Soy free foods

[linda g]

My son was tested yesterday for allergies. We are trying to get him off of all chemical meds for asthma and allergies due to pyscho sematic symtoms that he has when he's on them. Anyway, we went yesterday to get a baseline allergy reading to see what we are dealing with and get his recipe established for allergy shots. One huge surprise is that he is allergic to soy.
I had no idea soy was in so many foods. We used soy protein for his smoothies and he had soy protein power bars before workouts but now after reading a few labels - it's in everything!
Does anyone out there have a soy allergy? What do you eat for snacks?
I bought him beef jerky - thinking that was safe but it has soy, I couldn't find one protein bar that is soy free, help!

[Jennifer Grant]

Soy is in all that!?! Seriously! Who knew!? hhhmmmmm...i have to do some other food research for myself soon, so i'll be sure to add soy free to what i look for and i'll share with ya anything i find...

about the allergy testing/screening---was it a dr. that did it or what? i really want to have one done on myself as well as our entire family now that i've found out how much allergies can effect ALL/Many parts of your health and well being...including emotional state and hormones etc.

i'm gonna link our cr8tv peep Ellen to this thread because i think she has also been doing this type of stuff lately---

[linda g]

Yes, it's done by an MD. they do panel testing and it's done through the back. They have these trays of allergens that are divided into groups for example trees, grasses, molds, enviormental, foods, rural grasses and that's it - I think. Anyway, they take a marker and mark your back with each tester so T1= Tree 1 - and that will corespond with the tree that they are testing for. After your back is all marked they scratch the top layer of skin off and drop the allergen in. They also do 2-3 test spots for histimines. Then you wait to see how your skin reacts. After the 10 minutes or however long they measure the bump or wheel on the site - each measurement is equiviemtn to how allergic you are 1 being the lowest and 4 being the highest. We have an allergy/asthma specialist that we go to for Mason. A few things to consider before doing this - you can't take any antihistamines for a full week before the testing. And when you get the testing done, it's a little uncomfortable according to Mason but the worst part is that it makes your back itch like crazy and you can't scratch it until they have done their readings. When it's all said and done they gave Mason an antihistimine to alleviate the allergic reaction.

[Ellen]

I'm just starting to do the research on all of this. I have been riddled with environmental allergies since I was a kid, (had the scratch test and my whole back swelled up, so had allergy shots for years) but never looked into food allergies until recently, mostly because my daughter struggles so much emotionally and in school, although she's highly capable. So far both of us had the blood test for food sensitivities, but haven't gotten the results back yet. I also did an adrenal test where we discovered that I am borderline gluten intolerant. I started to look through my cabinet at the foods I eat all of the time and EVERYTHING has wheat in it in some form. Still finding out stuff. Love my naturopath. I'm taking all sorts of vitamin supplements and never had anyone go through my blood panel and explain it to me so thoroughly. I'll keep you updated as I find out more.

[Jennifer Grant]

Oh my heck sister---did i tell you i am wheat/gluten intolerant as well? can't remember if we chatted about that or not...haven't been able to eat it since the Friday before Easter. and yup...it sucks. :)

[Ellen]

Let's start chatting about what we CAN eat. I got the kids Amy's Organic Pizza today for dinner and was like drooling over it. I love carbs. This totally sucks!!!

[linda g]

Great idea-I did hear about an instore brand at Vitamin Cottage that has all soy free foods. Tomorrow I am going to head over there to check it out. Is Vitamin Cottage national? We also have Whole Foods out here - I bet they have soy free foods there as well.

[linda g]

my son was just approved by our insurance to start allergy desensitization (sp?) shots. The good news is that our insurance company will pay 100% for the treatments and the creation of the actual shot - the bad news? mason has to have 2 shots 2 times per week. Because he has so many allergies, they can't fit everything into one vial. He's not going to be happy when he hears that!