Living With A Soy Allergy

Comment by Judy:

Great Article. I am new to a no soy diet and I am starving. Any suggestions I would grreatly appreciate. I didn’t know about citric acid. I thought that was from citrus foods. I am afraid to eat just about everything. So I am not coping very well. And soaps, shampoos, lotion? No one says anything about them and the companies won’t tell you, that is propietary info.

Comment by SueEllen:

I did not see this on your list but if I missed it I am sorry.
Unsalted butter usually has soy by way of “natural flavors”

Comment by Alyssa:

Wow, that’s a much more extensive list than anything I’ve seen. Also, the reactions you list are more severe than I’ve seen to, a sense of impending doom and anxiety, that’s scary. I’ll be printing the lists and putting them on our fridge.

I am the mother of a 2.5 year old with a soy allergy (so far he breaks out in hives and excema, and reacts to contact as well as ingestion). He’s also allergic to eggs and peanuts, so our diets are very restricted. We’re still nursing, which means I have to restrict my diet as well.

We shop mostly the outsides of the grocery store, there are very few processed foods that are safe for him to eat. I make everything from scratch, that way I know what all of his meals contain. Right now, the rest of the family is on the same diet as well (my husband and 5 year old son), although my husband eats fast food and junk at work.

It’s hard, the day we got the diagnosis I came home and went through my pantry and burst into tears, almost everything in there had ingredients that had been hurting him.

We’re crossing our fingers that he outgrows it, but preparing for this to be a lifelong battle.

Comment by Rachelle:

My soy allergy got me today because manufacturers aren’t required to put soy warnings on food if it contains only a food additive like “natural flavor”. This is ridiculous! I am now suffering excruciating abdominal pain because they believe such a small amount doesn’t require obvious labeling. Usually I am very careful but I was hungry and misread the tiny print at the bottom which said “natural flavor”.
Given soy is one the top 8 allergens it should be listed if ANY form of soy is in the product. That’s all I ask for: accurate and obvious labeling.

I also agree that the advice about soy oil not causing a problem is wrong and Doctors need to stop saying this. I cannot have soy oil. If I do I end up with vomiting so severe that I’ve had to be hospitalized previously.

In North America avoiding soy is difficult because of the US subsidizing soy production. In other countries wheat, rice or corn derivatives are used more often and it’s easier to find a wider variety of foods to eat. When I’m at home in Canada I have to be so careful with everything. I have a list of restaurants I frequent and am a regular so they know the deal.

For those that have just discovered their soy allergy there are a lot of foods you can eat, it’s just requires an adjustment in your diet. I always ate a lot of fresh foods, rice and salmon, so for me it wasn’t a major change. I just had to find places where I could buy the occasional treat.

Capers food markets in Canada are great for this. They bake everything from scratch and list ALL ingredients. I can buy homemade fruit pies there, as well as cookies, potato chips, canola oil mayonnaise, frozen pizzas and most of the other treats that are usually off limits.
Hope this is helpful to others.

Thanks Shirley for a great site!

Comment by Sally:

Thank you, thank you! It’s so great to see that I’m not alone with this problem!

I manage fairly well because I cook from scratch for dinner and leftovers lunch, using olive, canola, or butter (not so good for chloresterol). More crackers are being made without soy, but the only sliced bread is some local sourdough. Our local restaurants are excellent, so I can avoid chain restaurants and fast food.

To make shopping more efficient, I limit my selections to a very few, previously-safe products and check each label each time for changes. Then, every few months, on a non-rushed trip, I will carefully check out new options, buy a sample of each, and then save the labels to make finding them easier for the next trip. I will also keep checking this site for helpful hints. Thanks again!

Comment by Sherry:

This is a wonderful page to find, I have a Soy allergy too, and sometimes its not a fun thing to deal with. I have learned though to eat simple and fresh foods, raw as much as possible. I cook everything from scratch so I know whats in it, I seldom eat out and if I do its a salad and meat, which I ask how they cook it and request no oils added in the cooking. and I use lemon juice on my salad because dressings almost always have soy unless you make your own. Thank you very much for the list of different names soy shows up under. Great Site….

Comment by Adriana:

I’m glad you are writing about soy allergies. Sometimes I feel so left out from all the fun because of my allergy to soy. I dislike having to order a salad when going out with co-workers just because that is the only safe thing to order. I strongly agree with you that doctors should stop telling people that soy oil is safe. I have had reactions from foods that were soy free but then fried in soy oil. I now bake all my own breads (a bread machine is a great gift for a food allergy sufferer). I did finally find a shampoo that I did not have a reaction to. It is the Vive by L’oreal. I contacted the company before using it – and if you are going to try it I would suggest a call to their customer hotline just to verify. I tried a small spot on the inside of my elbow a day before I started using it on my head and it has worked out so far. I was lucky enough to find some delicious chocolate at Wegmans in the passover section called Alprose. It says without lecithin altough I only eat small amounts every once in a while because it says artificial vanillin flavour and I want to be safe. This is a great site.

Comment by Kay Hiller:

I am also allergic to soy, including soy oil and lecithin. I maintain a simple (few photos unless my daughter posts them) blog on cooking and living with a soy allergy. You might like to check it out. It is called The Soy-Free Kitchen and is at http://soyfreekitchen.blogspot.com/
P.S. I am a displaced Yankee and couldn’t be not frugal if I tried.

Comment by Lori Pendergraft:

Just happened upon your site. Good to read. I too suffer from soy allergies and also corn, canola and wine. I just thank God I can still eat fruits and vegetables. :-)
My hsuband who is a cook has learned to make an array of foods and sauces without soy or corn. If I can get him to write them down I will submit them here for others to try if that’s okay?
I know for a long time I thought I would starve to death but I have found many sites that are very helpful for people like us. I will, if you don’t mind, put a link to one here.
http://www.glutenfreemall.com/catalog/
this site is where I get my chocolate chips. They are the best!

Good luck all.

Comment by Lori Pendergraft:

Hi Shirley,

I wanted to add an idea that my husband and I use for powder sugar. I use regular sugar and then blend it in a mixer called the (ultimate chopper) “as seen on TV” It takes regular sugar and turns it into powder, thus powder sugar without the corn starch. I blend it until it has no more crystal crunch just powder.

Lori

Comment by Lydia:

Thank you for this site. Beware of organic, herbal teas. For whatever reason, many brands now have soy lecithin. Celestial Seasonings was the first brand of herbal teas I found to contain soy lecithin. Recently I found another common brand of herbal teas to contain soy lecithin. I was shocked and appalled. Can’t stop reading labels.

Comment by Lori Pendergraft:

I found a place where you can get Ice cream without soy and corn in it and they deliver. Here is the site. http://www.coconutbliss.com/

Also, out of curiosity, how many women here are allergic to soy? My doctor said soy allergies were very rare in adults so it would be nice to see how many of us there really are. (Lori lifts her hand and counts, One!)

Comment by Lori Pendergraft:

One more question. Does anyone here have a good recipe for wheat bread made in the bread machine? My husband make wheat bread out of the machine and it is so dry and dense that it is impossible to eat it unless it is being eaten with soup.

Comment by Melanie:

WOW! I am new to anaphyllactic reactions, soy being one of the “demons” to avoid. I am learning more each day, but your article was so insightful, and I will be making a list of all you mentioned to carry with me! I am not dealing very well, for one thing, it seems I have a reaction about every other day, and I feel very drained and sick. I will get it all together soon, I hope. I am terrified to eat, and although I do need to lose a few pounds, this is not what I had in mind! Thanks for all of the awsome info, I had no idea about the vast majority of these lables.

Comment by Doug Sutherland:

I found your blog while searching for “monotropa” on google. I find your discussion of soy allergies fascinating. Since I suffer from food allergies also, I am always glad to hear that I am not he only one. Or, maybe I shouldn’t be so glad since I know how miserable food allergies are

Soy had remained low on my list, since I didn’t eat too much of it anyway, I generally didn’t worry about a little soy sauce or tofu here and there. But over the last several years I started eating more veggie-burgers, which are chocked-full of soy, and also like you state, the general levels of soy have increased in everything, because it is a cheaper ingredient to use.

So I started having lots of stomach and chest pains, and digestion issues every time I ate anything. I because so sensitive that even things that were mild allergens before (like strawberries and peanuts) just tore my insides up after I had been weakened by the constant exposure to soy

After leaving the veggie-burgers behind and also starting to label-watch avoiding all soy products, I have been feeling lots better – but it seriously took a few months for the soy-effect to diminish

I was kindof shocked by the whole thing, because like you say so many of these products are labelled as “all-natural’ and healthy. I guess tobacco and alcohol are all-natural too when you look at it that way :)

Interesting blog I enjoyed reading it :) (and I also never use microwaves for cooking, either :)

Comment by Dory Tressler:

Here is another reaction you can add to your list. Severe hyperactivity in children. If my son get anything with soy in it, you would swear he grew wings and became a bird. The hands start flapping and he starts spinning circles. Thanks for all of your time and research on this page. What a blessing.

Comment by Bianca D.:

I’m glad to know that I’m not in this soy allergy thing alone, however, I wish none of us were. It is amazing how soy has taken over the food industry and the “health and beauty” isle at the local grocery store. I was diagnosed only a week ago and I’ve been looking for soy free anything since. I don’t have a lot of time to cook, but I guess I’ll have to make time for it as everything prepared has soy in it
Thanks for your website. I need all the help and encouragement I can get.

Comment by Cathy:

ANY HELP IS APPRECIATED – I just finished taking 50 mg of Benadryl – ? – my lungs have been filling up and the coughing is so bad I am afraid I will tear the lining of my stomach. It started with an allergy to a soy-based cream months ago, but now if I even eat soup with soy as a preservative within minutes my throat is itching INSIDE and my lungs start to fill with clear fluid – I get a terrible cough and have to hack and spit the stuff out – sorry to be so specific. This evening, I opened a cardboard box from China which had inside an item wrapped in that white foam-like material? As it got on my clothing, the attack started – hives, throat itching, lungs filling up and that awful hacking cough to get it out. Has anyone heard of soy being used in packing materials? Any help is appreciated – I recently relocated to a city 7 hours from where I lived and have no doctor. Hate to go to the emergency ward ! I had no food at all today, so that’s why I’m asking about packing material. Thanks to anyone with an answer !

Comment by Maria:

It certainly could be the packing material. The symptoms you described sound like what happens to me when I’m exposed to soy. My lungs fill up and it’s terrible.

Comment by Gina P:

Just in the last year my allergy to soy has been diagnosed. I have had issues with food forever and been labeled with nervous stomach, anxiety, IBS and many other diagnoses. I live in Maine and we are lucky up here, there are many more foods are available without soy since we are farther away from where the production is being done. The closer you are to Canada, the better choices you have for soy free foods. I went raw for a while after finding out what the allergy was for the fact that I was actually afraid to eat anything. I have slowly added cooked food back into my diet, but only things I make myself. We are a mostly soy free household, with the exception of the few indulgences that my husband brings home from the grocery store (only he eats them). My daughter is 8 and she shows the same signs that I did at that age, I just happen to know what it looks like. After going soy free she is relieved of almost all of her symptoms. We both have ADD and I think that adds to it but that can be managed. We are both medication free. I have been off of Prozac for almost one full year (for anxiety) after becoming soy free, it really is amazing what a food allergy can do to you. If anyone is interested I would be happy to list some of the foods that I eat, that are soy free. Just ask!

Comment by Gina P:

I just thought to add this, my VERY WORST reactions are when SOY OIL is included in what I am ingesting.
Just another thing for thought: Soy is one of the foods that contains the highest levels of nickel, I am also allergic to nickel. Rings, bracelets, earrings immediately break me out in a red, scaly, itchy, painful rash. I wonder if there is any connection?

Comment by Kathy:

A number of years ago I took soy capsules sublingually for menopausal symptoms. I started having huge symptoms of burning after using them for a few weeks. The doctor increased the amount possibly thinking that they were hotflashes. (I knew they weren’t hot flashes, but wanted to trust a doctor’s care). Then I really hit bottom. It just HAD to be those pills. I went to an allergist to be tested and he confirmed I am allergic to soy. I told the other doctor and he still insisted that the pills would not harm me as a processing was done to the soy to make it unharmful. Needlesstosay I overdosed on soy and now suffer from even a small amount. I am currently dealing with an eye problem for the past few months. I am being detective to see if any ingredients in my eye makeup is the culprit. Any suggestion on a web site to look at? Thanks!

Comment by JD:

I am soy intolerant and am mostly vegan, so I sympathize with all of you.

As for a soy free veggie burger, Shirley, may I suggest Sunshine Burgers. They are soy free, glutan free and organic. They also hold together once cooked. Unfortunately, I belive that one can only find them, for the moment, in a whole foolds/health food store; as I have yet to see them in a general supermarket. But that could be becuase I live in Florida and this state is not vegeterian friendly.

And in case you are wondering, it is possible to be soy free and still be a vegan/vegetarian. You have to do most of your own cooking and also a bit more creative, but it is possible. But it does force me to be lacto/ovo vegetarian away from home.

I also think that now that making things glutan free is trendy, might soy free not be to far behind. Especially since I have discovered that people with celiac disease also react to soy quite often.

Comment by Sue:

I just found your website and the great (and somewhat alarming) information about soy allergy. Last month I had a very serious reaction to soy binder in the 100% cold water fish oil capsules I was prescribed by my physician. Last week, my rheumatologist recommended that I add gluten to the rapidly expanding list of forbidden products. I jokingly told my rheumatologist that all that was left to eat was the cardboard boxes that food comes in. Now I find out even the boxes contain soy and are now added to the forbidden list. Seriously, soy allergy is the pits. Thanks for the info. And I am now checking with the manufacturers of my other medication to see if it is soy free.

Comment by Phyllis:

I was diagnosed with soy and peanut allergies not too long ago. After a lifetime of eating chocolate bars and every sweet smelling pastry in sight I now have to reframe from all my favorite treats. I do not understand why there is soy in so many products. It seems like when there is no soy, there are peanuts and when I almost get happy there is always the warning below the ingredients list that says it is manufactured around peanuts and or soy. This sight gave me some comfort to know I’m not alone.

Comment by Helen:

Hello, I’ve just found your website whilst browsing about Soya allergy. I was diagnosed in November last year and like a lot of people here hit rock bottom. Since being pregnant 15 years ago I have slowly developed more and more allergies, starting with apples I am now allergic to raw fruit, raw vegetables, peanuts, tree nuts, and soya plus the other non-food allergies like cats, feathers, cigar smoke etc. Tomorrow I am visiting the allergy clinic to see what else I am allergic to.

I work in health care and recently was sent a sample of a gel type substance which is used to cushion bony parts to prevent pressure sores, on inspecting it I started to get an itchy nose so contacted the supplier, when they sent me the data sheet guess what the main ingredient was – Yes, soya bean oil, I was packaging it up last week to take to the clinic with me and had an asthma reaction -very scary.

I have managed to find one loaf in a major supermarket that has no soy or potential contamination with nuts, but otherwise I make my own in a breadmaker. Luckily I always enjoyed cooking but it does make eating out a problem, especially as I live in England, so short holiday trips are to non-english speaking countries, I carry little cards with my allergies translated into different lanuages and now I have a MedicAlert braclet.

My teenage son has found my allergies very useful, how do you stop your mother kissing you in public? – eat a peanut butter sandwich!! Don’t you just love them.

It is lovely to find a site like this just to hear about how others cope, all the others just give lists of don’t eats and symptoms, this is much more friendly, thank you for setting it up.

Comment by Christy:

My toddler was diagnosed with a soy allergy shortly after we introduced solids. It was a process of several months finding what foods were safe to eat. I’ve been cooking a lot more from scratch, of course, but I’m finding certain “raw” ingredients have to be monitored carefully. Certain brands of eggs, milk and other dairy would trigger a reaction. It wasn’t until someone told me that organic soybeans are cheaper than organic corn, so an “organic” “all-vegetarian feed” hen, and the eggs it lays, is probably fed a diet of soy and this can cause trouble. It’s so frustrating!

Furthermore, we’ve started slowly identifying soy ingredients in my cosmetics and personal care products and finding substitutes. Since we cut soy out, my skin has cleared up amazingly, so although I would not have identified myself as having a soy allergy, it’s certainly not a benign ingredient for me. I’ve found makeup (I think) and the California Baby line of soap and lotion seems to be working for us. But I’m still looking for soy-free shampoo that works for my hair.

Unfortunately, my mother doesn’t “believe” in allergies, and every time she visits, my son breaks out in a rash where she’s kissed him. Her lipstick, you know…

Comment by Kristy:

I have a corn and soy allergy. I wanted to let you know that it is possible to have a delayed reaction. After living in KS for a few years, where both corn and soy is grown all around, I started to get ill. Started with asthma. Then, severe (I do mean severe) fatigue, body aches, and numerous other general symptoms that could fall under a number of illnesses. Eventually I was too sick to work, which is a big deal since I’m a high energy person. I had to quit a job I loved and move – getting rid of the asthma was a priorty at the time. We discovered that living in SLC seemed to relieve the asthma. This was before we realized the corn and soy connection. (No soy and corn farming in SLC.) But, I was still severely fatigued and had lots of brain fog as well as random other symptoms like body aches, forgetfulness, immune system issues, weakness, etc. Come to find out, the corn and soy allergy carried over to food as well. Once I ridded them from my diet, I got better rapidly. Within a week, all symptoms were essentially gone! If I eat corn or soy now, it’s not an immediate reaction, but within 2-8 days (I think up to 8 days due to my intestines moving slowly.), I react with the fatigue, body aches, etc and am in bed for up to a week! So, please record that in possible symptoms as well. Not many people think to connect such symptoms with food allergies. Took me three years of being desperately ill to figure it out!

Comment by Kristy:

Thank you for taking my previous comment into consideration. This is slightly off topic, but I wanted to add… there may be other evidence besides stories similar to my own for delayed or atypical responses to food allergies. I personally believe that a large portion of the poulation reacts in an atypical way, but many times, like in my case, it’s tough to connect such reactions to food.

I saw a very recent interview with Jenny McCarthy. She said her child, who has autism, has been on a special diet due to possible food allergies being connected to autism. She has seen marked improvement in her son since he started the diet. He went from not speaking at all to speaking in full sentences, etc. I had to look it up and do a little more research. Ran across this article. Found it fascinating. (Especially due to my own food allergies.)

At first, I thought it was odd to link autism and food. However, I realized, if the food allergies can affect my brain to the extent of brain fog, memory issues, etc, then I could see how it could also affect those with autism…

http://www.autismndi.com/news/display.asp?content=Resources&shownews=20040729003254

Comment by Jennifer:

Hello,

Thank you for this website! We are new to soy-free. My husband recently developed an autoimmune reaction to soy, as tested through Enterolab.com. He has been gluten/casein free for three years, then after receiving a dtap vaccine containing MILK, he developed a reaction to soy among many other problems. I do just want to warn those that visit your site, many vaccines also contain soy. SO please read the labels on vaccines yourself. Doctors are not educated on ingredients.

Comment by Piper:

I just found out today after 12 months of suffering that my 14 month old son is allergic to soy and dairy. We had thought he was allergic to diapers and a bunch of other things, but today after test results came back we were told soy and dairy and that soy is in his cloths like polyester and also in his diapers as a bonding agent.

Comment by Cicelly:

I was just diagnosed with a soy allergy during a skin test in my allergist’s office after breaking out in hives every morning for 6 months straight..Trying to find foods i can safely eat is a challenge considering i also have a tomato allergy as well. Does anyone have any recipies excluding soy and tomatoes?

Comment by Clementine:

IT’S NOT EASY WHEN YOU FIRST FIND OUT, BUT IT DOES GET BETTER.
Never allergic to anything in my life until 2 1/2 years ago. I had an anaphyllactic reaction in a meeting with 10 other people after a business lunch, which was followed by a trip to the emergency room. 4 1/2 hrs later, alot of medication and instructions of what to do if the symptoms return I was advised to see an allergist within the next few days.
It turned out that suddenly (or more likely I had been having suttle reactions over the past few years, just not so severe that benadryl didn’t take care of it) I am allergic to Soy, Shellfish and Tree nuts! The advise is to avoid Soy, be very careful of cross contamination with any Fish and oh yes, serious cross contamination with nuts so I might avoid alltogether! Hmmmm!
Well, as most of you can imagine, I was at the emergency room on a regular basis for the first 8 months (every 4-8 days). Just when I thought I had this Soy thing figured out, it was in something else that I never would have imagined. Then, the real fun… A lady I worked with was eating cookies, touched the printer, I came behind her, not realizing and touched the same buttons – and had a reaction which sent me to the ER! I ALSO HAVE contact anaphyllactic reactions, so, while I had been being wisked away to the ER for the past few months trying to identify what I ate??? it turned out that by simply touching a door knob after someone who had used hand lotion with Soy, eaten a cookie, candy, slice of pizza, etc. and touched a surface or door handle or shook my hand, I was on my way to the Emergency Room by way of Epi-Pen and 125 mg benadryl just for starters.
Let’s face it, just when you think you’ve figured it out…things change; a product that you’ve been able to eat now contains SOY!
It’s not easy when you first find out, but it does get better. Soy is in everything. No more sweets unless you make them from scratch. It is easier than you think. Start cooking again. If you’ve never been much of a cook, start! Food taste so much better. Live by simple ingrediants; wine, olive oil, garlic, pepper and sage can conquer any meat! Butter, garlic, parsley, pepper any potatoe, and balsamic vinegar, olive oil, italian seasonings with suprise cheeses atop any salad. Pasta is a great food as well.
Junk food isn’t good for you anyway, find a few recipies, all-bran muffins to make and have around when your sweet tooth is calling! Homemade fudge!
Good luck and God bless.

Comment by Katie K:

I have a severe form of soy allergies. It seems impossible to prevent exposure. I get angry when I go into a so called organic store like Trader Joes and soy is all I see on the labels. Recently, I started taking a Esthetic course to become an Esthetician. As part of the required course, I’ve had to have facials performed on me. With every procedure, I reacted because of the soy used in skin creams. Do you know of any skin products that do not contain soy?

Comment by Anne Marie:

I’m 36 just diagnosed in March with a soy- tree nut allergy. I’ve been trying to pretend it away, but I don’t feel good. Lethargic, itchy, stomach cramps, diarrhea, flushed face, etc. I was thinking of just eating rice for the next few days to see if I could start feeling better. I miss being able to eat out or have a cookie! Thanks for your site. Glad to know I’m not alone!

Comment by Kathy:

Having a soy allergy affects my quality of my more than any other allergy because it is a mystery ingredient in so many things and not clearly labeled. Part of the reason it is so awful is that I end up avoiding things that maybe really don’t have soy. So if I cut out the vast majority of American food (by eliminating such things as “Natural flavors” I’d like to know for sure if I need to avoid them or not. Perhaps in many cases I’m avoiding soy but missing some food I could really eat and enjoy! I have been looking for an organization or group interested in changing the food labeling laws to accommodate clear soy labeling. Of course I’d also like common allergens including soy to be disclosed in pharmaceutical and nutritional products as well.

Comment by Michele Lehner:

I have a soys allergy. Please could you let me know what to do about face creams . MOst of them have soya protein, how will that affect me?

Comment by Kathleen:

Great site! I seem to only be allergic to soya oil and raw soya such as tofu, soya milk etc. I can tolerate any fermented soya such as miso, tamari and tempeh. Just wondering if anyone has reacted to “natural” spray foam insulation which is made primarily from soya oil. Expect that during the wet spraying process it would be a problem for first couple of days. It is supposed to be inert after that, but I am afraid to install in my attic.

Comment by Keri:

I am so glad to find this site. The info you gave is so thorough. I have an adult-onset soy allergy that now causes anaphylaxis. I don’t have to tell any of you how terrifying that is! I had my third trip to the ER in 3 months, even though I’ve gotten good at reading labels, I obviously missed a few. I seem to usually have a delayed reaction..several hours, but sometimes I can tell immediately because my mouth and lips tingle. Weird. Anyway, thank you for posting all this info. I’m very grateful!

Comment by WB:

Does anyone have any ideas about getting the Food and Drug Assoc. to listen to all these problems people are having with soy lecithin and hidden soy now being added to almost every food, vitamins, drink, etc. I’ve had a terrible time avoiding soy, and soy oil and lecithin definitely make me ill (vomiting, sometimes hives, extreme tiredness) no matter what the doctors say. Now I’ve just found out that my estrogen replacement is made from soy. I had to call the pharmaceutical company to find out that most birth control and replacement hormones are made with soy, because it’s not listed and even the doctors and pharmacists don’t know this. My new vitamin says “no soy allergens” but I just found out that doesn’t mean no soy – it just means no soy protein. Lemonade, tea, even the Olive Oil Mayo has soy (natural flavoring – again I had to write the manufactuer to find out.) HELP. There has to be a way to let the FDA know how many people out there are suffering.

Comment by Cat Rennolds:

this is very extensive and informative. I have avoided obvious soy for years because I tend to have stomach problems with it, but I also have similar problems with certain other vegetable foods such as fennel, cilantro, and most peppers. Oddly enough I could eat tofu, though.

One thing that I wonder is how much of this may be related to the fact that almost all soy grown in the US is genetically modified, ditto corn, and anything that doesn’t have soy in it is pretty certain to have the corn. Now I avoid soy even more carefully than I did in the past. And genetically modified ingredients do not have to be labeled as such at all. The FDA is not listening on this issue either. Anyone with suggestions on how to reach them?