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Can somebody remind me why it is that if I have soy intolerance, I need to avoid all legumes?
I know I can test each legume individually at some point to see how I react to it, but what is the reason for suspecting them as a corollary to soy sensitivity? I read back over my Enterolab results, and they don't say anything about other legumes.
My son and his wife and baby arrive this evening, coming from Pennsylvania, on their way to Thailand. They'll be with us for about 6 weeks.
Soy is a legume, and many/most here who test positive to soy, find that they are indeed sensitive to most/all legumes, including some of the more obscure examples, (and even including oils that are made from soy, even though theoretically, oils should be free of soy protein). That's why we usually assume that sensitivity to soy also implies sensitivity to all legumes. IOW, statistically, our combined experience here on this board, suggests that sensitivity to soy also implies sensitivity to other legumes. That doesn't mean that this rule is chiseled in stone, though, so the only way to find out if you might be the exception to the rule, is to test other legumes.
Enterolab's test results don't mention other legumes because they have no tests for other legumes, so it would be imprudent for them to claim that their test results could be extended to all legumes. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, (CMS), regulates all laboratory testing, (except research), performed on humans in the U.S., and they would surely be all over Enterolab, if they tried to claim that their test results could be extended to all legumes.
Fortunately, this board is not under the regulatory authority of the CMS, so we can pretty much say what we feel is appropriate, so long as we don't yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
I'm happy you'll be having your son, DIL and their baby staying with you, but it's going to be a difficult parting. Thailand is a long way from here. I hope they're not going to live there for a long time.
I tested positive for soy and later realized that I had problems after eating peanut butter. Then I noticed that green beans gave me problems. Since there weren't many other legumes that I was crazy about, I decided to eliminate all of them.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
I promise if I can't say "yikes" or "had no idea" I will not start yelling "fire" on this board (except, of course, in case of actual fire).
Martha,
I tested 8 for soy (where <10 is negative), after 2 months of no legumes at all, and not a whole lot the month before that. So maybe I can, but I'm waiting.
I "have a feeling" about legumes. I gave away many dry beans, but am thinking chickpeas and lentils might be 'easier to take' for me... Wish I could give you a rationale, but I don't have anything very articulate. If I have a couple weeks of super-clear sailing, I will give one of those a try and let you know. I did read somewhere that kidney beans are super-high in lectins, making them one of the most likely to react. I don't know how to factor that in. (And I like other beans better, so don't have to think about that for the moment.)
Kari might have some wisdom for you on this. She tested 'moderately reactive' to at least one bean via MRT, and was something like me via Enterolab about soy (yes, it is a little scary how much I know about those test results). She has been able to re-introduce her favorite black beans recently... and they're among my faves, too, so I am hopeful to try those at some point.
I am eating fresh/local 'pea shoots' like they're coming out my ears, and they're totally fine. I also drink some red-bush herbal tea that is in the legume family (thanks, Marliss, for the heads-up!). I am thinking the greens and the beans are a whooole different matter (the plant thinks so, too). It is interesting that the oil still causes the reaction for so many of us... BUT the oil does come from the bean.
What does this mean? What will I do when the snap peas show up? Not entirely sure.
On to more important things! How truly wonderful that you'll have such a long and leisurely visit with your son & family. I'm sure that will bolster you through their long time abroad. My family is in *at least* its 5th generation of bouncing back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean. My heart is with all of you for much joy... and thank goodness for Skype.
Martha,
I tested in the teens for soy, and I do react to soymilk, tofu, etc. But I've continued eating GF soysauce (the protein is hydrolyzed), and small amounts of soy lecithin (as an added ingredient in dark chocolate, etc). I also don't ask if restaurant food is cooked in soybean oil. That said, I also eat black beans, red beans, hummus, green beans and peanut butter with no immediate or particularly bothersome reactions. I do have loose BMs all the time, so I figure the fiber of the beans is affecting me more than anything. I grew up on Latin American cooking, so beans simply can't be out of the equation for me. We learn to make black beans more tolerable by soaking thoroughly, and cooking with oregano and celery to prevent gas.
It always seems that some of my intolerances are the exception but there is no way in the world my system will tolerate kidney, black or pinto beans. Sometimes a very few garbonzas but not very often. Most legumes do not react well with me. But then corn, peas and celery are still not doing it either. However lettuce, after such a long time without it, is doing just fine with me. One just never knows with this disease. It is all a long path of just testing foods to get to the right place.
Enjoy the time with your family. I know what it is like with the family living in another country.
Love, Maggie
Maggie Scarpone
___________________
Resident Birder - I live to bird and enjoy life!
Thanks for all your responses. I greatly value the collective wisdom of this forum.
I thought I had given up all legumes until Marliss posted that jicama is a legume. (What were you thinking, Marliss?!) So I guess I'm not totally legume free. I miss eating black beans and rice, and lentil curry. But there are still lots of other things to eat, right?
At some point I will test the legumes, one at a time. With just six months into the soy-free diet, and three months into also eliminating soy oil and lecithin, it's probably too early to do it yet. I hope also to add GF soy sauce back in sometime. I've been making stir-fry with just garlic and ginger, and it's amazingly good.
My kids arrived last night, laden with all sorts of yummy things from Pennsylvania. They had canned a lot of fruit, and brought some of that along, as well as home-made maple syrup from sap they tapped themselves. They also bought me various GF grains and flours at an Amish store near them. And best of all, they brought 1-year-old Saffron, who came to Grandma and Grandpa right away!
They have a two-year contract in Bangkok. But I can hardly complain, because my husband and I lived for 16 years in Indonesia and 7 years in the Philippines, while our kids were growing up, and the grandparents never complained once. And as Sara mentioned, thank goodness for Skype.
Enjoy your time with your family, Martha!! We are certainly blessed in this day and age that relatives leaving for far-off lands no longer means perhaps never seeing them again or knowing how they are faring.
Marliss Bombardier
Dum spiro, spero -- While I breathe, I hope
Psoriasis - the dark ages
Hashimoto's Thyroiditis - Dec 2001
Collagenous Colitis - Sept 2010
Granuloma Annulare - June 2011
Martha, I tested positive to soy, but found out I could handle refried beans. I buy the non-fat version which is just a mix of beans, salt, and water. I think Tex mentioned at one point that refried beans seem to be the least reactive.
I was so happy to find this out because I love bean tostadas and other Mexican food. Hope this helps,
JoAnn
Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway. John Wayne
I'm still in the "testing" phase with legumes, too...I tried hummus the other day, which seemed okay. Today I had some hummus for lunch, then broccoli with dinner, and I'm not sure which one caused it, but tonight I'm super-bloated. I'm hoping that when my Enterolab results come back in a week or two that soy will be okay, but I suspect it won't. Unfortunately, our household eats Mexican a lot (hubby's from Acapulco), and beans and rice are a staple. Sigh. I just want to feel better.
Pat C.
"Don't sweat the small stuff.
P.S. (It's all small stuff!)"
I recently did a bean trial. I have avoided soy/all legumes for 2 years. I know for sure that soy and peanuts give me a reation so I avoided all legumes. But Polly inpsired me. During her LEAP process she tried some legumes and did fine. So after a few months of debating whether or not I should risk it I made baked beans for Memorial Day. I tolerated the beans and am now eating beans about once/week. So far I have had navy beans, garbanzo beans, pinto beans and black beans. As a reformed vegetarian this is huge for me. I love beans and really wanted some meatless meals.
Mary Beth
"If you believe it will work out, you'll see opportunities. If you believe it won't you will see obstacles." - Dr. Wayne Dyer
Bloat is definitely a sign - but for me, it was not a "forever forbidden" sign. I bloated instantly when I had small amounts of rice a couple of months ago, but now am able to have some (I'm sticking to small 'doses' and not every day, for now). Most of my worst foods seem not to give me 'insta-bloat,' but next-day disastrous D. (Hummus is good news!)
I don't want to nudge you to eat risky food at all - but I do hope that Mary Beth's experience might eventually be good news for both of us! As a recovering vegetarian myself, Mary Beth - WOOHOO!!! and congratulations. I have very different preferences about beans, and will be interested to see whether my preferences and tolerances are aligned.
Pat wrote:Is broccoli ever a problem for MC sufferers?
It seems to cause gas, but broccoli was one of only 3 vegetables that I continued to eat, while I was healing, (for about a year and a half). The other two were green beans and squash. I only ate veggies a few times each week, though - waaaaaaaaaayyyyy less than the official USDA recommended amount.
Tex
It is suspected that some of the hardest material known to science can be found in the skulls of GI specialists who insist that diet has nothing to do with the treatment of microscopic colitis.
Our intolerances are so individual, aren't they? We try to eat a "balanced diet" as we're taught, and it turns out that the very things we thought we had to eat for "good health" like whole grains and lots of high-fiber veggies are exactly the things that have been hurting us all along!
Pat C.
"Don't sweat the small stuff.
P.S. (It's all small stuff!)"
Visit the Microscopic Colitis Foundation Website
for seeing them. 
for them moving so far away.
