Soy food sensitivity and inacurate labeling - just venting
 

I really HATE IT when foods are labeled as "no soy" that have "natural flavorings" ingredients that include things derived from soy! A friend suggested I try a Quest bar today. She said there was no soy in it. I went to GNC and talked to the sales clerk about the product. Looked on the website to see that they also mentioned the no-soy thing. So I bought a few and ate one. Bang, 20 minutes later, extreme lethargy and seriously aching muscles, what always occurs only when I've eaten something with soy in it. I didn't eat anything for at least four hours before eating the bar.

It's not just bad because it basically disables me for a minimum of four hours, but it triggers huge hunger and food cravings for nearly a day. For years I would eat something with soy and struggle with hunger for hours, despite having already eaten adequately. I only figured this stuff out in the last four years, but can't always avoid soy.

It's been six hours since I ate the bar. I feel pretty useless, still. Thankfully I don't have to go to work tonight.

The day after...still experiencing lethargy and aches, but not as bad as yesterday. Having trouble staying awake and feeling motivated to get things done.

Hey, food labelers of the world, would you please make a better effort to be entirely honest in your work!? It makes a difference!

Hey, I hear you on the food labeling. It is so annoying and frustrating I find to decipher all of the different ingredients. I ate something the other day and I was almost positive that there was no soy in the ingredients, then at the very end it says, contains soy. :mad: It is so frustrating! I am equally annoyed because I was recently tested for food allergies and I am trying to eliminate some foods from my eating, but I find it literally impossible with all of the processed foods out there, which is pretty much everything short of raw food and vegetables! :dizzy: I mean, even manufacturers disguise ingredients such as 'evaporated cane juice' - it is really just sugar in other words. I could go on and on with the frustrations of living in our society.

I feel your pain! :hug:

I haven't had any medical alergy testing. I found out about this by accident, after slowly feeling more and more horrible and gaining weight while trying to use Medifast to lose weight. I guess my soy intolerance made me stupider, because it took me forever to put two and two together on this. Then I fasted for a few days and slowly added foods back into my diet. It was mind-blowing how many foods have soy in them.

I try not to eat any processed foods and I limit eating out as well. I have had to become so picky!

I'm with you. I have so many grievances with our food industry.

My husband and I both can not have soy and it seems like it is slipped in to almost everything now. I spend way too much time at the store looking through ingredient lists because soy is one of those things that's never clearly listed.

Another example of something I bought recently with a misleading label was coffee creamer. I accept partial fault because I was in a hurry and didn't read the label until I got home. The bottle said sugar free, but the second ingredient was corn syrup, followed by a long list of sugar alcohols. :( So annoying.

Today I'm attempting a fast to start eliminating possible food sensitivities. I've not eaten for 12 hours, so I was really super hungry just now. I was worried that I was developing a sensitivity to eggs, since I eat them every day. I was so hungry that I caved and ate 2 oz of grass-fed beef. It's been 10 minutes and now I'm feeling a little sleepy, like I normally would start feeling if I ate soy. If I get a full-blown reaction, like starting to feel lethargic and achy, in the next 20 minutes, I'll know that I have a problem with beef.

Dear lord, please not the beef!

geoblewis-

I did Medifast before too and I found it a difficult program to stick with. I think it is very frustrating with all of the different ingredients out there in these different diet products, although I am not using many diet products now.

Have you thought about going to a doctor such as your family doctor, if you have one and mentioning your food sensitivity questions and concerns to them? It may seem like nothing but they may have some ideas or perhaps refer you to someone to do skin prick allergy testing for foods. It is a bit uncomfortable but I would hope that most insurances would pay for it if it is medically necessary. Food sensitivities are one thing, but serious allergies are another and those can be life threatening. Perhaps it is worth 'googling' some of this stuff too or asking anyone you know in the healthcare field about their tips. I would take this food sensitivity seriously and if I were you I would see a doctor or other health provider for guidance.

:hug:

good luck with it. keep us posted!

I have 2 books to recommend to you "Sugar, Salt and Fat - How the Food Manufacturers Addicted America" and "Pandora's Lunchbox - How Fast Food Has Taken Over the American Dinner Table" with fast food being prepackaged stuff as well as fast food restaurants. It's a real eye opener into what is really in our food, what they don't have to put on the label, and why we can't eat just one chip. I especially like the first one. It is by the NY Times reporter that got a Pulitzer Prize for his pink slime uncover. As a result of the way I was feeling and reading these books, I use no prepackaged anything and that includes bread and cereal. The way cereal is made is really disgusting. Soy is processed with the same chemical they use to make gasoline. I cook from scratch. I also buy organic and grain feed meats. I feel like a new person.

Georgia -- hope you're feeling OK. Have you looked into leaky gut/dysbiosis issues in the past? I ask because 'haywire' (random) allergen issues can sometimes signal intestinal permeability problems. Not sure if this really fits your picture or not, but the beef post made me think of it. When I've gone through whack-a-mole-esque food intolerance issues in the past, gut permeability has played a role. That could be totally off-base in your case - a strong soy issue alone could even explain beef and egg reactions. I've heard of soy intolerant people having bad reactions to eating meat or eggs that were soy-fed. If you haven't seen this link, you might identify strongly with it:
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy-aler...-soy-allergies

Hi Georgia,
So sorry to hear of your troubles. I can totally relate. I face many of the same frustrations with food labels and additives, but my triggers are chemical. Propylene glycol, polyethylene glycol, and polysorbates are in food, household products, and personal products. One day my hope is that the media will break open the whole topic of additives and truthful labeling.

Hope you feel lots better.
Javagal84