Gluten Free, Soy Free Australia

About Me

I’m Amy Backs.  I live in Australia.  Having come from a household with allergies and being Coeliac myself, I discovered it was hard to find an easy way to locate various foods I was after.  Searching online, there seemed to be much support for a majority of common allergens, however gluten and soy free options seemed limited.  For this reason, due to many in a similar situation to myself, I have created a blog about my gluten and soy free life here in Australia.

This blog is primarily devoted to me telling of my lifestyle as well as providing tips, recipes, food suggestions and more particularly to assist those with coeliac disease and soy allergies. I know of many with even more restrictive diets than myself, with multiple intolerances lurking in society, and am also keen to hear of your experiences (wherever you (and whatever they) may be)!

I found out that I had coeliac disease 12 years back, when I was only young. My mother, my young brother and I were constantly battling severe stomach cramps along with sleepless nights. Two of us (me and my brother) tested positive to tTG, whilst my mother’s turned out negative.

At this time it was recommended that we limit our dairy intake and our naturopath recommended a gluten free soy milk variety. I found I actually seemed to like this better than normal milk for a while. In fact when I come to think of it, it seemed as though I quite craved soy products at this time. Our gluten free bread contained soy flour, we had soy milk with breakfast cereals, and used crisco shortening on veggies (even went to the effort to order it from the States at one point, as it was a good non-dairy source of fat).

About 2 years later, both my mum and I began to have trouble again. Very slowly and gradually, my throat seemed to swallow less and less easily. I began to experience pains in my gut once again and we did not know what was going on. My mum had been having similar problems for a longer time as her issues didn’t seem to resolve as well as mine on the gluten free diet. Her usual bloating was likely a sign of untreated coeliac disease for too long a time. We flew to Sydney to speak to a specialist about some of these issues and found ‘soy’ to be a problem for both Mum and myself! My mum was also referred to a FODMAP specialist due to a suspected IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) symptoms thought to be associated with a possible lactose intolerance. It turned out that she was suffering from Fructose Malabsorption, a similar problem that a couple of people I know have developed over more recent years. We no longer appeared to have any issues with dairy or egg.

One thing I didn’t realise in all of this is just how much soy is actually in! It was really an eye-opener and is quite a significant issue when eating out and having to worry about oils, cooking sprays, seasonings, breads, condiments and desserts!

So there you have it. It has been quite a journey for us, indeed. I think those who’ve known me now see the whole ‘food situation’ from a new perspective as well. Nothing has amazed me more than just how abundant some of our ingredients today are.

I’d be very interested in hearing of any life experiences you’re willing to share, too!

If you wish for me to review a product, post on a particular hot topic, or just simply want to get in touch, please fill out the contact form and I will respond as quickly as possible.