Alergic Reactions?
Posted by sweetsugarhazel on Oct 24, 2007 · Member since Oct 2007 · 1 posts
I have been a vegetarian for almost two years now (no red meat for four!) and I just recently went completely vegan.
I've always drank soy milk and eaten soy products, never noticing a problem. But it seems as if for the past month I've had really bad stomach problems. Does anyone know what the abstract symptoms of a soy allergy are, aside from hives (which I don't think that I suffer from...)? Would there be any change in appetite or any emotional symptoms along with GI symptoms?
Here is a website detailing what a soy allergy is & the symptoms of it: http://www.soya.be/soy-allergy.php
Perhaps you are just eating too much soy since becoming vegan, and soy itself is not the problem? ??? I have to really concentrate on not including "too much" soy in my diet, as vegan diets can easily be very heavy in soy... I don't actually know if too much soy is a problem in itself, but I like to have a well-balanced diet that isn't really heavy in any one thing.
Do you eat seitan (wheat gluten) or drink rice or nut milks, in addition to soy products? I am by no means an expert, but I would suggest a) Concentrating on how much soy you eat in a day (perhaps taking physical notes with pen & paper so you can reflect on it later), and b) Making sure you are including lots of other wholesome foods to replace milk, cheese, eggs, meat, etc. and not just soy. :)
To be on the safe side get tested for the allergy.
To me it sounds more likely that you have a soy intolerance (you know like people who are lactose intolerant).
I have been a vegetarian for almost two years now (no red meat for four!) and I just recently went completely vegan.
I've always drank soy milk and eaten soy products, never noticing a problem. But it seems as if for the past month I've had really bad stomach problems. Does anyone know what the abstract symptoms of a soy allergy are, aside from hives (which I don't think that I suffer from...)? Would there be any change in appetite or any emotional symptoms along with GI symptoms?
Too much soy can be harder to digest and can definitely cause gassiness!
Too much soy has been linked to the appearance of goiter in susceptible Asian people (study done in Japan).
You might want to try the "Bean-O" recipe on this website. For some reason, us vegans can be... musical. You weren't very specific, but is part of your stomach problems gas/(or worse) trapped gas? It might help... if not, there goes an 1/8 tsp baking soda, right?
I was raised vegetarian and just found out I have a soy allergy! Soy gives me gastrointestinal difficulties--not a severe reaction but enough that I can't really eat it. Its less stress on my body if I avoid it anyway. I'm blogging what Im learning about soy-free veganism here:
soyfreevegan.blogspot.com
hope that helps :)
It is possible that your body is just getting used to a different diet, all of the yucky stuff getting flushed out can feel uncomfortable at first. Hard to say though, without knowing what you typically eat/ate. Have you been eating more beans in general? If so, it will take your body a bit to get used to the gassiness of it before your belly can handle it. Definitely look into what the others say too, though.