I've been coloring my hair for over 15 years. I started lightening my naturally mousy brown hair in high school, and lived as a blond for nearly 10 years, until one evening my husband asked what would I think about going red...well, nearly 1/2 the women in my family are red-heads, and somehow I missed that genetic gifting station, so I was actually very intrigued by the idea.
In those days, I grabbed a cheap drugstore box of hair color off the shelf and did my hair myself. It's not such big deal with blond & brunette shades, but red is a different animal. There are metals in the formulas and the drugstore brands can strip your hair until it looks like straw in only 2-3 colorings. It also fades way too fast and you're left with something that vaguely looks strawberry blonde-ish, but not really.
There was that one time, I bought a new brand of color when they were out of my regular shade and brand, and didn't read the directions about applying it to wet hair instead of dry. Yeah....I looked like Cyndi Lauper in the 80s...the front of my hair was literally in stripes of red, orange and yellow. That was scary. That was also when I started getting my hair colored professionally. I called my salon, choking back tears, only days before a big event to get an emergency color correction. She did an amazing job (I don't remember her name, because when I went back 8 weeks later, "she" was gone -- moved on to another job), and even managed to mitigate all the damage my hair was starting to show.
I've never had much luck with salons and stylists. Just when I find one I like, and feel comfortable with, they are gone! Poof! Something always happens: the woman who moved to Maine and was replaced by someone who had 80s hair and didn't speak English; the one-night-stand colorist mentioned above; the girl who was so good that she became impossible to book an appointment with, etc. I do have two hair heroes, though, in my life: my sister-in-law (A) and a family friend (N) have been there for me whenever I really needed them and can always be counted on for a great free hair cut, though there is only so long a woman can go without feeling guilty about that situation.
A decade at home with my kids, with only sporadic work forays, has given me a very lax attitude about hair appointments...except when I really need a cut and color for those important days in the grown up world...then I'm all business and expect service. Now, my life is changing and I'm actually going to be in the grown up world, working on a regular basis and I feel the need to look the part. I'm in my 30s, even if I don't look it, and I want to be able to walk down the hall of a high school and be recognized as the teacher I'm going to be, not the student I was.
"Blah, blah, blah, Soylesse," you're saying right now, "get to the point!"
My point is that after many years of coloring my hair, I recently began to realize that most of those color products contained soy in some form, and may have been causing minor reactions on my scalp. We all hate the smell and fumes from hair dye, and it used to give me a little wheeze, but there is that old adage about a little pain being worth it for beauty.
Maybe not -- well at least, I'm not willing to accelerate my allergy responses and jeopardize myself for it.
So I've started using henna to dye my hair red, and the results are really good -- once the initial color calms down after the first 3 days/washes. It's a very natural color and smells a lot like brewing herbal tea. It's the first time for me, so I'll have to update you on how long it lasts before I have to color again, though reportedly I shouldn't have a lot of fade -- just roots to touch up. You have to get body art quality henna for safety reasons, and there is a lot of crappy henna out there on the internet, but check out my list below of natural hair color options. Oh, and it "develops" when you add lemon juice. How much more natural can you get?
Here's a list of all-natural, chemical-free ways to dye your hair:
***Test all of these ideas first on combings of your hair from your hair brush to see the results before applying to your head. Also, anything can be an allergen. Please test on an inconspicuous spot of skin before applying to your whole head.
- Lemon Juice - Blonder/slightly reddish hair, depending on your starting color: dilute this with water and spray in your hair until saturated, or apply just to small sections if highlights are wanted. Comb thru for complete & even coverage. Sit out in the sun to lighten, periodically exposing different sections to the sun. You can just lighten the top layer of your hair for that sun-kissed look. **Best results - use a blow dryer on high heat to blast thru your hair until it's dry.** I recommend you use a leave-in conditioner with this, as the lemon juice and heat can leave your hair a bit dry over time.
- Henna - Strawberry Blonde to Dk Brown/Black: well it would take too long to go into all the variables. Check out the Henna for Hair website. Here's a link to a chart of possible kitchen-mixed hair-dyes. Pics are on another page of the results. http://www.hennaforhair.com/mixes/hairtable/ There are a lot of henna hair kits on the market -- not all of them are safe or contain good quality henna. Buy only from a reputable dealer and preferably one who can back up the safety claims of their products.
Be aware, though, that powdered red henna is khaki green, and when you mix it up it will look like you're putting baby's poop on your head after he ate strained peas and beans. You may think it smells like that, too. But the color will really come out natural red...I promise. I mean the most famous henna red head in the world was Lucille Ball!
Cool things about henna -- applying henna to your head can cure dandruff, head lice, and even ringworm! (No kidding - it has anti-fungal qualities! I guess you could even cure athlete's foot with it if you don't mind going around looking like a Donii woman [EC/Jean Auel reference]). If you don't like the smell, you can add aromatic ground herbs or essential oils to the mix to give your hair a smell you do like. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, lavender, etc. are all commonly used for this, and they won't affect the color. It will also leave your hair feeling much healthier and softer than before you apply.
Be wary of "black" henna - it's not real henna, and it's known for causing bad reactions in people -- like those burns in henna tattoo horror stories. Reputable dealers won't sell you "black" henna, but there is something called harquus and also indigo for darker hair dyes to cover greys or get more oomph from your raven-like color.
I won't go into details on everything -- that 's what the internet is for, but other options include:
Coffee
Tea
Indigo
Carrots & Beets (boiled to extract their coloring) - used during WWII in England
Harquus
Amla
Cassia obovata
Buxus dioica, aka Katam
Well, basically, go check out the entire website Henna for Hair and its links. It's really cool, and there are plenty of how-to tips and step-by-step instructions. Then look up other natural hair color solutions and see what you can find. Share it here if you come across something really interesting.
Best part: it's Soy-Free! No chemicals, either. Just an old-fashioned mad-science lab in your kitchen. Grab the sliced cucumbers, honey, yogurt and salt and make up some facials while you're at it!
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
Friday, September 10, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Found: Soy-Free Vitamins, Supplements & Energy Drinks
Confession: I'm overweight...about 50 lbs overweight. I haven't always been heavy. As a matter of fact, I was generally pretty trim and fit most of my life until I became a mother -- that old story, you say? Well, not quite. I was still comfortably wearing size 8 short shorts at 6-months-pregnant with my first child. Then something changed: I gained 20 lbs in 2 weeks during my 3rd trimester without any explanation or change in my routine, I continued to gain another 20-25 lbs for a total of 60 lbs. When I gave birth, I weighed in at 209 lbs, the heaviest I've ever been in my entire life. I was only 22 years old.
Suddenly, I had a colicky baby and was recovering from a c-section in a strange city with no family or friends around to give me regular breaks from the exhausting round-the-clock care he required. It was the first in a long line of situations where I felt compelled to put everyone else's needs first and ignore my own. In retrospect, this was a very bad precedent for me to set so early my marriage and motherhood. When women subserviate (I know this isn't a word, but it should be) themselves to their families and completely ignore their need to exercise and have grown-up, non-family time to relax and recharge their emotional & physical health, they short-change everyone in their care.
It's not that I haven't tried to lose weight in the last 11 years. I've tried several times with varying degrees of success: the Slim-Fast diet that sent me to the hospital with abdominal pain I thought was appendicitis -- an allergic reaction to the shakes; Ballet Class had good results until a serious renewed injury forced me to give it up; the Grapefruit Diet couldn't last, when red grapefruits went out of season I couldn't bring myself to eat the regular ones and I only lost 5 lbs anyway. Weight Watchers brought the best success -- I lost 30 lbs in 6 months before getting stuck on a plateau and eventually giving up my membership when money got tight. I gained back 25 lbs in a year.
Right around the time I gave up on my first turn with WW, I discovered my sensitivity to Soy had become a full-blown allergy...I wonder if all those low-point soy-based convenience foods I was eating had anything to do with that.... There are studies that show Soy can actually boost your estrogen levels and trigger your body's signals to hold onto fat, making it harder to lose weight. If you're allergic, not being able to lose weight while consuming soy can be a symptom of the allergy. Suddenly I didn't know what to eat, and had to focus all my energy on my family's eating habits: I bought a bread machine (no more store-bought loaves), I spent hours on-line doing research, I revamped most of my recipes to make them soy-free, and started baking the kids' treats a lot more frequently at home. Just happy to be able to eat anything, I probably over-indulged in many of the things that I could find to eat, and it took a really long time for the cravings for gummy candy to subside. I'm not giving in to Swedish Fish and Twizzlers, but I did buy a tub of soy-free gummy stars at Whole Foods once, and...well, I ate the whole thing within 3 days.
What all of those weight loss failures had in common was that I failed to combine diet changes with an exercise routine. Even when I was doing ballet, it was only one class per week, and the movement is basically anaerobic, so you will tone muscle, but generally not burn a lot of calories. As a kid, I swam, played tennis, rode my bike every chance I got, danced in musical theatre; I was even in the marching band...being active was so easy. In high school, knowing I wanted to be a performer, I started doing daily tv exercise programs. At one point I could do Denise Austen's Daily Workout, Bodies in Motion with Gilad Janklowicz, and Basic Training with Ada Janklowicz, all in a row without even getting winded. I was in the best shape of my life that summer, and I was a healthy size 6. College reduced my activities quite a lot, but I was still fairly trim when I graduated because my lifestyle still required a lot of walking and dancing, though getting to the gym at the college next door was not high on my priority list.
Long story, short -- it's 11 years later, and the most exercise I get regularly is climbing the 2 flights of stairs to my apartment. Even though I don't eat fast food anymore, I drink tons of water, and get my 5-6 servings of fruits & veggies everyday, I haven't been able to lose more than 3-4 lbs on my current Weight Watchers lifestyle program. Without any exercise in my routine, I haven't been able to break through this plateau for weeks.
But I didn't have any energy. I could never get up in the morning, frequently dragged my aching self out of bed after my kids left for school during the year, and going back to grad school made it easy to chain myself to my desk all day. Even the household chores required too much energy for me some days. Being overweight and out of shape makes it so much harder to start exercising. If you don't have the energy to get through your day without exercise, you're not going to want to do anything that will make you even more tired.
That's why I am so grateful to my new friend, Kim, for introducing me to AdvoCare. I am able to have AdvoCare's SLAM in LemonAid and Strawberry without any reactions. There is no soy, no vitamin E, and no artificial flavors in these two flavors. I dilute the SLAM because the caffeine boost in one little bottle will keep me up for 24 hrs straight, but I'm super sensitive to caffeine. I pour one serving of Slam into a reusable water bottle and add 16-20 oz of water. I keep this bottle in my fridge and take a few sips first thing in the morning, right before I work out, and if I find myself lagging in energy later in the day. This way, one bottle lasts me 5-7 days.
Last week I started getting up early in the morning -- before my kids (with a lot of help from SLAM) -- and going for a 30 min walk every other day. My goal is to make this walk my daily routine by the end of the month. I know I'm going to hit challenges along the way. My life in theatre & grad school demand late nights, intense work days, and I'm always going to have the instinct to deny my own needs when time and money are tight, but with support and positive results I think I have finally made the necessary lifestyle change.
This morning the scale had a happy number for me; I broke through my plateau by 1/2 lb, and with my new-found energy, I know I can make my short- and long-term weight loss goals this year.
Searching for other Soy-Allergen Free products from AdvoCare, I found Calcium Plus Vitamins, Catalyst & ThermoPlus in their weight-loss line, their sleep aid Zzz, Clear Mood which helps to promote relaxation & stress relief, and ProBiotic RESTORE ULTRA.
Explore the Advocare lifestyle here.
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
Suddenly, I had a colicky baby and was recovering from a c-section in a strange city with no family or friends around to give me regular breaks from the exhausting round-the-clock care he required. It was the first in a long line of situations where I felt compelled to put everyone else's needs first and ignore my own. In retrospect, this was a very bad precedent for me to set so early my marriage and motherhood. When women subserviate (I know this isn't a word, but it should be) themselves to their families and completely ignore their need to exercise and have grown-up, non-family time to relax and recharge their emotional & physical health, they short-change everyone in their care.
It's not that I haven't tried to lose weight in the last 11 years. I've tried several times with varying degrees of success: the Slim-Fast diet that sent me to the hospital with abdominal pain I thought was appendicitis -- an allergic reaction to the shakes; Ballet Class had good results until a serious renewed injury forced me to give it up; the Grapefruit Diet couldn't last, when red grapefruits went out of season I couldn't bring myself to eat the regular ones and I only lost 5 lbs anyway. Weight Watchers brought the best success -- I lost 30 lbs in 6 months before getting stuck on a plateau and eventually giving up my membership when money got tight. I gained back 25 lbs in a year.
Right around the time I gave up on my first turn with WW, I discovered my sensitivity to Soy had become a full-blown allergy...I wonder if all those low-point soy-based convenience foods I was eating had anything to do with that.... There are studies that show Soy can actually boost your estrogen levels and trigger your body's signals to hold onto fat, making it harder to lose weight. If you're allergic, not being able to lose weight while consuming soy can be a symptom of the allergy. Suddenly I didn't know what to eat, and had to focus all my energy on my family's eating habits: I bought a bread machine (no more store-bought loaves), I spent hours on-line doing research, I revamped most of my recipes to make them soy-free, and started baking the kids' treats a lot more frequently at home. Just happy to be able to eat anything, I probably over-indulged in many of the things that I could find to eat, and it took a really long time for the cravings for gummy candy to subside. I'm not giving in to Swedish Fish and Twizzlers, but I did buy a tub of soy-free gummy stars at Whole Foods once, and...well, I ate the whole thing within 3 days.
What all of those weight loss failures had in common was that I failed to combine diet changes with an exercise routine. Even when I was doing ballet, it was only one class per week, and the movement is basically anaerobic, so you will tone muscle, but generally not burn a lot of calories. As a kid, I swam, played tennis, rode my bike every chance I got, danced in musical theatre; I was even in the marching band...being active was so easy. In high school, knowing I wanted to be a performer, I started doing daily tv exercise programs. At one point I could do Denise Austen's Daily Workout, Bodies in Motion with Gilad Janklowicz, and Basic Training with Ada Janklowicz, all in a row without even getting winded. I was in the best shape of my life that summer, and I was a healthy size 6. College reduced my activities quite a lot, but I was still fairly trim when I graduated because my lifestyle still required a lot of walking and dancing, though getting to the gym at the college next door was not high on my priority list.
Long story, short -- it's 11 years later, and the most exercise I get regularly is climbing the 2 flights of stairs to my apartment. Even though I don't eat fast food anymore, I drink tons of water, and get my 5-6 servings of fruits & veggies everyday, I haven't been able to lose more than 3-4 lbs on my current Weight Watchers lifestyle program. Without any exercise in my routine, I haven't been able to break through this plateau for weeks.
But I didn't have any energy. I could never get up in the morning, frequently dragged my aching self out of bed after my kids left for school during the year, and going back to grad school made it easy to chain myself to my desk all day. Even the household chores required too much energy for me some days. Being overweight and out of shape makes it so much harder to start exercising. If you don't have the energy to get through your day without exercise, you're not going to want to do anything that will make you even more tired.
That's why I am so grateful to my new friend, Kim, for introducing me to AdvoCare. I am able to have AdvoCare's SLAM in LemonAid and Strawberry without any reactions. There is no soy, no vitamin E, and no artificial flavors in these two flavors. I dilute the SLAM because the caffeine boost in one little bottle will keep me up for 24 hrs straight, but I'm super sensitive to caffeine. I pour one serving of Slam into a reusable water bottle and add 16-20 oz of water. I keep this bottle in my fridge and take a few sips first thing in the morning, right before I work out, and if I find myself lagging in energy later in the day. This way, one bottle lasts me 5-7 days.
Last week I started getting up early in the morning -- before my kids (with a lot of help from SLAM) -- and going for a 30 min walk every other day. My goal is to make this walk my daily routine by the end of the month. I know I'm going to hit challenges along the way. My life in theatre & grad school demand late nights, intense work days, and I'm always going to have the instinct to deny my own needs when time and money are tight, but with support and positive results I think I have finally made the necessary lifestyle change.
This morning the scale had a happy number for me; I broke through my plateau by 1/2 lb, and with my new-found energy, I know I can make my short- and long-term weight loss goals this year.
Searching for other Soy-Allergen Free products from AdvoCare, I found Calcium Plus Vitamins, Catalyst & ThermoPlus in their weight-loss line, their sleep aid Zzz, Clear Mood which helps to promote relaxation & stress relief, and ProBiotic RESTORE ULTRA.
Explore the Advocare lifestyle here.
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Cosmetics - Mine Field of Soy
Doing a little shopping the other day, I was approached by a cosmetics salesperson in a department store. I don't really wear much daily make up, as a general rule -- not really my thing, but I do recognize the benefits of a good foundation, and a few natural enhancements with a skillful pencil or brush. I'm also in theatre where, for a performer, make up is a necessity.
I will say that I have a good foundation. I use Bare Minerals Foundation & Mineral Veil (no, I'm not being paid to say that), and I found a similar foundation at Macy's the other day that goes on with a dry sponge & may have better coverage, but the brand name I neglected to write down. The other products she wanted to apply to my face unfortunately all contained at least one ingredient known or suspected to cause a reaction for those with soy allergy. I will probably go back at some point this fall and purchase the foundation for stage/photo use, but I couldn't justify the added expense at the time. I was on a mission to find a cute pair of everyday earrings, which I did + a funky pair, but I digress....
On my way out of the store, I was headed back through the cosmetic section when a sign caught my eye: Clinique's skin care products were claiming to be 100% Allergy Tested. Blissfully hopeful, I picked up a little blue box and turned it over to read the ingredients, only to have my hopes dashed. Every single product I reviewed had some ingredient or other that was suspect or in a few cases even read "Soy ____".
The ladies at the counter assured me that I was welcome to purchase a product, take it home, and if I had any kind of reaction I could certainly return it for a full refund...all $96 worth! Like I'm really going to spend nearly $100 on a gamble like that. Obviously these ladies were not trained to understand the meaning of the word "allergy," and about 15 minutes into the conversation, the Asian lady in a lab coat who spoke with a thick accent...wait for it...upon seeing my claddagh ring (my Irish wedding ring) instantly proclaimed: "Oh! You Irish! You have red face; lots of freckles! You need this!" I was handed a package of rosacea treatment & freckle fading cream, which actually contained soybean oil!
Wow, so that's what racism feels like when you're on the wrong side of it! I've had the drinking jokes & bad accents thrown up at me over the years, but this is the first time I was put in a little box by someone of another ethnic group. I winced and consoled myself with the fact that she herself was unknowingly embracing a stereotype. Then I told myself that wasn't very nice of me.
Now, if you know me, you know that while I may sunburn easily on my pale face, I don't really have a lot of freckles (especially compared to my family members), and I certainly don't have rosacea or a ruddy complexion (maybe a little pink in my undertones), but nothing to require an expensive cream.
I had already explained my allergy, and said that I was just looking for a daily moisturizer with sunscreen...something I have not been able to replace as yet...but after that I just had to leave before I got angry.
Bottom line: Clinique claims its product are all 100% Allergy Tested. What that really means is that they have 600 people use each product 12 times, and they will not release the product if any of those 600 people has a reaction to it.
For me, this is just another example of a company that does not understand Soy Allergy, or consider it a real problem. Glycerin, most Tocopherols (vitamin E), and Gums (see previous blogs) are known to cause reactions for Soy Allergy sufferers.
When will a cosmetic company take notice and start making a full line of products free of Soy and Soy cousins?
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
I will say that I have a good foundation. I use Bare Minerals Foundation & Mineral Veil (no, I'm not being paid to say that), and I found a similar foundation at Macy's the other day that goes on with a dry sponge & may have better coverage, but the brand name I neglected to write down. The other products she wanted to apply to my face unfortunately all contained at least one ingredient known or suspected to cause a reaction for those with soy allergy. I will probably go back at some point this fall and purchase the foundation for stage/photo use, but I couldn't justify the added expense at the time. I was on a mission to find a cute pair of everyday earrings, which I did + a funky pair, but I digress....
On my way out of the store, I was headed back through the cosmetic section when a sign caught my eye: Clinique's skin care products were claiming to be 100% Allergy Tested. Blissfully hopeful, I picked up a little blue box and turned it over to read the ingredients, only to have my hopes dashed. Every single product I reviewed had some ingredient or other that was suspect or in a few cases even read "Soy ____".
The ladies at the counter assured me that I was welcome to purchase a product, take it home, and if I had any kind of reaction I could certainly return it for a full refund...all $96 worth! Like I'm really going to spend nearly $100 on a gamble like that. Obviously these ladies were not trained to understand the meaning of the word "allergy," and about 15 minutes into the conversation, the Asian lady in a lab coat who spoke with a thick accent...wait for it...upon seeing my claddagh ring (my Irish wedding ring) instantly proclaimed: "Oh! You Irish! You have red face; lots of freckles! You need this!" I was handed a package of rosacea treatment & freckle fading cream, which actually contained soybean oil!
Wow, so that's what racism feels like when you're on the wrong side of it! I've had the drinking jokes & bad accents thrown up at me over the years, but this is the first time I was put in a little box by someone of another ethnic group. I winced and consoled myself with the fact that she herself was unknowingly embracing a stereotype. Then I told myself that wasn't very nice of me.
Now, if you know me, you know that while I may sunburn easily on my pale face, I don't really have a lot of freckles (especially compared to my family members), and I certainly don't have rosacea or a ruddy complexion (maybe a little pink in my undertones), but nothing to require an expensive cream.
I had already explained my allergy, and said that I was just looking for a daily moisturizer with sunscreen...something I have not been able to replace as yet...but after that I just had to leave before I got angry.
Bottom line: Clinique claims its product are all 100% Allergy Tested. What that really means is that they have 600 people use each product 12 times, and they will not release the product if any of those 600 people has a reaction to it.
For me, this is just another example of a company that does not understand Soy Allergy, or consider it a real problem. Glycerin, most Tocopherols (vitamin E), and Gums (see previous blogs) are known to cause reactions for Soy Allergy sufferers.
When will a cosmetic company take notice and start making a full line of products free of Soy and Soy cousins?
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Soy-Free Restaurant Find
Out of desperation, our family went to the Ninety-Nine Restaurant for dinner last evening. After an afternoon and evening out with the kids, my husband was starving and I'd spent the same time studying and wasn't in the mood to wait for my own cooking. This is when having Soy Allergy sucks the most.
Fortunately, my younger son's symptoms are not anaphylactic as yet. He only exhibits some behavioral issues at this stage. We try to limit his exposure to prevent his symptoms from progressing, and for our own sanity (he's not pleasant when he's had too much). But I can't tolerate any amount of soy in my system at this point, so eating out is very dicey. My ears have even been known to begin itching just from contact with a dirty table or my husband's kisses after Chinese food.
I've done the 99 before...with varying degrees of success. Tonight was a complete success.
So what did I eat?
Fortunately, my younger son's symptoms are not anaphylactic as yet. He only exhibits some behavioral issues at this stage. We try to limit his exposure to prevent his symptoms from progressing, and for our own sanity (he's not pleasant when he's had too much). But I can't tolerate any amount of soy in my system at this point, so eating out is very dicey. My ears have even been known to begin itching just from contact with a dirty table or my husband's kisses after Chinese food.
I've done the 99 before...with varying degrees of success. Tonight was a complete success.
So what did I eat?
- Panko Crusted Haddock (w/o the pasta & sauce usually offered)
- Plain White Rice (a side usually reserved for a teriyaki dish)
- Water w/ Lemon
I probably will not post much for the next week. Too busy studying, but I will try to come up with something good for my next post....
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Xanthan Gum
Xanthan Gum - Let's just agree to refer to Xanthan Gum as XG from now on to save me from having to type the whole thing out over and over again.
Yesterday, we learned that XG was not from a legume plant called Xanthan, but the only "gum" to be a chemically engineered food product on our Soy Allergy "Do Not Eat" Lists. Since this ingredient is listed in so many things, I wanted to know more. Here is what I learned:
According to Wikipedia, XG is a product made by fermenting plant-based sugar using a bacteria and isopropyl alcohol. This substance is then dried and ground into a powder. A liquid is then added to form the "gum" substance. It is most commonly found in salad dressings and sauces because of it's ability to thicken them in a resting state. The food industry likes XG for this application because it has a unique property: when a product containing XG is shaken, mixed or chewed (gross!) it will thin out so that it can be easily poured, but once the activity stops, the mixture thickens to its original state so that the dressing or sauce clings to the food it is meant to cover. I'm paraphrasing here to make it a little easier to understand, but anything in quotes is taken directly from the Wiki article.
Because XG is also "very stable under a wide range of temperatures and pH," it has a ton of other uses for the pre-packaged food industry. XG stabilizes emulsions (combinations of water-based & oil-based liquids), so it gives better shelf life and a more pleasant/uniform texture to frozen foods, beverages, toothpaste, and gluten-free baking, just to name a few uses.
Commercial uses and health reports:
- The oil industry uses copious amounts of XG to help them drill. It thickens the drilling mud so that it can carry the solid waste left by the drill bit back to the surface.
- XG is added to concrete mixes that are poured underwater, to stabilize the concrete and prevent the structure from being compromised while it sets up.
- XG is used in many cosmetics, especially gel formulas. For my fellow theatrical people, it is also a common ingredient in fake blood & slime recipes.
- Serious respiratory symptoms were found in workers exposed to XG particles, and the link to XG was confirmed.
- XG can be created from a variety of raw source materials. The three most common are also common allergens: corn, wheat & soy. Most products will not tell you with which ingredient their XG fermentation was grown, so this makes it a dicey gamble for anyone allergic to any of the three.
- XG is considered to be a "highly effective laxative." You always wanted to know that, didn't you?
I am a firm believer in eating as close to the original state of a food source as possible. I feel that food was created by nature the way our bodies are meant to eat it. Don't get me wrong...I'm not a strict raw vegan or anything...but I would rather eat my fruits & veggies uncooked & unsauced, with a few exceptions, and I prefer my baked goods to be made without any chemically altered ingredients, if possible. I do eat & cook meat: chicken & turkey mostly, ham (I always check the smoke & ingredients), bacon (likewise), and the occasional bit of lamb as a treat when it's in season. I have given up beef -- it doesn't agree with me, and I'm on the bandwagon about the environmental cost of producing it.
I wouldn't really have a lot of options for protein if I became a vegetarian with my allergies, but I feel that I'm making the right choices for me and for my environment.
Yours sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
Friday, July 9, 2010
Kookaburra sits in the old Gum Tree-ee!
Merry, merry king of the bush is he-ee.
Laugh, Kookaburra! Laugh, Kookaburra!
Gay your life must be!
This song comes to my head whenever I read labels with the terms Gum Arabic, Xanthan Gum, Guar Gum, etc. If you're anything like me, you have absolutely no idea what these ingredients really are, and maybe you think they are related to your chewing gum in someway.
For the record, the Kookaburra's Gum Tree is a variety of Eucalyptus, and doesn't seem to be related to the other Gums I just listed.
Forgive me for being a little bit autistic, but that's the way my mind works, so here is what I needed to learn to understand Gums:
What is "gum" exactly?
Gum, according to Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), is defined as:
A vegetable secretion of many trees or plants that hardens when it exudes,
but is soluble in water; as, gum arabic; gum tragacanth; the gum of the
cherry tree. Also, with less propriety, exudations that are not soluble in
water; as, gum copal and gum sandarac, which are really resins.
Which gums are from plant species related to soybeans? Are they all legumes? After searching the internet for some kind of plant family tree, I finally found a list of all leguminous plants. Soy is a legume, technically, and therefore in the same plant family as peanuts, peas, and beans.
According to Answers.com the following plants are categorized as leguminous:
-Peanut, peanut vine-Chickpea, chickpea plant, Egyptian pea-Guar, cluster bean-Soy, soya, soybean, soya bean, soybean plant, soja, soja bean-Wild Pea-Lentil, lentil plant-Horse Gram, horse grain, poor man's pulse -Locoweed, crazyweed, crazyweed-Bean, bean plant-Pea, pea plant-Sesbania-Vetch-Moth Bean-Adzuki Bean, adsuki bean-Snailflower, snail flower, snail bean, corkscrew flower-Mung, mung bean, green gram, golden gram -Cowpea, cowpea plant, Black-eyed Pea-Asparagus Bean, yard-long bean
This list is not complete. Carob and Acacia should also be on this list.
According to the above list, Guar Gum is derived from another lentil, but what about the others.
So far my research is proving to be quite extensive, so I'll have to devote a post to each of the Gums, but the simple answer is:
Xanthan Gum is a sugar based fermentation grown with either corn, wheat or soy. It's a chemical compound. XG will not always list the source of the product, and all three that I know of are common allergens. This is not necessarily the product of a legume, but can be soy-based, unless otherwise specified. If someone has a link to document the regulation of soy in the creation of XG, please let me know. I have one unverified source claiming that XG is no longer made with soy in the U.S., and I would like to put this particular claim to the test.
Gum Arabic is also known as gum acacia. It is a natural gum, made from the hardened sap of two species of acacia trees, which grow wild in Arabia and Africa. The acacia tree is part of the Fabaceae or Leguminosae Family, and is therefore considered to be a legume.
Locust Bean Gum, also known as carob gum, carob bean gum, and carobin, is a common ice cream additive. The Carob tree, and its seed pods are a relative of the pea, and as a member of the Fabaceae family, it is also a legume.
Gum Tragacanth is also a natural gum made from dried sap. In this case, from several species of Middle Eastern legumes, known collectively as "goat's thorn" and "locoweed." Locoweed, we see on the list above. The gum can also be called "shiraz gum," "gum elect" or "gum dragon." Key word here: legume.
Chewing Gum is made from either natural latex or synthetic rubber. Not from legumes, but watch out for those flavorings...those could be soy-based.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
The Question of Gums
I recently perused an on-line grocery store that purports to provide allergen-free grocery items to its customers: Allergy Grocer. It was suggested to me by a good friend whose son has had more allergies in his young life than most people even know exist...believe it or not, you can be allergic to potatoes and cherries!
He used to be allergic to Soy as well, though current tests show that he has "outgrown" this and several other allergies. This mother-son team are inspiration to me. If they can successfully navigate life with his allergies, my family can certainly live with ours.
My goal with this first blog thread will be to answer the questions that have been rattling around in my head recently on this topic.
Stay tuned, and please feel free to send me access to websites, books or even dietitians/doctors who might be able to weigh in on the subject.
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
He used to be allergic to Soy as well, though current tests show that he has "outgrown" this and several other allergies. This mother-son team are inspiration to me. If they can successfully navigate life with his allergies, my family can certainly live with ours.
As I went through the listing of what was supposed to be Soy Free food items, I kept seeing several labels with gums in them: Acacia/Arabic, Xanthan, Guar, etc. In my initial research, I was told to avoid foods containing gums because they are "secret code words for soy". Well, that may not be exactly true, but I also am not about to rush out and try eating foods with gums listed in the ingredients. These plants are all also legumes and related to the soybean. Apparently, many serious soy allergy sufferers also react to soy "cousins," so I'm not sure I would really consider these food items to be soy-free. In fact, most "what to eat when you're allergic to soy" websites list all of these items and several more to be strictly avoided.
Feeling puzzled and confused, I emailed the grocery store's customer service department to point out their lack of adequate soy-free provisions and also to get clarification on their claims. According to the on-line grocery store, these gums are now required to be free of soy contamination and since they are technically not made from the soy plant, they considered them to be allergen free.
Well, if that's true, then why do these websites beg to differ? Julie's Soy Allergy Info Page and Cooking with Limits
Well, if that's true, then why do these websites beg to differ? Julie's Soy Allergy Info Page and Cooking with Limits
My goal with this first blog thread will be to answer the questions that have been rattling around in my head recently on this topic.
Stay tuned, and please feel free to send me access to websites, books or even dietitians/doctors who might be able to weigh in on the subject.
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
A New Beginning...
Just over a year ago, the inside of my left ear began itching. It drove me nuts! I couldn't scratch the inside of my ear, and it felt like an insect had crawled into my ear and was dancing away in there. For weeks I couldn't figure out what was causing it as the itching came and went at seemingly random intervals. Even scarier were the episodes of fainting: a slow fading into a sleep-like state where every attempt at muscle movement was a herculean effort. It felt like my whole body was unable to move; even my lip muscles were so unresponsive it was hard to talk, let alone move my arms and legs or get to a standing position. I would basically pass out and sleep for hours, usually on my couch. It was getting kind of scary.
Then, one evening I was rushing to work at a theatre (it's kind of an on-call job) and grabbed a fast-food value meal on my way in. I wolfed down the fried chicken pieces, the fries and the cola, knowing that I'd need a caffeine fix to get through the evening show. I was there to follow one of the regular workers who was taking the following day off, and I needed to learn his job with great attention to detail.
Only a few minutes after I finished eating, my ear began to itch. I was so used to it by then, that I almost didn't notice at first, but as the evening progressed I found it harder and harder to pay attention to the things I was meant to be learning...my ear began to itch so badly that I just couldn't focus on anything else. Fortunately, I did have a great set of notes and several people looking out for me the next day, so that I managed to get through both shows without any real mistakes (but I almost messed up a complicated quick change because I was holding the costume the wrong way, until someone helped me turn it around).
That night when I finally got home, I went straight to my computer to look up my symptoms. I had noticed a red rim around my lips in the mirror, and the itch, THAT ITCH! What was I allergic to? I knew I had been allergic to soy as a baby, but that allergy had subsided in my late toddler years. A few years earlier I reacted to an overload of soy in my diet while breast feeding...both I and my younger child developed eczema rashes from the calcium supplements & soy milk I was consuming. My whole family is lactose intolerant and both my kids were unable to digest even traces of Lactaid milk in my breast milk. I'd hated rice milk with my first baby, so I decided to risk the soy milk this time around, since I hadn't reacted to it the few times I'd tried it.
So, Soy was the place to start, and right away I knew I'd hit the mark.
Now the question was: What could I eat? What was safe? What wasn't? I'd been avoiding Soy milk and other obvious sources of soy since the eczema rash, but I'd been able to tolerate soy in small amounts until now. How much would I be able to tolerate before having a reaction now?
The information on the web was not nearly as comprehensive and well-organized as I would have liked. One website claimed this, another refuted the same theory. I knew right away that this wasn't going to be easy. I also realized that if I was now having anaphylactic symptoms, that someday my younger child could also be facing the same future if I didn't change the family's eating habits.
Suddenly we couldn't eat bread. Breakfast cereals seemed to be completely off-limits. Even unsalted butter and canned tuna were on the Don't Eat List. Soda, fast food, and even many fruit juices were just gone from my life.
Over the past year, while working on my first year of graduate school, I have had to relearn how and what to eat. My family's eating habits have been challenged, especially because of sensory issues and members with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Eating at a restaurant or even at a friend's party is virtually impossible (though many of my friends and family members are educating themselves and have been amazingly supportive and accommodating).
Unfortunately, this learning curve has had me focusing on what I was eating, but not the proper proportions and time constraints have made it all too easy to ignore some of the healthier options I should have been sticking to. I have gained back 25 of the 30lbs I lost while on Weight Watchers two years ago. So now, I am back on Weight Watchers, this time determined to lose 50lbs total, and to learn to make this happen without the soy-laden convenience/packaged/diet foods that I am convinced caused me to plateau last time at only -30lbs.
I mean to use this blog to document my personal research into Soy, and it's prevalence in our food supply. I also hope to clear up some of the confusion contradictory sources have created. Lastly, I truly hope to increase awareness for this allergy which I believe is possibly the most difficult allergy to live with, once anaphylactic responses have begun.
I welcome responses to this blog, asking only that they are made in a respectful tone. I don't claim to know everything or be a medical professional, so I fully expect to post at least a few things that are wrong or outdated at some point. Anyone with more correct or up-to-date sources is welcomed to share, and I will edit or retract as appropriate.
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
Then, one evening I was rushing to work at a theatre (it's kind of an on-call job) and grabbed a fast-food value meal on my way in. I wolfed down the fried chicken pieces, the fries and the cola, knowing that I'd need a caffeine fix to get through the evening show. I was there to follow one of the regular workers who was taking the following day off, and I needed to learn his job with great attention to detail.
Only a few minutes after I finished eating, my ear began to itch. I was so used to it by then, that I almost didn't notice at first, but as the evening progressed I found it harder and harder to pay attention to the things I was meant to be learning...my ear began to itch so badly that I just couldn't focus on anything else. Fortunately, I did have a great set of notes and several people looking out for me the next day, so that I managed to get through both shows without any real mistakes (but I almost messed up a complicated quick change because I was holding the costume the wrong way, until someone helped me turn it around).
That night when I finally got home, I went straight to my computer to look up my symptoms. I had noticed a red rim around my lips in the mirror, and the itch, THAT ITCH! What was I allergic to? I knew I had been allergic to soy as a baby, but that allergy had subsided in my late toddler years. A few years earlier I reacted to an overload of soy in my diet while breast feeding...both I and my younger child developed eczema rashes from the calcium supplements & soy milk I was consuming. My whole family is lactose intolerant and both my kids were unable to digest even traces of Lactaid milk in my breast milk. I'd hated rice milk with my first baby, so I decided to risk the soy milk this time around, since I hadn't reacted to it the few times I'd tried it.
So, Soy was the place to start, and right away I knew I'd hit the mark.
Now the question was: What could I eat? What was safe? What wasn't? I'd been avoiding Soy milk and other obvious sources of soy since the eczema rash, but I'd been able to tolerate soy in small amounts until now. How much would I be able to tolerate before having a reaction now?
The information on the web was not nearly as comprehensive and well-organized as I would have liked. One website claimed this, another refuted the same theory. I knew right away that this wasn't going to be easy. I also realized that if I was now having anaphylactic symptoms, that someday my younger child could also be facing the same future if I didn't change the family's eating habits.
Suddenly we couldn't eat bread. Breakfast cereals seemed to be completely off-limits. Even unsalted butter and canned tuna were on the Don't Eat List. Soda, fast food, and even many fruit juices were just gone from my life.
Over the past year, while working on my first year of graduate school, I have had to relearn how and what to eat. My family's eating habits have been challenged, especially because of sensory issues and members with Autistic Spectrum Disorders. Eating at a restaurant or even at a friend's party is virtually impossible (though many of my friends and family members are educating themselves and have been amazingly supportive and accommodating).
Unfortunately, this learning curve has had me focusing on what I was eating, but not the proper proportions and time constraints have made it all too easy to ignore some of the healthier options I should have been sticking to. I have gained back 25 of the 30lbs I lost while on Weight Watchers two years ago. So now, I am back on Weight Watchers, this time determined to lose 50lbs total, and to learn to make this happen without the soy-laden convenience/packaged/diet foods that I am convinced caused me to plateau last time at only -30lbs.
I mean to use this blog to document my personal research into Soy, and it's prevalence in our food supply. I also hope to clear up some of the confusion contradictory sources have created. Lastly, I truly hope to increase awareness for this allergy which I believe is possibly the most difficult allergy to live with, once anaphylactic responses have begun.
I welcome responses to this blog, asking only that they are made in a respectful tone. I don't claim to know everything or be a medical professional, so I fully expect to post at least a few things that are wrong or outdated at some point. Anyone with more correct or up-to-date sources is welcomed to share, and I will edit or retract as appropriate.
Sincerely,
Soylesse Greenapple
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