How Can You Tell The Difference Between

[lorka150]

hey everyone,

I understand that soy is hard to digest for most of the world - it's just a fact. But how do I know if I am developing a sensitivity to it, or if it is simply just difficult for my bod to digest it?

I can't get rid of it from my diet because I need it! I don't do dairy, and hate meat, so soy is a huge protein source for me.

I just find I get stomach grumblies after my coffee (with soymilk), and if I have large amounts, sometimes I get a tummy ache. But I know that what I am having is gluten free. I don't want to have to give up soy, but I don't really know how to tell the difference between odd digesting and a reaction anymore.

I feel as though this intolerance has made me paranoid about EVERYTHING that comes outta my belly!

Does anyone have any input? Thanks!

(PS. After my soy yogurt tonight, I got a little dizzy, but that hasn't happened before. Perhaps that was an odd fluke.)

[Merika]

Hi Lorka,

Well, I don't know if you have an intolerance or an allergy....it's very likely to have allergies to proteins such as milk and soy after having celiac damage to your body. I ate soy for years with I thought no problem. Then I did an allergy tested and tested way positive for it. I already knew by then my ds was allergic to it, and since he was nursing, I had already been off all soy for many months.

I hear ya on the protein and whatnot. I have been vegetarian for 13 years, and while I wasn't super heavy into soy, I did have soymilk every morning with my cereal. There is lots of research out there that suggests unfermented soy is not so great for people, so don't feel you're missing out if you give it up for a while.

I eat a lot of beans (primary protein source) along with nuts and dairy. Recently I have been adding in tiny amounts of meat - mostly just so that I CAN eat it, and it will give me more hope of ever being able to eat out. Vegetarian and gluten-free will net you a plain lettuce salad in nearly every restaurant - yuck!

If you want to know what your body is up to, I'd suggest an ELISA food allergy/intolerance test. It's a simple blood test.

Hth,

Merika

[lorka150]

Thanks for your reply.

I am currently staying dairy free - mostly because I don't want to create an intolerance to it, so I am staying away from things that might that weren't in my system before hand.

I really enjoy all soy products. I think in Canada I cannot get the ELISA test.

[gf4life]

I ate soy for years with I thought no problem. Then I did an allergy tested and tested way positive for it.

I could have written that exact sentence. This is the same thing that happened to me. Once I was told that I was allergic to soy, I was able to pin point my allergic reactions to the soy protein.

It was funny when the allergist said I was allergic to soy he says"but it shouldn't be a problem because most people don't eat much soy" (this is not true anymore,5 years ago maybe, but soy is being added to a LOT of foods now!). I laughed and said "I do, everyday". Since I cut it out of my diet I feel better, but my reaction now it much stronger. I had trouble breathing after eating some soy cheese. I was dairy free and wanted cheese. I figured I could just take Benadryl for the "itchies", but the breathing thing sort of freaked me out and I am much more careful with the soy now.

Have you tried Almond milk instead of soy milk? My kids and I love the Almond Breeze by Blue Diamond. The plain is okay for things like coffee, cereal, cooking, etc. but the chocolate is much better for just drinking cold or hot. It is fairly high in calcium, vitamin D, and vitamin E. It is dairy free, gluten free and cholesterol free, also lowfat. We are all back on dairy, but we still drink the chocolate on a regular basis.

I hope you are able to tell if you are allergic or intolerant to soy. A simple blood test would show if you are allergic to soy. An intolerance would have to be based on charting the symptoms and doing an elimination diet. You can get digestive problems with both an allergy or an intolerance, so you might want to just go ahead and get the allergy test done. Then if nothing shows, do the elimination diet.

Do you have problems with anything other than the coffee/soy milk. Have you looked at the coffee as a suspect for causing your digestive trouble? Coffee can irritate the stomach, especially if you are having over production of acid issues.

Did you eat the yogurt on an empty stomach? It could have been too high in sugar and given you a sugar rush. Or it could be the soy...

God bless,

Mariann

[lorka150]

I have a question about the blood testing. If I got lots of foods tested, including gluten, would the foods that I stay away from, as well as gluten, show up as "fine" because I don't consume them?

And then would foods I eat more often, despite an allergy or not, show up positive, if I eat them daily? IE soy?

Thanks.

[Merika]

You will only get a positive on the elisa test if you are in fact allergic to it, regardless of how often you eat it. Of course, with celiac, the more often you eat something, the more likely you are to develop a food allergy to it. (Hence, people have come up with rotation diets.)

I had it really bad, and tested positive to nearly everything, but tomatoes - go figure, i eat them everyday. I tested negative to all meats - but then i haven't consumed them in 13 years. My plan is to reintroduce meats on a rotation diet - none of the same meat in seven days.

I tested positive to soy, dairy, beans, cabbage, you name it. Oh, I should mention my results were "in between" pos and neg for chocolate and coffee - also both regulars in my diet. So that was encouraging

GF4life - is the vitamin E in the chocolate almond milk not derived from soy??? Most is, but I'd love to find one that's not....

Merika

[lorka150]

Did you test positive for gluten? (If you had been gluten free for a long time?)

[kactuskandee]

Merkita,

It is my understanding that Almond Breeze does indeed have soy in it, but Pacific Brands Almond milk does not, however they don't make a chocolate version....I make my own chocolate syrup out of plain cocoa and sugar and a little water, or add an organic syrup to the almond milk that does not have soy in it. I find I'm even sensitive to soy lecithin, even though they say most people shouldn't be. To date I've not found a dairy free dark chocolate bar that doesn't have it in it, so if anyone know of one, please let me know.

Kandee

lorka150 - I get dizzy when I accidentally get some gluten, but haven't had that happen with accidentally getting soy. With soy my muscles, especially in my legs ache as if I'd been running a marathon. Strange reaction I know, but that's what happens. Besides gluten, soy is the next hardest thing to stay away from. Mariann had good advise..get a serum allergy test to start.

[gf4life]

Merika,

The vitamin E is derived from soy lecithin. I don't react to it, but if you are extremely sensitive to the soy oils as well, then you should avoid this product. Most people with a soy allergy don't react to the oils, but when you say "most", then that means there are a few people who do react.

Kandee,

There is a website that sells dairy free/soy free chocolates. I haven't ordered from them, since I can have the soy oils, but it might be worth the $$ to have some chocolate! They make them for Passover, so they make a new stock each spring. They say on their website to call to see what they still have in stock. Or you can wait until spring and order from their fresh batch. They also sell a gluten-free cake mix and a gluten-free brownie mix. And if you go to their home page you can view their complete list of Gluten-free Casein-free items. The chocolates there do have soy lecithin though, but they also make other non-chocolate candy items.

Open Original Shared Link

God bless,

Mariann

[Merika]

Lorka,

There was no test for gluten on the elisa allergy test. Celiac would not show up, because it's not an allergy. I tested negative for wheat, which just means I'm not allergic to wheat (different body reaction than celiac). By now, almost 2 yrs gluten-free, if I were to do a celiac blood panel, I should test negative. As for the wheat allergy, I did the tests at a time where I was not consuming wheat, but had been recently enough for allergy antibodies to show up. Does that make sense?

Ds and I both avoid ALL soy, lecithin included.

Kandee, whole foods brand 365 makes a gluten-free, soyfree dark chocolate bar that is pretty good. I'm not sure if it's dairy free, as I eat dairy, but the dark chocolate one I would think would be dairy free. It comes in a red wrapper, and there's also a version with nuts.

Merika

[lorka150]

Yes, makes sense! Thanks for all your help!

I'm really excited about something. I had my first gluten-free restaurant experience today, and after having a short prayer to God, entered, ate, and didn't get sick. I feel SO great about it! Just wanted to share my happiness!

[bluefin]

if yopu have sensiutivity by eating those foods stop eating them

or eat them in moderation

try different kinds of substitutes then

then you will be able to adjust top those foods

[Nevadan]

Food sensitivities vs allergies - VERY confusing, even to the medical profession. It is somewhat a matter of sematics. From my research the most consistent definitions are based one whether an IgE or IgG based reaction occurs. IgE reactions are typically immediate reactions and can be tested by the skin scratch test; IgG based reactions are typically delayed reactions and are tested by blood tests. The York Nutritional Labs website has a pretty good explanation at Open Original Shared Link

After finding that I was gluten sensitive a few months ago, I recently submitted blood samples to York for their ELISA sensitivity (IgG) testing and am awaiting results due any day now. York's claim to fame is that their blood sample is done at home by a simple pin prick in the finger tip instead of a regular blood draw at a lab. York claims their testing has been validated by multiple independent studies. I'm sure you can use York via mail from Canada.

Hope this helps.

George

[skbird]

I feel I have a pretty good handle on food allergies versus sensitivities at this point but still feel confused by some of the reactions I have. For example I started craving corn all the time, then after a while I started having hangover reactions when I ate corn. Then I dropped it from my diet, and now the last two times I have had corn (corn chips) I have within the hour had strong itching on my neck/collar bone area, sides, and inner thighs. No rash. The itching and the quickness of it makes me think it could be a mild allergy but the other symptoms previously aren't typical of an allergy. Then I read on the web that a corn allergy is extremely rare. So I don't know what to think.

I'm beginning to think that rather than having a bunch of sensitivities I have a digestive problem, like leaky gut or something, because it seems too weird to still be finding more and more problem food groups. At some point, this should end, right?

Stephanie

[Kathy E.]

Actually, that is exactly what I would expect with corn allergy. I've had food allergies for years, decades in fact...and if you have celiac you almost certainly have a leaky gut. Corn allergy is not uncommon. It is often, very commonly true that we crave those things we are allergic to. And after the body is cleared from an allergen that you used to eat every day, the more acute reactions come out...before that the body is stressed but adapting or semi-tolerating the antigen.

My own daughter has corn allergy and it gives her lupus flares.

Peace,

Kathy E.

[Kathy E.]

I should add that I have a primary (genetic) immune deficiency including an almost total lack of IgA, the primary mucosal defense of the intestinal lining and other mucosa. My intestinal permeability (leaky gut) test clears up when I avoid wheat and other food allergens. Fortunately I'm not allergic to corn, but I do have mild allergies to rice and soy, which makes this whole celiac thing rather difficult.

I avoided gluten for a year in the 90s and my intestinal permeability test normalized. Recently I was having a lot of problems with diarrhea, so I had serological testing (resisting the biopsy thing), and in spite of having low IgG as part of my immune deficiency, I tested positive for anti-gliadin antibodies. Since I am already at risk of lymphoma because of the PID, no sense taking any more risk by eating gluten! I started a gluten-free diet again this past week.

I don't know where you read that corn allergy was rare, but don't believe it!

Peace,

Kathy E.

Actually, that is exactly what I would expect with corn allergy.  I've had food allergies for years, decades in fact...and if you have celiac you almost certainly have a leaky gut.  Corn allergy is not uncommon.  It is often, very commonly true that we crave those things we are allergic to.  And after the body is cleared from an allergen that you used to eat every day, the more acute reactions come out...before that the body is stressed but adapting or semi-tolerating the antigen.

My own daughter has corn allergy and it gives her lupus flares.

Peace,

Kathy E.

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