Always Beating the Odds

Always Beating the Odds

Everyone loves to go out to eat, especially going out to eat with friends. Whether it’s fast food or dining in, food is a big part of social life. While food is necessary for life, some types can kill you. Imagine your surprise if you are eating a food you love and find you are having a hard time swallowing. This is what happened to me. I am allergic to soybeans, or more importantly soybean oil. Above is a picuter of what soybeans look like. I have an anaphylaxis reaction to soybean, which is a swelling of the throat making it hard to breathe or swallow and in extreme cases causing death.

As said in the article, anaphylaxis is the most severe and least common reaction to soybeans, occurring in only ten Americans for every one hundred thousand. When anaphylaxis occurs it is most often treated by a shot of epinephrine administered by either emergency personnel or the victim. After the epinephrine has been given, which brings immediate relief; it is usually followed by an antihistamine which brings longer lasting relief. Even after both of these medicines have been given, the victim should still go to the hospital to make sure everything is under control.

In my reading I found out that most allergic reactions to soybean proteins are non-aggressive and non-life-threatening. In fact it is not that uncommon in young children and infants but they usually outgrow it by usually outgrow it before 3 years of age. The number of adults having an allergy to soy proteins is increasing as more and more products are being made containing soybean. Of the number of people allergic to soybean proteins though, approximately 90% can eat up to 400mg of soy protein. So while they still have to watch what they eat and be careful, they can often still eat foods with soy oil and soy lecithin.

I first became allergic to soybeans around thirteen. It wasn’t that severe, just felt as if I had a rock stick in my throat that would go away in time and only occurred when I ate certain things. My parents figured out that it must be soy that I was allergic to and tried to cut certain things out of my diet. Little did we know, soybean oils were in a lot more than we thought such as peanut butter, crackers, bread, and most prepared food. This is good in some ways because it makes me eat healthier foods.

My friends and I joke about my food allergies and how they could just “slip” a bit of soy in my food if they get tired of me. In time it has gotten easier to eat things without soybeans. I usually know without looking at the label as to whether food has soy in it or not. My family and friends are almost as good as I am at this! The only time its really hard and I hate having a food allergy is when I go to someone house to eat. Usually they will serve at least one food that I will have to politely and regretfully refuse and explain why I cannot eat.

As found out in the research noted above, I found out the odds at my having this soybean allergy and the odds of having such a severe reaction to it. On telling my parents though they laughed. There I go…beating the odds again.


Wilson, S. (2005, February). Processing and reduction of P34 allergenicity. Allergenic Proteins in Soybean. Retrieved, March 26, 2010, from the Ebscohost database.