Soy here, Soy there, Soy is Everywhere: B.V.O

I've been doing some philosophizing lately.  Well, I suppose it's less philosophizing and more learning from experience but nevertheless, this whole soy allergy thing has got me asking a lot of questions.  The first seems obvious; Why is soy in everything?  Why has it been pumped in such a high amount into modern society?  Why is this modern society okay with consuming high amounts of genetically modified cash crops that are mainly designed to make big corporations (example 1: Monsanto) big bucks?  Some may say it's a cheap way to feed a large world population...but at what cost?

It is a fact that Soy contains high phytoestrogen levels; something that can mess with hormones in your body.  When soy saturates most processed foods, is fed to a large portion of animals in the meat packing industry(I've had strong allergic reactions from soy feed vegetarian feed chicken, and vegetarian soy fed eggs.), lurks in health and beauty products, and even coats some fresh produce in the form of wax to make already delicious natural food look more appealing, I'm still waiting to hear how that much soy is a good thing.  Sure it contains isoflavines which are "good for the heart!", but when you're unknowingly consuming loads of soy every day, why would you want to add another cup of straight soymilk on top?  I'm frankly surprised more people aren't asking questions.  If you ask me, overload and over-consumption of soy may be behind a great amount of disease and sickness in the U.S.

Not to mention the soy in Brominated Vegetable Oil--Yes, it's made from Bromine.  Now I'm a fan of heavy metal, but I don't want Bromine anywhere near what goes into my mouth.  The sad reality is, millions of people around the world are consuming it almost on a daily basis.  Brominated Vegetable Oil, or BVO, can be found nearly all sodas in the U.S. and some juices.  I've personally had a reaction to the BVO that may be in Pepsi, Coke, and Simply Orange "natural" orange juice.  The reaction to Simply Orange was extremely bad.  I wonder if spikes in cancer and other serious diseases can be partially explained by the addition of Bromine into the commercial food system.  Another not to mention...it's not labeled!

Now that all that has been said, it's time to focus on what you can eat!  I'm currently contacting many brands and parent companies in the U.S. that could potentially be on the safe list.  I've heard back from about 10 companies so far that practice allergen testing and/or good manufacturing processes to eliminate cross contamination between products.  I'll be uploading "The Good List" a.k.a the soy free brands/products I've put into an excel spreadsheet in my next post.  Stay tuned =)

Staying positive is key when dealing with health issues, and I've found it more helpful than bitterness and anger in the past.  I find positive affirmations to be inspiring and helpful.  Louise Hay's writings and quotes are full of positivity and encouragement.  Here is one I'd like to share:

"You have the power to heal your life, and you need to know that. We think so often that we are helpless, but we're not. We always have the power of our minds…Claim and consciously use your power."--Louise L. Hay

I also thought I'd share a picture of our little sweet Max ;)  Remember, let your little light shine!

Best,

Bethany xoxo