Allergy to Nama Shoyu?

[Shelly11]

Can anyone think of a reason why I could eat soy sauce all my life with no problems and then use Nama Shoyu and have an allergic reaction? This is the only new thing I have introduced in the last 3 days and I seem to be having a problem with it. (Itchy throat, feeling like I can't breathe, dry cough, runny nose)

[GoodCat]

Soy sauce to made from soy beans.. nama shoyu is made from wheat. Maybe you have a wheat allergy.

Cathy

[Shelly11]

I didn't realize that! But I've eated whole wheat foods all my life too and no problems........maybe I just have a cold or something. I'm gonna cut it out for like 3 days and then re introduce the food again. Thanks for the response :)

[DeniseM]

Cooked soy sauce has wheat as well. The version that's only soybeans is called tamari.

I wonder if you're reacting to the high sodium content in nama shoyu. Do you usually use a lot of salt on food or in recipes? If not, it could be that your body just isn't used to extreme saltiness anymore. I don't use salt anymore, and on the rare occasion that I eat something with a lot of sodium (like at a raw restaurant), I get the same symptoms you mentioned -- dry cough and runny nose, especially.

[Shelly11]

Well, I've been raw since a couple weeks before christmas, and I haven't used table salt in 10 years plus. Only kosher salt, and sparingly at that. I am prolly 99% raw. I'm eating stuff like agave and cacao in some recipes. I introduce things slowly and in small amounts to make sure I'm not allergic. The recipe only had 2 tbsp of Nama shoyu in the recipe. The first night I had a reaction was from Avacado Miso soup (which had both Nama Shoyu and miso in it). I thought it was the miso which I've never had before either, so I didn't eat it the next day. Instead I made the pate with the 2 tbsp of Nama shoyu. I ate that one day and didn't see any real symptoms. Then yesterday I ate the pate again and I woke upthat night gasping for air. I don't think it was from a real swelling of my windpipe or anything. I think I was sort of choking on post nasal drip (gross). I don't know. Do you think the 2 tbsp of Nama shoyu would make me react like that if it was the salt content? I mean I highly doubt I could be allergic to something I've basically been eating forever. Only difference is that it's a live food right? Unpasturized. I looked on my organic shoyu bottle that I have still in the fridge and it says the same ingredients. Maybe since I'm cleaner now I'm reacting.

[DeniseM]

Two tablespoons of nama shoyu has over 1400 mg of sodium -- which is a LOT. I think that amount would be enough to cause a reaction.

You've probably got it right with your last sentence, though. Your body is cleaner now and probably responding differently to ingredients you once felt okay with. As far as I know, nama shoyu is "live" because it contains live microorganisms and hasn't been pasteurized, but it still uses cooked wheat and soybeans to start out with. So if you've become very sensitive to anything cooked, that may also be the reason you reacted to it.

[Shelly11]

That's a LOT of sodium. Thank you very much for your input. What a complex and fickle thing our bodies are!

[stellaJewels]

Have you heard of Coconut Secret Coconut Aminos?? I'm allergic to all soy sauce too, and the coconut aminos are a great replacement :)

[Shelly11]

Never heard of that. I'm only about 2 months raw so still learning. Thanks for the info! I really appreciate it :)

[stellaJewels]

i think we're all still learning, no matter how long we've been raw! I just found the coconut aminos a few weeks ago and am looooooving them ;)

[Baby Bird]

It is possible that you are having an allergic reaction to some one or more of the living organisms (bacteria) in either the nama shoyu or the miso.

Also, excessively salty food and/or dehydration can cause some seriously nasty and scarily painful indigestion that can feel like being unable to breathe. The bundle of nerves at the bottom of your esophagus that registers the discomfort of heartburn is the same one that registers how your lungs feel (wheezy, clear, restricted, etc)