Saturday, 23 May 2009
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Soy Is Poisoning Me -- HELP!
My diet is horrible. I have two options right now: starve to death, or continue feeling nauseated all day, every day. I need help.
No matter what I eat, often times I feel sick. A few years ago, it got so bad and painful that I went to a gastroenterologist, got a biopsy, and told I was cancer-free (for now), and given the option of Zelnorm. Sure, that this was part of a bigger issue, I passed on the meds at the time.
Then I tried to change my diet, and for a while, assumed I was lactose intolerant. My diet of soy milk was clearly not helping, so I gave that up and just tried to eliminate stress and stayed away from foods that I even thought made me feel queasy.
It got a little better, but then about two years ago I had my allergies retested and discovered I was allergic to peas. I was told to (obviously) stay away from peas completely, but she also said I should try to stay away from all related legumes: beans, peanuts, etc. Well I've done pretty well about staying away from beans and peanuts, but recently, I realized I've been neglecting soy.
And therein lies the problem. Assuming that soy is the reason I felt even sick during that "lactose intolerant" stage, and the reason I'm often queasy, I started checking labels last week of things I eat all the time, a lot of which are "healthy" prepackaged meals and fast foods and drinks -- and EVERYTHING has soy! I am not kidding. Every soup, every sauce, every french toast stick... everything has soy, soybean oil, vegetable oil, etc. I've also recently switched to a more vegetarian diet, and all you ever hear in the way of meat substitutes and healthy eating is SOY. I'm screwed!!!!
Those who know me well know that I cannot cook. Sometimes people would joke that I'll learn someday out of necessity, but I assumed I could continue to microwave frozen things and munch on healthy snacks. Apparently now, I really will starve to death if I don't learn to cook for myself, because I have such a restricted diet, I can't eat anything prepared unless I know exactly what's in it. And unfortunately, the one thing I'm allergic to is the stuff of choice. It's like putting a fish in a bucket of windex and telling it to breathe easy.
Since cutting soy, I've been feeling less nauseated, but I am practically starving. I think I've lost five pounds in the last two weeks (albeit, I wanted to lose those anyway, just not this way).
Does anyone have suggestions for a vegetarian diet that does NOT include soy? Or does anyone know of prepackaged meals (or desserts, for that matter) on the market that are soy-free? Keep in mind that I also have blood sugar issues, so I can't eat a diet of straight carbs either. I eat fish, I love veggies (and I used to love peas...), and I take iron supplements, but I would really like some natural, easy, TASTY alternatives for my very difficult diet.
Thanks!
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About the Author
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- From: eowynnabeeowyn@xanga
- Name: Lady of Ithilien
- Location: Chicago, Illinois, United States
- About Me: "What do you fear, lady?" he asked. "A cage," she said, "To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire." I am a recent college grad, with a love for traveling and the stuffed dog who accompanies me.
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Comments (28)
@Embl@xanga - yeah after experimenting, i would say i'm not lactose intolerant, i just thought i was for a while, before i got the allergy test and narrowed it down. i do actually drink a lot of regular milk now.
@LadyLibellule@xanga - i know, right? i was chewing gum yesterday and started feeling sick so my friend looked at the package -- soy was one of the main ingredients. i had no idea! thanks very much for the suggestion! (and thanks for pointing out tempeh is soy... three people mentioned it and i was just about to put it on the grocery list, hahaha).
@dehlia_thin@xanga - hmm you're the second person to mention this mystery grain! thanks! i'm going to try it out soon.
@NanaLana@xanga - lol, yeah, i'm gonna have to suck it up and learn, make time i guess. past roommates have feared the flames and given up on teaching me, so i'll just have to experiment on my own, hahaha.
@smiling_veggie@xanga - thanks very much for that list!
Learn to cook. Simply boiling vegetables for soup or boiling pasta and stirfrying is easy and healthy. Vegetables like broccoli, asparagus and cauliflower have lots of protein (for vegetables.) Do you eat eggs? Dairy can supply you with protein as well. Milk, yogurt, cheese.
If you live off of frozen pre-packaged foods (no matter how healthy they claim to be), you probably will get cancer not too long from now from eating food in microwaved/slightly melted plastics.
You should test yourself with some beans because those are a very good source of protein. See which kinds of beans work for you.
And fish. ...
Why are you vegetarian?
@dehlia_thin@xanga - There are only 20 standard amino acids humans need (we usually process some of them and add certain functional groups). Other amino acids are rare and only found in bacteria..
You didnt mention whether you had had the doctors do a fecal test. Some organisms, like h-pylori, can cause you to feel sick every time you eat. They can, eventually, lead to ulcers. Just wanted to point out this possibility in case it hadnt been covered-- in case you're going through all this hassle when it could be an easily solved problem.