Where are you hiding now?

Okay, it's been a few days now since the soy and I am STILL all nasally and gross.  The day after having the miso soup, I swear I felt like I had been hit by a truck.

It's good to know though.

I was aware that unfermented soy was a bad deal, though I bought into the health benefits of soy in all states when I was younger. I've learned the importance of fermenting for any number of foods we eat, be it soy, wheat, veggies, etc. 

Fermenting helps neutralize anti-nutrients that make foods difficult for us to digest.  If you  eat grains, make sure you soak or ferment those grains.  If you're going to eat soy, make sure it is fermented soy such as tempeh, miso, natto or traditionally made soy sauce.  

One of the biggest downfalls of soy (at least here in the US) is that most of our soybeans are GMO.  I personally don't know the long term effects of eating GMO foods, and don't care to be a part of some grand experiment.  

Unfortunately soy is hidden in a great number of processed foods even when they are considered natural or health food using names that may or may not indicate they have soy in them. Especially when switching to gluten free, soy seems to be an additive that is in EVERYTHING.  Here are a few that may contain soy but are entirely ambiguous (I pretty much avoid these due to the possibility of containing wheat as well): 

Artificial flavoring 

Asian foods (e.g. Japanese, Chinese, Thai, etc.)

Hydrolyzed plant protein 
Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP) 
Natural flavoring 
Vegetable broth 
Vegetable gum 
Vegetable starch 

I never really gave much though to the idea that soy was part of my allergy issue.  I had started cutting it out for other reasons but wasn't really diligent about the ambiguous soy sneaking in until I went on an elimination diet.  

After about 7 weeks of no soy at all, I figured trying miso, which is properly fermented wouldn't hurt.  It did and now I know to avoid soy.  It eliminates a lot of things such as chocolates (most commercial chocolates are made with soy lecithin), but hey, not having my face feel like it will explode or my sinuses make a weird popping noise is not a bad trade off.  

Kids with Food Allergies is a pretty comprehensive resource for food allergens and possibly ambiguous allergen additives.  

I honestly think if you don't feel as well as you think you could, AIP (autoimmune paleo) or GAPS (gut and psychology syndrome) or SCD (specific carbohydrate diet) can really help you see how what you eat effects you over all.  

Even though I haven't fully been able to ditch my nasal allergies, I have to say that I feel better than I can really ever remember.