Remove Soy From Your Diet – Live Healthier
We have all been conned into believing that soy is healthy!
The fact of the matter is, soy products are creating more health problems, not preventing them, including obesity.
After developing a severe soy allergy and nearly dying, I learned how bad soy is at any age. Over 60% of products on the shelves that you eat contain soy. When I eliminated soy from my diet, I lost 32 pounds – weight the doctors told me was tied to menopause. For eight years I complained to doctors about my nausea, bloating and unusual weight gain.
This can be a challenge because soy is in so many products where we would not expect it. It’s in canned tuna, canned soups, chocolate, pizza, frozen dinners, most bread, muffins, donuts, cake mixes, hot chocolate, some baby foods, and tens of thousands of other popular products.
Soy has many aliases so beware…
Food processors don’t always list “soy” instead to name a few, you see labels with “textured vegetable protein” (TVP), “textured plant protein”, “hydrolyzed vegetable protein” (HVP), “vegetable oil” or “MSG” (monosodium glutamate). Other ingredients to watch out for are “lecithin”, “vegetable broth”, “bouillon”, “and natural flavorings” (unless flavors are listed). In the beginning, this was the most frustrating for me because soy is “hidden” – you have to know what to look for.
Beware that food labels and ingredient lists change so always read them…
Manufacturers can switch the ingredients used in food products without warning. Allergic consumers like myself, need to check the labels every time I make a purchase. When I go to restaurants (which is very rare) I carry a card with ingredients listed that I cannot have. If you buy packaged deli items make sure you read the labels. If you buy from deli counters where they slice it for you, if you are allergic like me, you need to make sure there is no cross contamination from other meats using the same slicer for everything. I can buy Boars Head, but only if the supermarket carries that brand only. Otherwise, I can’t buy it at all.
Believe it or not…
Vitamins, over-the-counter drugs and prescriptions may contain an unwanted dose of soy. Beware of pills with soy oil bases; Vitamin E derived from soy oil, and soy components such as isoflavones. The inhaler Atrovent is one Rx products that contain soy. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on supplements, eating the right foods will supply you with the nutrition you need.
I was surprised to learn that soy is also found…
Soy inks, paints, plastics, carpets, mattresses, cars, etc. are just a few of the industrial products that may be green for the environment but deadly for highly allergic persons. So far, I have been lucky and have not had any reactions.
To learn more and live healthier – I’m living proof! And I lost 32 pounds within eight months and never gained it back – just by removing one ingredient – soy!
I have suffered from depression, anxiety, panic and ocd in increasing severity over the years. I have also suffered from constant fatigue, steady weight gain, and I more recently came down with the painful symptoms of Morgellons Disease. This is a painful skin disease that many people are suffering from which involves horrific skin lesions that don't heal, fibers growing out of the skin, sharp glass-like or sand-like particles coming out of the skin, excessive bloating and liquid coming out of the skin, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression, fatigue, inability to concentrate, memory problems, etc. Somewhat intuitively, I set about eliminating items from my diet. At the time, I was drinking soy milk on a daily basis, usually 3 times a day minimum. I eliminated soy milk and other soy products from my diet. I also switched to organic milk products. It took some time but my skin eventually improved as did my other symptoms, my depression, anxiety, memory, and ability to think clearly.
At first, when I gave up soy, I had very severe headaches every time I would lie down to rest. My emotions even became worse before they got better. It was like I was going through withdrawal symptoms. Then one day without giving it much thought, my husband served a vegetarian dish made with soy. My husband became moderately ill from the dish. My son's stomach was upset by the dish. I became terribly ill. I had the worst headache I have ever had in my life. I felt like the pain in my head was going to propel me to the moon. There was no doubt left in my mind that soy was the culprit. I have done everything possible to avoid soy since, and I have felt happier and healthier than I have felt in 20 years.
This last week was Valentines Day. I slipped and ate a few chocolates that contained soy lecithin. I did not think that a small amount would make a huge difference. I was wrong. I have been a miserable basket case all week. The headaches came back. The crying came back. The fatigue came back. The ocd and the panic came back. For more than a week now, I have been wondering how long it will take for the effects of this mistake to clear my system. I know now, that I cannot afford to take in the slightest amount of soy, but I am very frustrated because it is in almost everything!!! I am also frustrated because I know there are a lot of people suffering from Morgellons Disease and I think that a good portion of their suffering could be alleviated if they were made aware of the ways in which soy might be contributing to their difficulties.
Comment by Kare on February 23, 2009 at 5:07 pm