Do any other vegetarians have soy allergies?

Question

I am highly allergic to soy, and have had to overcome many challenges to stay vegetarian. I finally have a good handle on it, but it was hard, as most vegetarians rely on soy based meat subsitutes. I am also allergic to wheat, eggs, dairy, tomato and avacado, so that complicates a vegetarian diet even more. I have been reading lately that the rise in food allergies is due to the practice of genetically modifying foods, causing cross reactions in people with allergies. 90 percent of the soy in the US is genetically modified, with everything from wheat and corn, to pesticides and scorpion venom (to make crops resistant to pests) I am curious how many other have problems with this

Answer 1

I don't have problems with allergies. I stay away from as much genetically engineered food as I can. Just on principle. It's 10 kinds of wrong.

The way I understand it is that it's not so much an allergy TO the item in question. But an allergy to the genetic alteration. Food allergies have skyrocketted since genetic engineered produce hit the markets.

And yet - we're told this stuff is OK for us.

How is one to be vegetarian when they're engineering tomatoes with animal DNA? Trying to give the tomato a "will to live?" Oh brother. Didn't they see the movie?

We are not meant to eat these items. Our bodies do not know how to break down the genetically altered food. They have been "programmed" to break down food that is natural. After thousands of years of eating meat we have not evolved into meat eaters. Our colons have not changed. We still have the colon of an herbivore. We will never evolve into something that can digest these altered foods.

Eden soy is the one soy milk to pass the Non GMO test. You might try doing a skin test with Eden soy. Don't drink it. Just take a dab and test a patch of your skin. See if you react.

Just a theory. Again, don't drink it and end up in the hospital. I overcame a strawberry allergy by ingesting small amounts of strawberry over a very long period of time. There is such a thing as the "loading dose." Most docs think that if you are allergic, you react every time. Not always the case. Some people can tolerate up to their "loading dose."

I don't use pre packaged meat substitutes very often. They are so loaded in chemicals. I'm vegan so no dairy or eggs.

I pretty much live on simple meals of veggies and nuts. I do LOVE avocado. One of my fave lunches is an avo/sprout sammich. I grow my own sprouts. I love pita and seitan. Both are wheat items. Have you tried Hemp bread? My other favorite.

Portobello mushrooms make a great meat substitute. There is quinoa and quinoa pastas. Hemp milk, hemp bread, hemp pasta. I haven't found he hemp milk in a store yet. Food Fight just began offering chocolate. I'm itching to try it.

I have a soy milk maker. I love to make rice, grain and nut milks with it.

To Saint Bee - there are nuts and veggies that are FAR better sources of calcium than even soy. And dairy is a lousy source. Out of 350 milligrams of calcium in whole unprocessed milk - we only get 35 milligrams after all the processing it goes through. When it is as highly processed as "fat free" milk, we get none. Almonds and kale are amazingly high in bioavailable calcium.

Answer 2

My best friends mom is allergic to all but the tomato and avacado. Your info regarding genetic modification sound spot on though. That's why organic is so important. I am glad to hear that you have gotten things working well. She relies on other bean types for protien, she has no sensitivity to black beans or pinto beans. Just the soy is a problem. She does a lot of her own baking using spelt and potato flours, it seems to be a lot more work, but she is healthier in the long run. Good luck, and keep up the good work, you know you will feel better for it in the long run.

Answer 3

I don't have a soy allergy myself, but you have my sympathy - it sounds like you must have an extremely hard time finding things to eat!

If you are consuming no soy or dairy, you must be having a very hard time getting enough calcium. I hope you have checked your diet with your doctor to make sure your nutrition is sufficient to keep you in good health.

I too have heard that GM may be responsible for food allergies. The other cause that a lot of people have identified is an excessive use of household cleaning products. Basically, the theory is that by living in overly sterile environments, we do not give ourselves the chance to develop proper antibodies and enzymes.

I've linked below to a food allergy information website and a soy allergy support group. I hope these help you. There's also a link to Buxton Foods' Stamp Collection, created by the actor Terence Stamp, who is himself unable to eat wheat or dairy. There are some recipes on the site as well as products.

Answer 4

I dont think most vegetarians rely on soy based meat substitutes at all. There are lots of different grains that you can eat, beans, other veggies, fruit etc.

Answer 5

if i was allergic to all that id not be a veg