Soy Problem
#46584 - 02/25/04 12:34 PM
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mrosek
Reged: 02/25/04
Posts: 1
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Hi Heather (and everyone else)!
I've read your book "first year IBS" and have received your news letters for the past 8 months
and I have a problem with soy products. I am lactose intolerant and have IBS. When I drank soy milk
I ended up going to the bathroom consantly with diarhea. My GI believed this is due to the fact that soy ferments. I have noticed a similiar problem with other fermenting foods such as grapes, vingear and products that contain vinegar. I've had the same problems with other soy products, when I lived abroad, they use soy as an
additive to any type of bread. And eating the bread (whether it was fresh or not) gave me moderate problems.
Is it safe to eat soy in small doses? Since you seem to push soy so much in all of your writings. It is also difficult to find rice products aren't as readily available, oversees they haven't even heard of them. Although I'm back in the States now, I still run into problems, I cannot get anything at Starbucks b/c they use either regular milk or soy milk. Soy in large quantities (the milk), and even in the bread (I think this is something they don't do in the US but I'm not sure, since I'm in college and am on a meal plan) give me problems. And when I eat small doses (ie: Chinese food, some breads), it's hard to tell what exactly is causing the problems. I cannot always be sure if I am avoiding soy or if it is one of the other IBS triggers such as not having enough insoluble fiber before eating vegetables. What do you think? How best can I deal with my soy problem? Are foods that ferment bad for the IBS diet? Is soy safe in small doses for me?
Thanks!
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Hi there - it sounds to me like you have an outright allergy or severe intolerance to soy, which is likely separate from the IBS. The fact that you react to tiny amounts of it in bread is a big red flag that this just isn't something you tolerate. Normally, people can start gradually with soy (like other beans) and their bodies will learn to digest the raffinose, or bean sugar, which is what can cause bloating and gas. But I don't think you're in this group of folks, and I'd just avoid soy altogether.
The fermentation concept I've never heard. Vinegar is acidic, and that can sometimes cause problems for IBS, though it's more likely to affect upper GI problems like heartburn. Soluble fibers ferment in the gut, but this is a good thing for IBS, because it leads to an increase of probiotics (healthy flora) in the gut. Soy milk wouldn't have any soluble fiber in it, though ( but whole soybeans do).
If you're in the US now, you should be able to find lots of soy/oat/almond milks and cheeses and ice creams, and plenty of breads without any soy in them. Starbucks is another thing - you'll probably have to stick to herbal or chai teas there, with no added milk at all.
Hope this helps!
- H
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Heather is the Administrator of the IBS Message Boards. She is the author of Eating for IBS and The First Year: IBS, and the CEO of Heather's Tummy Care. Join her IBS Newsletter. Meet Heather on Facebook!
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