You may not think your child eats many soy foods. But soy is used as a filler, binder, or flavoring in hundreds of products. Foods to stay away from include:
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Any breads, cakes, rolls, crackers, or breading that contain soy flour
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Canned tuna fish that contains soy
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Cold-pressed, extruded, or expeller-pressed soy oil. Ask your child’s healthcare provider whether refined soy oil is safe.
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Any commercial soups that contain soy flour
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Commercially prepared meats such as hamburger that use soy as an extender
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Edamame. These are fresh soybeans cooked in the pod.
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Some fruit drink and hot cocoa mixes. Check the labels.
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Granola, energy, or breakfast bars made with soy
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Ice cream that contains soy flavoring
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Imitation crab or bacon
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Luncheon meats that contain soy, such as pork sausage
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Some medicines. Ask your child's healthcare provider or pharmacist which medicines may contain soy.
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Miso. This is fermented soybean paste.
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Oyster sauce or fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc mam)
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Salad dressings, mayonnaise, prepared sauces, and gravies containing soy products
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Soybeans
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Soy milk, soy cheese, soy yogurt, and soy ice cream
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Soy nut butter and peanut butter that contain soy
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Soy nuts. These are toasted soybeans used as a snack.
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Soy protein, soy flour, and soy grits
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Soy sauces: teriyaki, tamari, and shoyu
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Soybean sprouts
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Tempeh
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Tofu (soybean curd), okara (soybean pulp), and tempeh and natto (fermented soybean products)
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Vegetable shortening and margarine and other butter substitutes
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Vegetarian products and meat substitutes, such as soy-based hamburgers and tofu hot dogs
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Worcestershire sauce
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Soy lecithin. This is often found in candies and other processed foods. Talk with your child's healthcare provider about whether your child needs to stay away from soy lecithin.
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Generic vegetable oil. Note: The risk for an allergic reaction to soy lecithin and soy oils is low. But a reaction can happen. Studies show that most people who have an allergy to soy may eat products that contain soy lecithin and soy oils. This is because these substances are fat-based, and people with allergies react to the protein portion of the food.