Mayo Clinic Health Manager
Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.
Get Started
About our e-newsletters
- Free e-newsletters
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- We do not share your e-mail address
Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
Housecall Archives
Mayo Clinic Housecall
Stay up to date on the latest health information.
What you get
- Free weekly e-newsletter
- Mayo Clinic expertise
- Recipes, tools and other helpful information
- We do not share your e-mail address
Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffAll food allergies are caused by an immune system malfunction. Your immune system identifies certain soy proteins as harmful, triggering the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies to neutralize the soy protein (allergen). The next time you come in contact with soy, these IgE antibodies recognize it and signal your immune system to release histamine and other chemicals into your bloodstream.
Histamine and other body chemicals cause a range of allergic signs and symptoms. Histamine is partly responsible for most allergic responses, including runny nose, itchy eyes, dry throat, rashes and hives, nausea, diarrhea, labored breathing, and even anaphylactic shock.
Researchers have identified at least 15 possible allergens in soy protein, which comes from soybeans. Exactly how soy protein causes an allergic reaction is still not clear.
- Atkins D. Food allergy: Diagnosis and management. Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice. 2008;35:119.
- Sampson HA, et al. Adverse reactions to foods. In: Adkinson NF, et al. Middleton's Allergy: Principles and Practice. 7th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2008. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/129272040-4/824208035/1806/69.html#4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05659-5..00065-6--s0290_2209. Accessed March 31, 2009.
- Schwartz LB. Systemic anaphylaxis, food allergy and insect sting allergy. In: Goldman L, et al., eds. Goldman: Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/129272040-5/824210429/1492/978.html#4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-2805-5..50279-2_12464. Accessed March 31, 2009.
- Keet CA, et al. Food allergy and anaphylaxis. Immunology and Allergy Clinics of North America. 2007;27:193.
- Soy allergy. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. https://www.aafa.org/display.cfm?id=9&sub=20&cont=522. Accessed March 31, 2009.
- Sicherer SH, et al. Maternal and infant diets for prevention of allergic diseases: Understanding menu changes in 2008. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 2008;122:29.
- Rank MA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. April 6, 2009.
