Who hasn't heard of the
marvels of soy? The marketing bandwagon has touted soy as the perfect health
food for decades. But could something that sounds so healthful actually be
dangerous?
If you take the time to
look into the actual science, then the
answer is yes. Thousands of studies link soy to malnutrition,
digestive distress, immune system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive
decline, reproductive disorders and infertility -- even cancer and heart
disease.
One of the primary reasons
it would be wise for you to avoid soy is that more than 90 percent of soybeans grown in
the United States are genetically modified. Since the introduction of
genetically engineered foods in 1996, we've had an upsurge in low birth weight
babies, infertility, and other problems in the U.S., and animal studies have
shown devastating effects from genetically engineered soy
including allergies, sterility, birth defects, and offspring death rates up to
five times higher than normal.
Soybean crops are also
heavily sprayed with chemical herbicides, such as Round Up and glyphosate, which a
French team of researchers have found to be carcinogenic.
Soybeans -- even
organically grown soybeans -- naturally contain "antinutrients" such
as saponins, soyatoxin, phytates, trypsin inhibitors, goitrogens and
phytoestrogens. Traditional fermentation destroys these antinutrients, which
allows your body to enjoy soy's nutritional benefits. However, most Westerners
do not consume fermented soy, but rather unfermented
soy, mostly in the form of soymilk, tofu, TVP, and soy infant
formula.
Unfermented soy has the
following 10 adverse affects on your body:
1. High Phytic
Acid (Phytates): Reduces
assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy
is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting
and long, slow cooking, but only with long fermentation. High-phytate diets
have caused growth problems in children.
2. Trypsin
inhibitors: Interferes with
protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals, trypsin
inhibitors in soy caused stunted growth.
3. Goitrogens: Potent agents that block your synthesis of thyroid
hormones and can cause hypothyroidism and thyroid cancer. In infants,
consumption of soy formula has been linked with autoimmune thyroid disease.
Goitrogens interfere with iodine metabolism.
4.
Phytoestrogens/Isoflavones:
Plant compounds resembling human estrogen can block your normal estrogen and
disrupt endocrine function, cause infertility, and increase your risk for
breast cancer.
5. Hemagglutinin: A clot-promoting substance that causes your red
blood cells to clump, making them unable to properly absorb and distribute
oxygen to your tissues.
6. Synthetic
Vitamin D: Soy foods increase
your body's vitamin D requirement, which is why companies add synthetic vitamin
D2 to soymilk (a toxic form of vitamin D).
7. Vitamin B12: Soy contains a compound resembling vitamin B12 that
cannot be used by your body, so soy foods can actually contribute to B12
deficiency, especially among vegans.
8. Protein
Denaturing: Fragile proteins
are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and
textured vegetable protein (TVP). Chemical processing of soy protein results in
the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
9. MSG: Free glutamic acid, or MSG, is a potent
neurotoxin. MSG is formed during soy food processing, plus additional MSG is
often added to mask soy's unpleasant taste.
10. Aluminum and Manganese: Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum, which
is toxic to your nervous system and kidneys, and manganese, which wreaks havoc
on your baby's immature metabolic system.
Soy's antinutrients are
quite potent. Drinking just two glasses of soymilk daily provides enough of
these compounds to alter a woman's menstrual cycle. But if you feed soy to your
infant or child, these effects are magnified a thousand-fold. Infants fed soy
formula may have up to 20,000 times more estrogen circulating through their
bodies as those fed other formulas. You should NEVER feed your infant a
soy-based formula!
In fact, infants fed soy formula take in an
estimated five birth control pills' worth of estrogen every day.
As dangerous as
unfermented soy is, fermented soy
from organic soybeans is a different story altogether and can be a beneficial
part of your diet. Fermented soy is a great source of vitamin K2, and K2
(combined with vitamin D) is essential in preventing osteoporosis,
cardiovascular disease, dementia, and various types of cancer.
Note that tofu is NOT on
this list and is among the soy foods I do not recommend. Traditionally
fermented soy products include:
- Miso
- Tempeh
- Natto
- Soy sauce (as long as it's fermented in the traditional way, and not all are)
· These phytoestrogens are so strong that a baby
consuming only soy formula is consuming the equivalent hormones of 4
birth control pills a day!
· The high levels of phytic acid in soy inhibit the
body’s ability to absorb important minerals, including zinc, calcium, copper,
iron and magnesium (which many people are
dangerously deficient in already).
· Soy also
contains protease inhibitors, which can block the enzymes that are necessary
for the digestion of certain proteins.
· The
goitrogens in soy are potent anti-thyroid compounds that can lead to
endocrine disruption and thyroid disorders. Infants on soy formula have a
much higher risk of autoimmune thyroid disease. (note: cruciferous vegetables
like broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage have these properties as well, though
they are lessened greatly by cooking. Cooking does not remove these compounds
from soy based foods!)
· Soy is
often promoted as an alternative food for celiac and gluten intolerant people, but its lectins can be harmful
to the intestines and prevent healing even when gluten is removed.
· Many
studies have found even more harmful properties of soy: This link has a summary of many
studies done about the harmful effects of soy.
· Consumption
of soy foods increases the body’s need for Vitamin D, Vitamin B-12, calcium and
magnesium.
In addition to being
harmful to our bodies, soy production is harmful to the planet and to livestock
who eat it as well. Almost all soybeans grown today are genetically modified
and “Round-up ready.” They contain a gene that allows them to be directly sprayed
with pesticides without dying. There is some evidence that this gene can mutate
and create a pesticide-like toxin in the body.
This mutation means that
soybeans can be (and are) sprayed with large amounts of pesticides and
herbicides during their cultivation. In addition, soybeans strip the soil of
many nutrients, leaving soil depleted.
Animals who are fed soy
can suffer many of the same health consequences as people who consume too much
soy, and these harmful properties are then passed on in their meat.
An Inferior
Protein Source
Besides the lectin and
phytic acid in soybeans, they aren’t the complete protein source they are
touted to be. Like all beans, they lack the amino acids Methionine and Cystine.
While they are often promoted for being able to provide Vitamin B-12 to those
eating a vegetarian diet, the Vitamin B-12 in soybeans can not be used by the
body and actually cause the body to need more B-12.
There are no nutrients in
these foods that can’t be found in higher amounts in meats, vegetables and
healthy fats, so stick to those and avoid the lectins and phytic acid!
A Note on
Fermented Soy
If you are going to
consume soy, it is least harmful in its fermented state. Foods like
Tempeh and Miso have some health promoting properties and many of the harmful
anti-nutrients are fermented out. These are fine in moderation. Just look for
ones that have been traditionally fermented.
Soy is Everywhere!
If you stay away from tofu
and soymilk, you might still be consuming much more soy than you think!
Practically all processed
foods contain some form of soy. Even some canned tuna contains a soy protein as
part of the broth! Check the foods you buy for these ingredients: Soy lecithin,
soy protein concentrate, soy protein isolate, texturized vegetable
protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein or any other phrase containing
the word “soy.” Vegetable oil, candy bars, health bars, ice cream, potato
chips, fast foods, pizzas, and prepackaged foods at all grocery stores contain some form of soy.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/soy-health_b_1822466.html
http://wellnessmama.com/3684/is-soy-healthy/
http://truefitnessbootcamp.com/Nutrition_Challenge.html