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.

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

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