Talking Allergies

Hello everyone,

I'm getting some confusing and conflicting information about soy (including from the medical community). I'm hoping you can help!

Is it safe for someone (who is anaphylactic to soy) to eat soy oil, soybean oil (hydrogenated or not), and soy lecithin?

I've heard that it is perfectly safe, and I've also heard that any products containing soy should be avoided.

What is your experience with this?

Many thanks in advance! I'm soy ( ) glad to have this forum for support.

Supi

When my oldest was allergic to soy, our allergist said that soy(bean) oil and soy lecithin should be okay. My understanding from other forums (aka "the trenches") is that that is generally the case, HOWEVER not everyone with a soy allergy can tolerate soy oil and soy lecithin. So it's not clearcut.

And I guess if anaphylaxis is an issue, that makes it even harder to "experiment" and see what a person can tolerate. Obviously you don't want to bring on anaphylactic shock...

So maybe that's why you're getting confusing messages - because it really isn't black & white. Depends on the person.

I know that Gwen, the AL editor, is allergic to soy. Maybe she has some insight into this.

Wish I had more to help you with!

K.

_________________
Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

On the question of whether I should avoid soy-derived vitamin E, my allergist simply said yes. But since there is literally no multi vitamin out there that is allergen-free for me, he said I could try a multi vitamin in his office to watch for a reaction. My own sense of my soy allergy: I've had milder reactions to lecithin. I don't react to vitamin E. But I know that some people do.

See the latest Allergic Living (Fall 2006) on page 65 - ask the dietitian - for some info about soy allergy. It says:



Unfortunately it doesn't give any direction on whether soy lecithin may be safe for some of those with soy allergy or not.

K.

_________________
Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Hi Supi,

In Allergic Living's Spring 2005 issue, Dr. Wade Watson addressed the question of soy oil and lecithin. He advised:



Dr. Watson acknowledges that his is the more conservative approach. If the soy oil is refined, there should be only minuscule amounts of protein remaining, and other allergists say that, for most soy-allergic individuals, this is not enough protein to cause a reaction.

So there aren't cut and dried answers - seems to depend on the individual and level of sensitivity. You'd be best to follow your own allergist's recommendation. Mine, like Watson, takes the conservative approach and tells me to avoid ingesting any soy products, since I've anaphylaxed with soy.

However, I have not needed to avoid tocopheryls and vitamin E in skin products - have never had any reactions via the skin.

Hope that helps. /Gwen

Here's a reprinted article from the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology with some interesting info. on soy allergy:

http://allergyadvisor.com/hidden2.htm

(emphasis mine)

It sounds to me like this suggests that people who are highly allergic can react not only to proteins but to compounds formed by proteins "interacting with oxidized lipid"???

Gwen, like you I don't avoid vitamin E in skin products--I do wonder though if that could sensitize me more to soy. I would avoid it if it weren't for the fact that soy is in everything!

Hello Karen, Gwen and Helen,

Thanks very much for your responses. It's my little guy that I'm concerned about, and I think I'll take the conservative approach as well.

I appreciate the time you all took to write. It helps!

Enjoy a great day,

Supi

As far as a skin reaction to soy - I can testify that it's possible... in fact- it's how I discovered I had allergies.

I went to a spa for a pampering session and had a chocolate body wrap. Yes, it's as good as it sounds - warm, chocolate drizzled on you and wrapped in a heated little blanket. Well did I ever swell up. Rash and hives all over.

From that point onward, I've been very skeptical of even my own allergist's comments that soy oil or other derivitives are fine - both inside and on the outside!