Soy is a health food, right?
It all started in 1999 when the FDA (food and drug administration) in America approved a health claim that a high soy diet reduced heart disease. Soy was really one of the first foods to get on the health marketing band wagon. A few studies suggested that soy may help to reduce heart disease and the PR machine kicked in. All of a sudden soy was the new ‘it' product and everyone was jumping on the trend. Soy is marketed so well that even now, when there are so many studies suggesting otherwise, it is still considered by the general population to be a healthy product.
So what's wrong with soy?
There are three major problems with the way we now consume soy. We eat it in large quantities, it is highly processed and it is often unfermented.
Processed unfermented soy has high levels of ‘anti-nutrients' and toxins that are naturally present in soy beans as well as toxic residues created by the processing. As a result, intake of soy has been linked to cancer, reproductive disorders, brain damage and thyroid problems (including weight gain, loss of libido and lethargy). Isoflavones in the soy are also phytoestrogens meaning that they mimic the action of oestrogen in the body and can adversely affect your hormone balance, especially in kids. Soy oil (like most vegetable oils) is also high in Omega 6 fatty acids, which leads to an unhealthy fat balance.
Most soy is also genetically modified. This is a concern for two reasons. One, it is pretty strongly linked to allergies. In fact soy is now the second most common food allergy in America behind peanuts. Secondly, the reason it is genetically modified is so that it isn't killed by herbicides. That means that they have designed it so that they can spray it with herbicides that would usually kill it - and that's why GM soy crops are sprayed 86% more than non-GM crops.
Soy is also ‘hidden' in many foods, especially in the form of oil. If you check the ingredients list on many of the processed foods you find in the supermarket, you will find soy oil and soy proteins are really common ingredients.
The exception to the rule in terms of soy products is the traditionally fermented varieties. Foods like Tempeh and Miso and traditionally fermented soy sauce are actually quite healthy in small doses. The fermentation process reduces the toxins in the soy and reduces the levels of the oestrogenic chemicals.
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