Avoidance of soy?

[Lyds19089]

If we are to outlaw soy in our diets, how strict do we have to be in avoiding soy? Not to the extent of a food allergen right? Like if my dark chocolate bar has "soy lechitin" can I not eat it now? I don't consume anything else that would have soy unless it is a small byproduct. Is this ok?? Oh yeh, I have Hypothyroidism. Thanks! :wave:

[Gostrydr]

You should stay away from soy due to its goitergen properties. I don't think a little soy lecithin is going to hurt though.

I think no one should have more than a tbls of this crap a day..fermented or not.

[Lyds19089]

Ok thank you for your response. Avoidance of soy means no soy milk, tofu, those soy noodles, anything where soy is one of the main ingredients (balance bars). That takes a little weight off my shoulders that I don't have to be overly paranoid in avoiding everything that has an allergy warning of soy. Thanks!! :)

[Nancy LC]

I exercise paranoia about wheat but find it is hard to maintain that level of paranoia about too many things at once. :p I think wheat also causes my worst symptoms too, so that helps keep me on track.

I hope you start feeling better soon. There's nothing more encouraging than good results.

[ysabella]

Lyds19089, from what I gather, the main component of soy that carries the goitrogenic properties is the "isoflavones." Some products, like soy milk, soy flour, and soy protein powder retain a lot of those, so you are right to generally avoid the list of things you mentioned (like the soy pasta, which is made from soy flour I think).
In fact, the isoflavones are what some people think are so great for you, so packaging will brag in large type how much the product has - so it's often easy to spot!
The effect is lessened in fermenting, so a little tofu here and a dollop of soy sauce there isn't going to hurt you. And if you're eating mostly whole foods, the incidental amount of lecithin you'll eat is really no worry at all except for people with allergies. And there's no way I'm giving up my dark chocolate, either! (I'm hypothyroid too, btw.) You can get chocolate made without lecithin, but I don't bother.

Some cruciferous veggies have a similar goitrogenic effect, but cooking lessens it. I'm sure a lot of foods have an effect, maybe some we don't even know about, but thyroid medication is titrated to our bodies over time, so that should make up for it.

[Lyds19089]

Thanks so much for the responses! I just didn't want to have to think I had to avoid soy totally, but I am avoiding wheat and being Gluten Free for a while, as Nancy knows ;)

[Nancy LC]

Right! Just watch the soy sauce because there is wheat in there. But you can use Wheat free Tamari, which tastes better than soy sauce, in my humble opinion. :)

[method]

What about soy oil? Also the Vitamin E that is in most multivitamins and E gells is made from soy! Is that dangerous for the thyroids as well?