It is commonly stated that soybean oil doesn’t cause allergic reactions to people who are allergic to soy. I believe it was this study by the National Institute of Health in 1985 that is used as the basis to say that soybean oil doesn’t cause allergic reactions (urticaria, angioedema, wheezing, dyspnea, and/or vomiting) in people who are sensitive to soybeans. Oh, and that was 7 whole people they tested — the echelon of thoroughness.
If you visit the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), they say “Check with your doctor about whether you need to avoid soy lecithin and soy oil“.
Okay, so basically, soybean oil shouldn’t / most likely won’t / maybe could / but it all depends on you, cause an allergic reaction to somebody who is sensitive to soy, but why on earth has it become the standard for soybean oil to not even be considered soy? I ask you, what do they think soybean oil is made of?
If you review a food package, it will list at the bottom “CONTAINS: WHEAT, EGGS, DAIRY” or whatever potential allergen. But if that same product “merely” contains soybean oil, it doesn’t say that it “CONTAINS: SOY”. Just because it’s not supposed to cause an allergic reaction, SOYBEAN OIL is still to this day MADE OUT OF SOYBEANS.
If you review a restaurant’s allergen information, items are not marked as containing soy if they merely contain or are fried in soybean oil. Can’t we at least agree that SOYBEANS are one of the primary ingredients of SOYBEAN OIL.
Our son’s doctor told us to eliminate soybean oil in his diet. you cannot believe what kind of grief this has caused us in simply trying to figure out if foods contain soy. My first post-ICU adventure with a restaurant was buying KFC Chicken for my son because it was the only menu item in any restaurant near us that said it didn’t include soy. Imagine my total frustration to find out after he had eaten it that all KFC items are fried in soybean oil.
Regardless of what the expected reaction to soybean oil is, can’t the world be decent enough to admit that there’s SOY in SOYBEAN OIL?
******* Update since this was first written *******
I’ve posted an extremely non-scientific poll on this website (not that the original 7 person study could be called thorough, either). I’m seeing that a number of readers say they react to soybean oil. So I’ve discovered what the entire United States government was not able to figure out?
To answer a reader’s question as to “Why” they don’t list soybean oil, not to sound like a conspiritist (did I just make up a word?), I think it all boils down to the money. Soybean oil (from my research at the grocery store) is the cheapest oil out there. If that’s not the case, can somebody explain to me why “vegetable oil” is almost 100% of the time 100% soybean oil. Why not just sell it as soybean oil? Because it’s cheap, everybody wants to use it, and because of this bogus study in 1985, they use that as an excuse to not list soybean oil as an allergen, and therefore in their twisted logic, not even include it as an ingredient.
******* Update 11/26/2015 *******
Here’s the current results for the question “Do they react to soybean oil?”
Yes: 330
I Don’t know: 82
No: 35
(no response): 11
That really makes me doubt the National Institute of Health’s results.
Soybean oil intolerance is a very real condition but its existence is being hidden. Symptoms include bloating and explosive diarrhea, hot flashes due to phytoestrogens which also aren’t digested, and possibly vomiting, lethargy, and headaches.
Irony upon irony. I’m specifically allergic to soybean oil. I’m ok with products that contain soy (though I tend to limit anything with soybean oil or soy lecithin as much as possible) but especially if is something is fried or made with a large portion of soybean oil (dressings/ mayo) it’s vomit central. It’s been interesting learning how much soybean oil is too much. Thanks for this list. Especially since my allergies are to a “non allergen .”
I’m very allergic to soy, including soybean oil. There is also soy in lots of avocado oils too.
Does anyone know which olive oil doesn’t have soy in it?
Many people do not believe that canola oil is just as bad for you as soy OF ANY KIND, whether it’s oil or curd or whatever. It’s just about as hard to find any DECENT food without one or the other – – or BOTH included in their products. America has the worst food system ever.
During this fake pandemic, many fast food places are jacking up prices to unbelievable highs. It’s going to stay that way after the election, too, because once a price goes up it never comes down, does it??!! This is why everyone is urged to “eat out” during this time. It’s the gubmint’s way of “dosing you” with soy and canola and all kinds of other crap. And don’t believe the hype about their claims to “100% all beef patties” , and we know the chicken is just a step away from being pure poison.
Thank God I live where I can get farm fresh eggs and chickens and turkeys, and we order our beef every spring and autumn from a local rancher who we know ONLY grass feeds his animals. We visit these places often to make sure all is on the up and up. You have to, these days.
Grocery store shopping has become as bad as dodging a time bomb.
You said it well!! The world has no choices that are healthy… Feel sorry for all children. I feel like this communist country!
I bought Walmart brand olive oil and get sick with bad allergies and stomach issues when I consume it. It doesn’t say on the ingredients that it contains soy. I was wondering if anyone else has used it and had a problem with it. I had nightmares last night and I think it caused them.
This might help: https://healthiertalk.com/avocado-oil-scam/
I have a soy allergy and have come to the point where I can’t eat out at all. And eating at a friend’s house or staying with family fills me with absolute terror. Grocery shopping takes forever because you have to read all the labels every time. You can’t assume something is safe just because it was safe last time. I’ve taken to making almost all of my food from scratch, which has consumed a lot of my time. I do have a reaction to soybean oil, but not soy lecithin. My reaction is severe nausea, diarrhea, bloating, gas, stomach cramps, dizzyness (to the point I can’t stand up), and ringing in the ears. In addition, I’m allergic to peanuts, pork, lettuce, and onions. So if I find something that doesn’t have soy, it likely contains peanuts or onions. I saw someone comment that the only safe option on a menu is a salad with no dressing. But since I’m allergic to lettuce, I can’t have salad either. I believe we should change how soy is labeled on the allergen warning. If it contains anything related to soy, it should be listed as a soy allergen. I also believe that there should be some research into WHY there has been such a rise in food allergens. And then that research should be put to good use improving our food supply so that it doesn’t get to the point where we can’t eat anymore.
Yep, since neglecting to constantly look-up or track down ingredients, im basicly now Done with restaurants outside of a Steak & Steamed broccoli or boiled seafood. There’s almost nothing to eat in quick serve establishment. It takes about 4yrs to get Any Veg/Soybean-Corn-Canola-ect Oil out of your system. Nice!
This is a tirade I posted on Facebook (before I was recently banned for having different opinions than their Gestapo).
▀▀▀
The worldwide ban on soy products would be as a DIRECT result of their deceptive marketing practices.
Peanut oil is called… PEANUT oil.
Corn oil is called… CORN oil.
Safflower oil is called… SAFFLOWER oil.
Canola oil is called… CANOLA oil.
Olive oil is called… OLIVE oil.
and…
Soybean oil is called… VEGETABLE oil.
Soybeans are NOT the only vegetables, they are LEGUMES yet they are marketed as the only source of “Vegetable oil”. (Hmmm… come to think of it, I guess ALL legumes have this identity problem… peanuts are NOT nuts at all!)
Soy and its by-products are included in almost ALL processed foods (including Mountain Dew which I no longer drink), many times not even listed as soy. “Artificial Flavoring” is most often derived from soy, but it is not labeled as such.
Soy is the main source of MSG.
Soy Lecithin has made its way into almost everything, including chocolate, breads, crackers, cookies, salad dressings, pudding, and anything meant to be “creamy”.
When I want something to be “creamy”… I USE CREAM.
Soy is NOT healthy for humans… UNLESS fermented. (The Japanese figured this out a LONG time ago.) Eating “raw soy” AKA EVERY PIECE OF PROCESSED FOOD IN THE SUPERMARKET will make you sick. Soy sauce and TOFU are the ONLY healthy versions of soy (assuming you don’t have an allergy). Eating steamed “edamame” pods as an appetizer in a restaurant is VERY bad for you. Feeding an infant a soy-based formula results in estrogen intake equal to 5 birth control pills A DAY. (Is there any wonder why boys fed this stuff are turning into “transgender” kids?!?) Since Monsanto got into the picture, all soy is GMO, goes infertile after one planting, and bleeds Roundup Weed Killer, which is by far the most prevalent source of glyphosates in the evironment.
As with Germany, the United States needs its own food purity laws that prohibit unnecessary ingredients in food. (Ask yourself why there’s enough preservative in some FROZEN DINNERS to let it sit open on the counter for 3 weeks without rotting!)
The big food companies (Monsanto, ConAgra) don’t give a flying fart if the food they sell you will make you sick or not… just as long as they keep getting their multi-billion-dollar government subsidies. For example, margarine won’t ever rot or be eaten by nature, either… ants avoid it and bacteria can’t grow on it, because it’s essentially PLASTIC.
“I can’t believe it’s not butter!”? How about “I can’t believe it’s SHUNNED by nature!”.
▄▄▄
The comment about transgender kids is likely what got me banned.
Another thing people don’t consider, is that constantly consuming non-fermented soy CREATES allergies to legumes such as peanuts.
The occurrence of peanut allergies is on the rise BECAUSE the poisonous pollutant known as soy lecithin is in EVERY processed food.
My sister did her Master’s Degree thesis on cooking oils used in restaurants, and she stated (as the original research paper asserts) that *highly refined* soybean oil is devoid of allergens (the soy proteins). These are usually removed through the filtering process. Back in 1985, all soybean oil was likely considered “highly refined”.
HOWEVER
I’m willing to bet that as a cost reduction measure, most soybean oil is no longer *highly refined*, meaning all of the protein molecules are not actually removed… because they only filter once or with cheaper and less effective filters… essentially “cheating” on the filtering step.
The end result is that the oil is made CLEAR, but still contains the allergens.
I hope this helps.
SOY IS AN ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR. I am hypothyroid and will have to take thyroid medication for life. I cannot have soy in any form, it keeps my thyroid medication from converting properly in my liver, and it makes me feel awful. There is a very large population of people with thyroid problems, or no thyroid and finding soy free items is almost impossible in the grocery store. I pray the food industry becomes as aware of the need for soy free as for gluten free. Hypothyroid/Hashimotos need to be gluten AND soy free. FYI, thyroid disease is on the rise in our nation and no one knows why.
I’ll bet everybody who has a problem with soy knows exactly why thyroid disease is on the rise in our nation.
I have hashimotos hypothyroid and never feel well even when my levels show I have plenty of medication. I have never heard that soy is related until your comment. Where could I get more information please?
For me, I think that soybean oil is the next best thing as the solution used for prepping for colonoscopy! Same effect plus enough bloating/gas to fill the Goodyear blimp!
The government lies! It’s almost like they don’t care if we are sick and maybe die?
Yep!
I’ve thought that exactly!
This is soybean oil intolerance, not soy allergy. The existence of this condition is being hidden so it won’t hurt soybean oil sales.
About a month ago, at 33, I was recently diagnosed with about a dozen food allergies, including soy and corn. Allergist specifically said soybean oil is fine as refined oils have removed all proteins. Maybe you are all having a reaction to something else. I’m sure there are a hundred things in KFC chicken that could have caused a reaction besides refined oil. This is all new to me though. Still trying to get through the day without thinking every food is going to kill me. There is not a food in this country that doesn’t contain soy or corn, so I’m pretty much screwed if I can’t at least have foods with soybean oil.
Scott,
I wouldn’t listen to that study that “soybean oil is ok” if your highly sensitive to soy. I’ve been on this journey for over a year now. I accidentally had a rotisserie chicken last night that made me feel so sick. I forgot to look at the ingredients…and when I checked they was soybean oil in it.
If you are still feeling bad I would cut out all soy including soy lecithin.
Good luck!
Tarryn
It frustrates me to NO END that soy is in everything! In things it shouldn’t be in. I have a VIOLENT reaction to soy – non-stop vomiting, triggering gallbladder attacks that can last up to 2 days and leave me feeling very weak, raw and dehydrated. I’ve torn the lining of my esophagus multiple times because someone assured me there wasn’t soy when there really was. I always ask if things contain soy – they say no – then I have to explain: “This means anything that contains vegetable oil, margarine or mayonnaise.” There aren’t too many restaurants I can eat at (fried foods are OUT), family holidays leave me stuck with a dry salad unless I bring my own plate, and office cakes and cookies have become a cruel tease 🙁 I absolutely second the petition idea. Sign me up! War on soy!
google monsanto, roundup, gmo, and soybeans. pure evil. the reason soybean oil was listed as non soy is because of monsantos lobbying power. 90% of soybeans are roundup resistant, aka gmo. very hard to avoid. did you know many chicken feeds used are soy based. its everywhere.
Before we moved, our family used to eat at this little Italian restaurant owned an operated by a man born and raised in Italy. I am accustomed to often eating before dining out because of my allergy issues. One night when he questioned my not eating and I asked what type of oil was used in the kitchen, he became very offended and responded, “I am a proud Italian – olive oil of course!” I then mentioned that often “olive oil” is blended (I believe this is to produce it more cheaply). He brought out a container of oil from the kitchen. It was very clearly labeled “Olive Oil”, and not nearly as clearly mentioned that it was made up of about 10% soybean oil. He was shocked and very embarrassed when I pointed this out. I felt badly. I think so often most people don’t really know what they are cooking with. Even some people that really should know.
I was diagnosed with a soy allergy more than 30 years ago. Some restaurants are much easier to eat at than others for sure! The few times when my symptoms have been to the level of sore and swollen tongue with a difficulty in speaking, have all been after consumption of soybean oil. One of these times was at a restaurant that had previously been safe for me. I have learned that it is always smart to ask questions, and to try to educate the server a little that soy doesn’t necessarily mean tofu or soy sauce, it could be a more hidden ingredient like a cooking oil or it might be found on the ingredient list of a sauce like mayo, margarine or a salad dressing. If they are especially quick to answer that there is no soy in a dish, I often mention that it would be nice if they asked the chef. I feel that only the most knowledgeable servers actually know what is in the food they serve.
I have been battling food allergies. Taking out wheat and gluten was easy. Soy is challenging. I react to all soy, soybean oil, soy lecithin . My hubby is frustrated at times because going out to breakfast is now a concern , as everything is cooked in soybean oil or fake butter blend(which is soybean oil based). After eating it is hard to breath and get tinglely inside. I have to take Benadryl asap. When I asked my allergy dr. About soy lecithin he said oh well I guess you sensitive to it. I have taken cooked chicken in my purse into a restaurant to add to a bowl of lettuce. Which is ridiculous . Soy allergies are now widespread problem affecting so many people. I have found chipotle to be gluten free , soy free(no reactions) option. Plain steamed rice, carnitas, cheese , sour cream.
I think we should start a petition to have soybean oil listed as an allergen. If enough of us sign it, perhaps they’ll be forced to wake up and see that soybean oil is soy (duh, hence the name) and to list it as an allergen.
We went through a horrible 2-3 months trying to find out what my little girl was allergic to. Turns out, it’s soy. I go to great lengths and at times, great expense to keep soy out of our diets (I’m nursing her). Even if I ingest a small amount of soy, she will screech and scream for hours. She doesn’t get the skin rash or trouble breathing, thank goodness, but the GI pain is bad enough. She has terrible reflux which we are treating and have been able to get down to once daily antacid instead of twice daily since I’ve cut out Soy.
We just ate at Dairy Queen tonight. They fey everything in soybean oil. I could eat a hot dog, and have an ice cream (no cone) with chocolate (but not hot fudge) and caramel on it. The entire rest of the menu, except eggs and sausages were off the menu.
And I agree! Why on earth would they use soybean oil instead of olive oil on Spaghetti! No self respecting Italian would use soybean oil. And don’t even get me started on using soybean oil instead of olive oil in hummus!
Idk about the rest of you, but I was underweight before being diagnosed with soy allergy and avoiding all the junky foods has kept my weight going further down… I can’t express the looks I get from people when I try to explain “I’m allergic” to cake/99% of desserts. :-/
Recently I went away on vacation and existed on Wasa crackers, beer and yogurt. It’s insane that the yogurt in chain drug stores is all pectin , natural flavors , guar gum etc.. ! I reach such a point of exhaustion I just throw in the towel and starve. Even my go-to order of beef patty on a plate can be contaminated if the grill uses/has used vegetable oil . My dad accidentally got me with an “olive oil spray” that upon further inspection “contains soy lecithin… It truly can be impossible to find food that is safe to eat.
Definitely next to impossible, Grilled steak, no seasoning, baked potato not basted in mystery oil.
First of all thanks for your site, I hate to thank of the children that feel like I feel. It’s horrible. Soy makes me so sick. I am just turning against food. Doctors don’t even get it. Something must be done. Thanks again. It makes you feel like crying sometimes. Soy makes me so sick. I can only use corn and canola oil.
I am so happy to find your site! My immune system crashed due to some meds I was taking and after months of basically starving myself by adding one food at a time we discovered it was soy and all that share the similar protein like banana and melon. Elastic products. Grocery shopping takes hours as you read labels and quality of life suffers. No fast food, junk food or restaurants. All food has to cooked and frozen. Healthier for sure. Peolpe stop asking and coming around. The only safe thing to eat at a restaurants is a lettuce wedge no dressing. I thought i was alone. It’s comforting to hear of other stories. Btw…my reaction isa burning rash on face, chest, back and upper arms.
I would love to see the results of your survey on soybean oil. I had gone last year to a drive in theater. They seriously have the best fries ever. So I went all day without eating anything other than a bowl of plain oatmeal that morning with a mashed banana for sweetness. I ate the fries late that evening. Within about 15 minutes of eating the fries, I began itching. My hands, face, eyes, abdomen….all itching. I also ended up with a nasty case of the runs. My chest got heavy and I felt like it was taking a lot of effort to get a breath. When I went into the rest room, my face had huge hives…especially near the eyes.
I took benedryl, which helped everything but the breathing. I waited that out…stupid, I know. My allergist says no way to the soybean oil that the fries were cooked in causing the issue…but what else could it have been? I had a blood test done and I am allergic to soy.
Has your child ever had a reaction to soybean oil? Anyone else?
Hi Dawn,
Thanks for sharing your story with us, and to answer your question about my (extremely) informal survey on soybean oil, here’s where things stand at this point:
Do they react to soybean oil?
Yes 330
I Don’t know 82
No 35
(no response) 11
Makes me kind of doubt the National Institute of Health’s results
JJ
I am a missionary and came back from Africa in 2006. I found that many foods were causing major GI problems and it took a few years to narrow it down to SOY. As you all said, it is in almost everything, some hidden and some foods downed in it. My worst experience eating a breakfast skillet that the owner said had no soy ended up causing me to pass blood the next day. Some restaurants don’t care… Even more important about soy is that it has double the amount of fat as butter. it will “negate” thyroid meds, and will mess up woman’s hormones. The worst yet is that soybeans are GMO so that farmer can use Roundup (Monsanto) to keep the weeds down which is a carcinogenic. Cancer causing! This process is being used on corn and wheat too. Monsanto just got successfully sued for causing non-hodgkin’s lymphoma on the west coast. This is just the beginning of a big war that will be with big government as they are very much involved in forcing soy on us. Pray and fight to live!
I eat mostly at home leaving out all salad dressings, mayo, many seasonings, almost all breads, some veggies, some chocolates…. I have lost some excess weight which is good but it is a major pain when we have to travel. If only the restaurant wouldn’t lie about their contents… Pepto Bismol is a good friend…
Continue to fight the “good fight of faith”.
I can eat anything soy ( soy sauce, tofu, edamame, etc,) EXCEPT soy oil. I get explosive diarrhea within 15 – 30 minutes after eating something with it. This has been the case for 50 years, but soy oil is so much more ubiquitous now.
This is soybean oil intolerance. I am the same way. Soy allergen doesn’t hurt me, but foods with the oil do.
Yes!!! Ate at Olive Garden and only had the salad. Within an hour I had head to toe hives, itchy skin, skin felt light it was on fire. vomiting and diarrhea. My allergist could not do the skin test due to the fact I had taken Benadryl for a reaction. Scheduled for next month. She suspects soybean oil and has told me to stay away from all soy, soybean products.
Hi Marjorie,
Wow. That’s really rough. Let us know what your test results are. There’s got to be more to soybean oil than “they” are letting on.
There is. Some people are intolerant to soybean oil but the existence of this condition is being hidden.
Totally , absolutely 100% on point! I am allergic to soy and experience the same frustrations you describe. I get very nauseous when I eat soy and feel UGG afterward. People ask me if this is new. I don’t think so. I remember living on Pepto Bismal as a child. It is amazing how many people don’t believe you can be allergic to soy. It’s amazing how many companies fry in oil.
Also, did you know that many Italian restaurants put their pasta in soy oil or have soy in their sauces?
The world needs to wake up!
Hi Sheri,
Yeah, it seems like every Italian restaurant in the world adds soybean oil to the cooked pasta to keep it from sticking together. It lets them mostly-cook a bunch of pasta ahead of time and then heat it up before serving.
Don’t even get me started on the pointlessness of soybean oil in pasta sauce.
I’m actually at a restaurant right now where I asked about soy based products on their menu so I could stay away from them, and the waitress went to ask the manager and I was told not everything had soy in it and was referred to their allergen menu on their website…..low and behold their entire menu including their coffee and eggs was labeled as containing soy. I go places and ask but have no choice To eat in order to avoid conflict with everyone else, but end up having a crappy night due to getting sick afterwards…..
I really appreciate your blog and this post. After my son was born and started experiencing a lot of GI distress, we eliminated a bunch of things including soy, and soy is definitely a bad trigger for him. I also discovered that I had my own soy allergy as a result of eliminating it from my diet and seeing many of my own GI issues disappear. And I learned that soy is present in so many prepared foods in hidden ingredients like natural flavors and any extracts. We are both sensitive to soybean oil and it’s always when we eat out somewhere where the ingredients are more or less unknown that the GI distress comes roaring back. Usually I find that it is a result of soybean oil.
My husband had a tough time coming to terms with this because it was altering our lives quite a bit and he kept trying to show me info on how soybean oil is not supposed to cause a reaction, so I am grateful to people like you who have taken the time to debunk this widely held notion. Fortunately my husband is coming around to more of an understanding and trying to be accommodating and having resources like this to show him is extremely helpful. Thank you! And I totally agree about your last comment – our packaged food has become so questionably adulterated that people really shouldn’t be eating this stuff period.
I just want to say thanks for making this site. Long story short my son has a soy allergy and its super hard for me to find food at places for him. Thanks again!
I remember when the big fad was “vegetable oil” b/c it was low in cholesterol, and had the word ‘vegetable’ in it. All they hype words were vegetable oil/cholesterol/heart disease/unsaturated fats. That was almost 20 years ago, and now absolutely everything is made with that damn vegetable oil! Thanks for your irreverently worded post, nice to feel I’m not alone in my frustration with the search for soy-free anything nowadays.
The scariest part about a lot of these oils is the effort they have to go through to get the oil in the first place. When the creation of “food grade” oil involves the words “solvents” and “deodorizers”, I’m officially scared. If it’s that hard to get the oil out, maybe it doesn’t want to come out!
Give me good old lard any day of the week!
Hi Emi,
You bring up a good point and a very important caution:
“Just because something was soy-free last time, doesn’t mean it’s soy-free this time”.
As companies get bought, recipes get updated, and cheaper ingredients get used, soy ends up creeping in everything. I remember the good old days that you could buy a chocolate bar without soy in it…. Now the most expensive chocolates are using soy lecithin.
No wonder there are more allergies and cancer. I’m having an awful time finding something to eat. I can only eat what I cook. Soy is in everything.
Yes! I’ve been buying the same brand of tortillas for years because there were soy free. I just noticed a few weeks ago they are now using soybean oil. Ugh!!
I feel your frustration, as I have 2 daughters, 1 who is allergic to soy, and both who are allergic to peanuts, tree nuts and shellfish. I often spend as much as 3 hours in the grocery store reading labels, as I’ve found out the hard way that everything can look exactly the same on the packaging, but the next day, another ingredient could be added onto your ‘staple’ food items. I also want them to try new things, so there I am reading the ingredient labels in the aisles, like I am in the library, having found a book from the shelf that I cannot put down. Thirty minutes is a very accurate amount of time spent at new restaurants, quizzing the wait staff, manager and cook/chef. I have gone to places like Olive Garden and having to walk back out again after finding out that only their plain lettuce doesn’t have soy in it, and there is a good chance it is cross-contaminated anyway, as everything else in the kitchen has soy in it. Thank you for your website – for taking the time and trouble to write everything down, so that others can benefit from your discoveries. Finding your website was like discovering an oasis in the middle of the desert.