[UConnJulie]

Interesting points ... honestly I only have soy shakes maybe on average once a week ... I just prefer whole foods. And often I'll make my shakes with cottage cheese.

The whey thing is actually a guess. I had a really severe case of mono when I was 15 and afterward developed many allergies, and fairly severe asthma. One thing I became allergic to was milk. When I would drink it, my throat would become covered with hives and it would be hard to breathe and/or swallow. (I also developed noticable allergies to cats, dust, and mold at this time.) So I avoided milk. Cheese never did the same thing, nor did yogurt.

My freshman year in college, I had bronchitis twice by Thanksgiving, so my mother sent me to an allergist (I lived in the Jungle - I think they call it North Campus now - and it was DUSTY!). He did skin scratch testing and found that I was highly allergic to beef ... like off the scale allergic. Other things too like cats, dogs, dust, mold, wheat, grass pollen, tree pollen, etc etc etc. So no more beef.

About 15 years ago I was doing a lot of weight lifting and the "trainer" at the gym told me I should try protein shakes (I was and had been a vegetarian for the previous 5+ years). I got some chocolate whey and made a shake, and started with the same itchy swelling in my throat. I averted a trip to the ER by using my steroid inhaler (for asthma) and a Neti pot and some benadryl. So in my mind, I linked the "milk" allergy (which interestingly on scratch testing was only "mild") with whey.

I can have it in small quantities ... but some things will trigger it ... some crackers, some ice cream brands ... and I just avoid it. A whey shake would send me to the ER.

I didn't think I could have Kefir (Galya introduced me to it, I had never heard of it) ... but my daughters love it, so I tasted it one day a few weeks ago (after rationalizing that yogurt doesn't affect me) and found that it doesn't bother me. I still limit it ... I have maybe 4 oz every other day ... but have had zero symptoms from it.

I didn't think cottage cheese has whey since regular cheese doesn't (the whey is separated out from the curds, which are what are turned into cheese).

Really this is a non-issue for me ... I don't douse myself in soy daily. I might have edamame once a month ... and a scoop of Spirutein once a week or three times in two weeks ... and a 32 oz container of soymilk will last me 2 weeks. I use wheat-free soy sauce maybe 1-2 Tbs per week in marinades and such. I occasionally will have some brown rice miso, usually in a soup. I also have tofu maybe once a month. I only brought it up because there was such an emphasis on whey in the book with no mention of options for those who cannot have whey.

I did ask my doctor (the one treating me with bioidentical hormones for adrenal fatigue and my other hormone imbalances) if soy was a no-no and she said not to worry about it since I wasn't eating soy products 5 meals per day.

Good food for thought though.