Soy milk

Soy milk is notable for nickel, histamine, FODMAPs and oligosaccharides. Clear on tyramine, salicylate, sucrose, lactose, sorbitol, fructose, oxalates and gluten.

Yes — soy milk is high in nickel. Soy drink is the highest-nickel plant milk measured. The French Total Diet Study put soy products at the top of every food group it surveyed, and an Italian market survey of four plant beverages found soy above oat, rice and almond. Unsweetened or barista makes no difference - the nickel is in the bean.

Soy milk contains moderate levels of histamine. Soy is a recognised histamine liberator rather than a source — it contains little itself but can prompt release. Fermented soy (soy sauce, miso, tempeh) is a different story and does carry real histamine.

Soy milk contains only low levels of FODMAPs. Soy milk is a few percent soy protein rather than whole beans in water, and the dilution is the whole FODMAP answer. One distinction matters more than the nut: a drink made from whole soaked beans carries their oligosaccharides, while one made from an isolated protein does not - the isolation washed them out. Read whether the label says the bean or the protein.

Soy milk contains only low levels of oligosaccharides. Which soy milk decides the answer. Made from whole beans, it keeps the GOS; made from soy protein isolate, the chains were left behind with everything else that was not protein. The ingredient list distinguishes them in one line. Amounts vary by brand and recipe, so always check the label of the exact product.