Hi all,
One of my least favorite “food-like” substances is soy. Now, if you’re a soy fan, there is a good chance that you are either:
A. rolling your eyes
B. thinking of a rebuttal
C. (my favorite answer) reading on….
Soybeans are an interesting item. They are largely unedible unless they have been fermented and although they do contain protein, you are getting your protein at a cost. Consider these tasty tidbits:
*Soy is highly estrogenic. Meaning that when you consume it, it mimics the effects of estrogen in your body. If you are a women it can possibly cause hormonal imbalance. If you are a male, it can lower testosterone and cause infertility.
*The amount of soy in a baby’s daily allotment of a soy-based formula is equal to 4 regular birth control pills. 25% of infants in the US are immediately put on soy formula.
*Ever wonder why young girls are developing younger and younger? Besides the hormones that have been in our dairy products for years (which is another story), soy is in almost ALL packaged food. Don’t believe me? Go look in your pantry right now and start reading labels, I dare you. When children are exposed to high levels of estrogenic soy, their bodies will adjust to the estrogen and it causes hormonal and developmental problems.
*We eat so much soy that it is has become one of the top 8 most common allergens.
*Parents are advised to avoid eating soy (and peanuts) during the third trimester, breast-feeding, and not to give their infant soy formula. This is because many children will develop a strong allergy after this early exposure.
*Soy is loaded with trypsin inhibitors that prevent proper protein digestion; so if you’re eating soy for its high protein content, you are most likely not getting the amount that you think you are anyway.
*It also contains goitrogen which inhibits thyroid function and phytic acid, a fiber that impairs absorption of minerals.
* Soy is not allowed on paleo either, FYI.
Here are some lists of common store-bought foods that contain soy:
- ice cream
- bread
- lunch meat, hot dogs, salami, etc.
- crackers
- salad dressing
- chicken nuggets
- pizza
- Powerade (ridiculous, huh?)
- cookies, cakes, chips, dips, spice mixes
So you might be wondering, if soy is so bad for us, why is it in everything? Well, it’s important to keep in mind that the soybean industry is HIGHLY subsidized by our government. If you’ve watched “Food, Inc.” you know what I’m talking about. Secondly, soy is a filler, plain and simple. It is cheap, relatively tasteless, and means that manufacturers can spend less to get it in your hands. The first step these companies took to make YOU think soy is healthy was to market it to the elite.
Soy milk with your latte? Exactly.
Again, the choice of course is yours. And it is so much easier to just eat it and ignore the growing body of evidence proving how horrible it is for your body. I know that since I cut out soy 1.5 years ago, I never get upset stomachs, sick, headaches after eating, clogged sinuses after eating, or hormonal swings (well, don’t ask my husband about that last one!) I understand that some people are vegetarians and have a limited number of protein options, but if you’re going to eat soy, fermented is best. And believe me, I know there are major problems with the meat we eat as well and will probably touch on this topic at a later date. We all need to do what is best for ourselves and our familes by being as informed as possible when we make our food decisions.
Check out “The Whole Soy Story” by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN. You can find her book here: www.wholesoystory.com
Also take a look at: http://www.westonaprice.org/Soy-Infant-Formula-Birth-Control-Pills-for-Babies.html
OK, Kate, I have subscribed to your lovely blog, and am posting a comment so you know I really am reading as I told you the other day!! While I don’t agree with all things paleo (months ago, when you told me about the blog, I checked out one of the paleo books to see what it was all about) I do love the ideas and recipes you share on the blog (non-meat, of course). And I think it is wonderful that you and your husband are having so much success with it!
Now, on to the subject of soy. As a long-time vegetarian, and an educated one at that, I agree with just about all of the points that you have made about soy. Especially about it’s over-use in the country (in the form of processed foods) and it’s contributions to the premature puberty in young girls (which I believe wholeheartedly is also brought on by hormones in meat and dairy products as well). I do think over-consuming soy products is definitely a bad thing. However, I think soy is small to moderate amounts for someone who eats a primarily whole food, plant based diet, is just fine. In fact, I do believe that it can be beneficial for people who are estrogen deficient, such as the case of peri-menopausal women. As far as phytic acid, which as you said, decreases the body’s ability to absorb minerals and proteins, it is found in grains, legumes and seeds. which are fundamental to a plant based diet. And truely, there aren’t many protien deficient vegetarians. Protien is indeed an essential building block, but it’s definitely not required in the quantities that is consumed in a standard American diet.
Anyway, to wrap up, since I am late leaving for work, haha…you said it beautifully, make informed decisions, and for myself…moderation is key! See ya!!!
Michelle,
Thank you so much for your well-written response! I think that the moral of the story for all of us– meat eaters and vegetarians alike– is to eat a whole foods based diet and one that is as free as possible of chemicals, preservatives, hormones, and antibiotics. I think paleo-eaters and meat-eaters in general have a lot to learn from vegetarians in regard to creative ways to incorporate veggies into our diets.
I also think that it is a great idea for the environment that meat-eaters occasionally go “meat-free” for a day or even a few meals a week. It also forces you to think out of the box about what to eat! I know Kirk and I have perused a few vegetarian cookbooks to look for new ways to eat our veggies.
Great to hear from you!
Kate
I read with interest your views on soy. While this maybe your personal opinion, the evidence from well conducted human studies shows soy to be safe. Providing an argument that soy is harmful based on animal studies or anecdotal information is an inaccurate interpretation of the facts and shouldn’t be used to scaremonger people into thinking soy isn’t safe. For this reason I wanted to address a few of your statements:-
‘They are largely unedible unless they have been fermented’
Soy foods such as soy milk and yogurts, tofu, edamame beans, soy nuts, cooked soy beans are all edible and they are not fermented! Interestingly half of the soya eaten in Japan and China is from non-fermented soya foods such as soya milk, soya beans and tofu.
‘Soy is highly estrogenic. Meaning that when you consume it, it mimics the effects of estrogen in your body.’
Soy does not contain estrogen. It contains phytoestrogens, natural plant compounds, which have a similar chemical structure to the hormone estrogen, although they are far weaker. In fact it is has been estimated that between 1000 and 400,000 more isoflavones would be needed in the human body to have the same biological effect as estrogen. Actually these isoflavones are being investigated for their potential health benefits and studies have found them to have anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects. It’s not just soy that contains phytoestrogens – other beans, chickpeas, flaxseed and wholegrain cereals also contain them.
‘If you are a women it can possibly cause hormonal imbalance. If you are a male, it can lower testosterone and cause infertility.’
This type of information mainly comes from animal or test-tube studies which is not reflective of what happens in the human body. These types of studies often use high doses of isoflavone supplements which are not typical of soy in its normal state nor the amount that would be obtained from a balanced diet. The majority of human studies show no effects on hormone levels following soya or isoflavone consumption in either men or women.
In 2009 a meta-analysis covering 32 trials investigating the effects of soy protein and isoflavones on total testosterone, free testosterone and sex hormone–binding globulin in men found no significant effects of soy protein or isoflavones on any of these reproductive hormones. This meta-analysis indicates that neither soy protein nor isoflavone intake significantly alters reproductive hormones levels in men. In another review of studies investigating the effect of soy on hormonal levels in both pre-menopausal and post-menopausal women, neither soy nor soy isoflavones had a statistically significant effect on oestrogen levels.
Just look at the countries where soya foods are traditionally eaten, e.g. Japan and China, to determine whether there are hormonal or fertility problems!
‘Young girls are developing younger and younger’
Where is the human clinical and scientific evidence that this is a result of soy? To date no epidemiological data in humans have indicated any negative effects of soy infant formula fed infants on development. In a study conducted in 2001 outcomes such as pubertal maturation, menstrual and reproductive history, height, weight and general health were investigated in 248 young adults aged 20-34 years who received soy formula as infants, compared to 563 who were fed cow’s milk formula. No statistically significant difference was noted for any index of pubertal maturation between the group fed soy formula and those fed cow’s milk formula. The results of this study led the authors to conclude that soy infant formula was generally considered safe.
‘Soy is loaded with trypsin inhibitors that prevent proper protein digestion’ While the soy bean contains trypsin inhibitors, proper soaking and cooking destroys this.
‘It also contains goitrogen which inhibits thyroid function’
Again concerns about the anti-thyroid effects of soy are based mainly on animal and test-tube studies. A review of 14 clinical studies concluded that there is little evidence that soy foods affect thyroid function in healthy men or women.
Soy has been a traditional part of the Asian diet for thousands of years and is considered one of the healthiest diet’s in the world. In Asia, several diseases (eg. prostate cancer, breast cancer, …) occur with a much lower frequency than in the Western world and research indicates that soy could be an important protecting factor. When looking at the safety of soyfoods it’s important to look at the totality of the scientific evidence rather than results from 1 or 2 individual studies.