Soya
The soya bean belongs to the legume family, which includes fresh and dried peas, beans, carob, liquorice and peanut. Research has shown that a symptomatic reaction to more than one member of the legume family is rare, so in most cases it isn`t necessary to avoid all foods from this plant family.
Soya is widely used in various foods and is therefore difficult to avoid - in fact, as many as 60% of manufactured foods contain soya. Soya can be consumed as whole beans, soya flour, soya sauce or soya oil, and can also be used in foods as a texturiser, emulsifier, or protein filler. Soya flour in particular is widely used in foods including; breads, cakes, processed foods (ready meals, burgers and sausages) and baby foods.
Clearly, avoidance of all these products containing soya would make the diet very restricted, but as with many other allergies, the level of avoidance depends on each individual case. Some people might need to avoid all these forms of soya, whereas others may be able to tolerate, for example, soy sauce and soya lecithin. In fact, most soy sauces contain very small amounts of soy, with most of the protein in the sauce being derived from fermented wheat.
Soya-derived lecithin is an emulsifier, which stabilizes foods which contain water and fats and don`t naturally mix. For example, lecithin stops the cocoa and cocoa butter in chocolate bars from separating, and improves the texture of many other foods such as chocolate and spreads. Since lecithin is a fat, soya lecithin doesn`t contain much soya protein, so most people with soya allergy can tolerate it.
In the UK, the Food Standards Agency advises that refined soya oil (the main component of vegetable oil) should be safe for people with soya allergy, because the proteins that cause allergic reactions are removed during the refining process. However, cold-pressed soya oil, usually sold from delicatessen counters or health food shops, can contain soya protein and should be avoided.
When buying food or eating away from home, look out for the following:
Foods that contain soya;
- Soya protein isolate
- Soya shortening
- Soya protein
- Soya albumin
- Soya bean
- Soy sauce
- Soya flavouring
- Soya flour
- Soya gum
- Soya lecithin (E322)
- Soya milk
- Soya nuts
- Soya oil
- Soya starch
- Miso
- Soya infant formula
- Soya margarine
- Soya yoghurts and desserts
- Tempeh
- Tofu/Tofutti
- Natto
- Kinako (roasted soy flour)
- Kouridofu (frozen tofu)
- Nimame
- Edamame
- Okara
- Soja
- Yuba
- Teriyaki sauce
Terms that might indicate the presence of soya;
- Vegetable broth
- Vegetable oil
- Vegetable protein
- Vegetable paste
- Textured vegetable protein (TVP)
- Hydrolysed Vegetable Protein (HVP)
- Hydrolysed Plant Proteins (HPP)
Tip: It`s a pretty extensive list, so finding out your level of avoidance is essential so that your diet isn`t more restricted than it needs to be.
Most supermarkets and many manufacturers produce lists of their food items which are soya free. Be careful though, as these lists quickly go out of date and food products quite often change their ingredients. However, these lists are a very handy guide to help find potentially suitable products which can add taste, variety and nutrition to your diet.