what's in it, it doesn't tell you what has been removed or what has been done to it!). I am dairy intolerant (although that has improved since I have been on the SCD) but I have always been able to tolerate butter, because it is mainly fat.

Any gluten-free carbs are highly likely to contain soy in some form or other. Or corn, which is another trigger food. We see so often on here ones who have removed say, soy from their diet only to find at some later stage they also start to react to corn. Gradually they find that they then have to remove other foods too one after another and so it goes on.

All we are suggesting with the elimination type of diet is that you cut to the chase and take out all the common trigger foods from the off. You then have 'clear decks' and can see more easily which foods are problematic.

Many of us have found by doing that and giving our digestive tract a break from those foods that we are then able to tolerate them, or at least some of them at a later stage when the gut has healed. It takes time, but then doesn't anything you want to make a good job of??!

[David 0]

Just wanted to give a quick update

[AliB 6]

That's great David. Glad you got over the resistance.........

Actually one thing that will be of real benefit is to remove the word 'restrictive' from the equation.

Think about what it is that is really restricting - feeling sick on 'normal' food or feeling well on a 'restricted' diet?

This diet is common to thousands of people around the earth - most of whom are far more healthy than we are. They do not view it as restrictive as they know no different. Eating natural, healthy food is part of their way of life.

It is the highly-processed rubbish and high-sugary foods that are making us sick. Many seem to think that once they are well they can go back to eating the rubbish again, but that is a no-brainer. It is eating that stuff that got them into the mess in the first place.......

I think that most who are following the SCD or other similar diets would likely concur with me that having 'tasted' better health as a result of the diet, few of us have any desire to return to the 'normal' Western diet in the future.

It is amazing too what you can do with that incredibly versatile huge range of foods on that 'restrictive' palate and how many amazing recipes there are out there - the biggest problem many have is that they have been reared on a diet of 'instant' food - 'open a packet and stuff it in' food, and the idea of having to cook or prepare food fills them with fear and trepidation!

It is a challenge, and a new concept, but once you get 'into' it, it's great.

[lizard00 33]

Just wanted to give a quick update

[mushroom 1,209]

Good on ya, mate! I am glad you are giving it a try. I hope the results are what we all expect for you. While the diet may at first seem restrictive, it becomes easier as you are able to add back in more and more foods until you get the oopsie, the other food(s) that bother you. I am soy intolerant and this seems pretty permanent (even soy lecithin). I am hoping to add back in some citrus after a while; I think I was just OD'ing on citric acid