Categories
For years I have bought soy milk, I have stored it on my shelf, I told myself that I should open it and include it in my diet. However, after opening it, it just stays in the fridge for a month or two. Then of course it’s too old to drink so I throw it down the sink and the cycle repeats a couple of months later. Now I think my body was telling me that it didn’t want soy milk, since I’ve been reading about the soy controversy lately. Here’s a summary of that information …
Isoflavones, the estrogen-like hormones that work to help you stay young and healthy, may not be the magic food you’ve been led to believe. Soy is just one example of the many fad foods / supplements / cures that I find myself exposed to as I try to figure out the long-term health benefits before sharing them with my clients.
Soybeans have been marketed as a health food when, at one time, it was just a toxic by-product of the vegetable oil industry. Hmm … that doesn’t sound good, does it? Don’t we eat soy in many things now?
Advances in technology make it possible to produce Soy Protein Isolate (SPI) from what was once considered a waste product, high-protein, defatted soy chips, transforming something that looks and smells terrible into products that can be consumed by humans. Synthetic flavorings, preservatives, sweeteners, emulsifiers and nutrients have turned SPI, a food processor’s nightmare, into a very lucrative business.
All soy producers pay a mandatory rate of between one-half and one percent of the net market price of soybeans. The total, something like $ 80 million annually, supports United Soybean’s program to “strengthen the market position of soybeans and maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for soybeans and soy products.”
Soy milk, made from raw soybeans, has posted the biggest gains, going from $ 2 million in 1980 to $ 300 million in the United States last year. Recent advances in processing have transformed the gray, fine, bitter, bean-flavored beverage into a product that Western consumers will accept.
The first soy foods were fermented products like tempeh, natto, miso, and soy sauce. At a later date, possibly in the second century BC. C., Chinese scientists discovered that a cooked soybean puree could be precipitated with calcium sulfate or magnesium sulfate (plaster of Paris or Epsom salts) to make a pale, smooth curd that they called tofu or bean. Curd.
The Chinese never ate unfermented soybeans as they did other legumes such as lentils, because soybeans contain large amounts of natural toxins or “antinutrients.” These antinutrients are not completely deactivated during normal cooking. They can cause severe gastric upset, reduced protein digestion, and chronic deficiencies in amino acid absorption. In test animals, diets rich in these antinutrients called trypsin inhibitors cause enlargement and pathological conditions of the pancreas, including cancer.
Other harmful substances in soy products include hemagglutinin, goitrogens, phytic acid, nitrates, and phytoestrogens (in large amounts). What are these things? Well …
Hemagglutinin is a clot-promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together.
Trypsin inhibitors and hemagglutinin are growth inhibitors that are deactivated during the fermentation process. In precipitated products (such as tofu), enzyme inhibitors are concentrated in the soaking liquid rather than in the curd. Thus, in tofu and tofu, growth depressants are reduced in quantity but not completely eliminated.
Soy also contains goitrogens, substances that depress thyroid function. This is one of my main concerns, as I see that our population has more and more thyroid problems with each passing year.
Soy is also high in phytic acid, present in the bran or the husk of all seeds. Phytic acid can block the absorption of essential minerals (calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and especially zinc) in the intestinal tract. Scientists generally agree that high-phytate cereal and plant-based diets contribute to widespread mineral deficiencies in third world countries.
The Japanese have traditionally eaten small amounts of tofu or miso as part of a mineral-rich fish broth, followed by a serving of meat or fish. This is not how vegetarians and vegans consume soy. The results of calcium, magnesium, and iron deficiency are well known; those of zinc are less so. These are the exact mineral deficiencies that I have been seeing in my practice.
Many people in my practice now have telltale tanned chins, indicative of iron deficiency. They have low energy and are worried about osteoporosis, but they look like thyroid cases. Their thumbs point toward their hips while standing and walking rather than pointing forward, and they carry more weight evenly distributed over their body. Most of my clients also have low zinc levels.
Zinc is necessary for the optimal development and functioning of the brain and nervous system, it is used in the synthesis of proteins, the formation of collagen, in the mechanism of control of sugar in the blood, thus protecting against diabetes, and it is necessary for a healthy reproductive system. Zinc is a key component in numerous vital enzymes and plays a role in healthy immune system function. These uses are among hundreds of other ways the body uses zinc.
Soy processors have worked hard to remove these antinutrients from the finished product, particularly soy protein isolate (SPI), the key ingredient in most soy foods that mimic meat and dairy products, including formulas for babies and some brands of soy milk. (For more on that, read my other article on soy, The Dangers of Feeding Soy to Kids.
Nitrites, which are potent carcinogens, are formed during the spray drying process to make Soy Protein Isolate (SPI). Test animals fed RLS develop enlarged organs, particularly the pancreas and thyroid gland, and increased fatty acid deposition in the liver.
If so, why are SPI and Textured Plant Protein widely used in school lunch programs, commercial baked goods, diet drinks, and fast food products? (Yikes!) Soy is also heavily promoted in third world countries and forms the basis of many food giveaway programs.
Researchers studying soy-based foods in a school research project noted several alarming symptoms after children ate soy-based foods, including: “occasional” vomiting, periods of moderate diarrhea, respiratory tract infections skin rashes and fever.
Many wonder then, why do the Japanese have less cancer than the Americans? Them? I’ve heard over the years that the Japanese, who supposedly consume 30 times more soy than Americans, have a lower incidence of breast, uterine, and prostate cancers. BUT the Japanese, and Asians in general, have much higher rates of other cancers; particularly cancer of the esophagus, stomach, pancreas, thyroid and liver.
How Much Soy Do Asians Really Eat? A Cornell study by Colin T. Campbell in 1998 found that the average daily amount of soy protein consumed in Japan was about eight grams for men and seven for women. This is only less than two teaspoons. Do the Japanese really eat more soy than Americans? At this point, I don’t think so.
Except in times of famine, Asians consume soy products only in small amounts, as condiments, not as replacements for animal-based foods, with one exception. Celibate monks who live in monasteries and lead a vegetarian lifestyle find soy foods to be quite helpful, because they reduce libido.
So what are the side effects of too much soy? (These are in alphabetical order only and not by incidence rate.)
o swelling
o Breast cancer (soy isoflavones mimic estrogen)
o Calcium deficiencies (soy blocks calcium absorption)
o Cognitive impairment (especially in postmenopausal women who have elevated levels of estrogen in the blood)
or constipation
o Depression
o Endocrine disruption
o Fatigue
o Goiter Hair loss
or hot flashes
o Hypothyroidism
o Infertility
o Irregular periods
or lethargy
o Loss of muscle tone
o Painful periods
o Premature aging
o Thyroid cancer
o Thyroid disease
o Increased thyroid stimulating hormone
o Uterine cysts
o Vitamin D deficiencies
o Weight gain despite workouts and diet.
How Much Is Too Much Soy? In 1991, Japanese researchers reported that consuming as little as 30 grams or two tablespoons of soybeans per day for just one month resulted in a significant increase in thyroid-stimulating hormone and 100 grams of soy protein (promoted by your bone development ). isoflavones and cholesterol-lowering effects) contains the estrogenic equivalent of the pill. In vitro studies suggest that isoflavones inhibit the synthesis of estradiol and other steroid hormones. I wonder if it is really safe to take this type of supplement if you have a family history of estrogen-influenced breast cancer. I don’t think I’m risking it. We have enough xenoestrogens in our environment as is. We have not talked about the problems of soy being genetically modified these days. That is another article in itself!
