SOY Controversy

[Monica]

To start, there are patterns in this debate. Most of the arguments about soy food, both 'pro' and 'con', are generated by groups that are driven by ideology, profit, or both.

The most vocal proponents of soy, for example the United Soybean Board[1], tend to be funded by major producers of chemically processed soybean products and by pharmaceutical companies who hold the patents for genetically engineered (GEO) soybeans. They tout the benefit of all soy whether it's good food or toxic junk food.

Other soy defenders also have an agenda, though one that is arguably more positive and ecological/health oriented: promoting a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle.[2] [3]

The anti soy side, centered primarily around the Weston A. Price Foundation[4] appears to be largely motivated by an anti-vegetarian, pro meat and dairy ideology. Its followers have gained strong presence on the internet where the foundation's anti soy articles have been repeatedly recycled. Some soy detractors give approval to traditional fermented soy foods such as miso or shoyu soy sauce, but still they inaccurately and simplistically declare that all unfermented soy is unhealthy.

Of all the research we have conducted at Eden Foods on this debate, we found a few articles that were remarkable in their balance and expertise. Notably, each of these articles stresses the importance of choosing whole soy foods over isolates.

...

The majority of claims that all soy is unhealthy, appear to be backed up by conjecture and flawed studies. In many of the studies that are repeatedly cited by soy detractors, lab rats had been fed very high levels of genetically engineered and chemically derived soy protein isolates, concentrates, extracted isoflavones, and raw or roasted soy meal that was dry heated and defatted using hexane gas. Genetically engineered (GEO) soybeans in at least one study have been found lethal to the offspring of lab rats...

http://www.edenfoods.com/articles/view.p...cles_id=80

[Plenum]

what's your view on the view Monica?

personally, I was put off by the anti-soy arguments as well, and stopped eating it (not that I ate much of it). But I used to like soy-based drinks as a kid (very popular amongst chinese!) and had a phase where I used soy milk with my breakfast cereal.

[Marc]

I eat tofu in a pad thai dish once a week, but other than that I've cut my soy intake to next to none. I used to have soy milk a lot and started getting man-boobs and it also made me gassy. I find that raw hemp milk and other nuts fit my vegan need for protein just fine. (And I'm always doing organic everything..)

[Hototo]

So then the question arises...
does it really matter
what we eat?
And does nutrition
really have an effect...
if the cell doesn't even
have the receptor sites...
after years
of emotional abuse...
to even receive,
or to let in...
the nutrients that are
necessary for its health?

What the bleep -Movie

[Jade]

I think the big problem with soy is that, like corn, most of it is GMO, and it's very important to find non-GMO soy products. It's easy enough for me to find non-GMO tofu, but I've yet to find non-GMO soy milk in my regular grocery stores. Also, soy "filler" in processed food is usually the spent husks of GMO soybeans, IE the gist of all the pesticides and other chemical residues, making it really a very unhealthy additive.

I don't rely on it or eat it every day (soy milk in my coffee usually), but I do enjoy it quite a bit as a substitute for many things in my cooking. It's actually a miracle product in the kitchen because it can be subbed for many things easily. I make a vegan alfredo sauce out of whipped soft tofu that could easily rival a dairy alfredo sauce.

[Plenum]

I used to have soy milk a lot and started getting man-boobs ...

<shocked face>

that is disendorsement enough for me

no more soy milk for me ...

[xise]

Soy is an environmental estrogen, but only in large quantities from what I've heard.

Kind of like how your skin can turn orange if you eat enough carrots.

I've never had a problem eating soy 1-3 times a week. But I usually go months without eating it so I don't have extensive personal experience with it.

[GentleReckoning]

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/n...ein.html#b

Info

[BrownEye]

Easiest to just ask your body if something is good for it. You may find that half of what you eat is not agreeable to the animal body you borrow.

Beyond that you can ask spirit, and most likely be steered towards higher vibration food.

Or, you can just go with good ol' belief.

---

Or, you can just go with good ol' belief.

Which of course is what you are doing anyways, testing out a belief system to see if it works. So, I recommend asking spirit in case your belief turns out disfunctional.

[Peregrinus]

Truth is like an invisible man. If you clothe it lightly, it is easy to see. If you add too many clothes, if become obscured and again difficult to see.

All of these arguments contain a great deal of obscurity, so let us look to history to provide some clarity.

Having worked in China for some time, I also studied its history. The Chinese cultivated soy, yet did not eat the bean, and the Chinese look at it as toxic even today. Eating the bean, or that derived from the bean causes a host of physical problems, so instead they have always cultured (coagulated) it, making tofu, which alters the chemical makeup.

Over the many centuries when the Northern Mongolian tribes invaded, meat was scarce, so tofu was used in the role of, as we would explain today, as "a temporary war measure", fulfilling protein needs. It was, though, never consumed heavily, and when meat was available, it was, and still is today, eaten sparingly.

Tofu does contain estrogen, but it would take some consistent and great amount to cause breasts on a man, as did the one response above suggest.

Mystery solved. Avoid products containing soy. Eat tofu once or twice a week if so desired.

and if you don't believe me, trust your gut!

[GentleReckoning]

Fermented soy beans (nato in japan) is healthy. Unfermented is bad.

[Marc]

For the sake of detail, I had about 8oz of organic soymilk 5 days a week. And I started getting a little emotional during that time... I guess it's not uncommen in men who intake a lot of soy. I wonder if the way they make milk and tofu change the levels of estrogen it contains..

[Plenum]

Truth is like an invisible man. If you clothe it lightly, it is easy to see. If you add too many clothes, if become obscured and again difficult to see.

All of these arguments contain a great deal of obscurity, so let us look to history to provide some clarity.

Having worked in China for some time, I also studied its history. The Chinese cultivated soy, yet did not eat the bean, and the Chinese look at it as toxic even today. Eating the bean, or that derived from the bean causes a host of physical problems, so instead they have always cultured (coagulated) it, making tofu, which alters the chemical makeup.

Over the many centuries when the Northern Mongolian tribes invaded, meat was scarce, so tofu was used in the role of, as we would explain today, as "a temporary war measure", fulfilling protein needs. It was, though, never consumed heavily, and when meat was available, it was, and still is today, eaten sparingly.

Tofu does contain estrogen, but it would take some consistent and great amount to cause breasts on a man, as did the one response above suggest.

Mystery solved. Avoid products containing soy. Eat tofu once or twice a week if so desired.

and if you don't believe me, trust your gut!

thanks for the great response Peregrinus. There is a lot of sense in what you say.


- - * *

Or, you can just go with good ol' belief.

Or, you can just go with good ol' belief.

Which of course is what you are doing anyways, testing out a belief system to see if it works. So, I recommend asking spirit in case your belief turns out disfunctional.

what the hell?? you replied to yourself???

must be a glitch in the matrix ...

[reeay]

Fermented soy beans (nato in japan) is healthy. Unfermented is bad.

I love natto - it stinks, it's gooey, it's yummy. Hot white rice and natto, bit of soy sauce and organic fresh raw eggs on top. Yum!

[Patrick]

Fermented soy beans (nato in japan) is healthy. Unfermented is bad.

This is also good advice for most grains.

[Guardian]

Soy is fine as long as it is organic. Fermented soy is best. However most soy (98%) is gmo, so good luck finding it.

[Eddie]

Aside from the odd splash of Tamari, I don't eat soy; I do everything I can to avoid GMO foods.

I used to eat tempeh but I don't trust that anymore either.

That provokes an idea though...I wonder if it is possible to grow suitable cultivars of soybeans at home, and make tempeh at home. I had an Indonesian friend years ago who made his own; this was in the pre-GMO days. His was the best I ever ate.

[Monica]

what's your view on the view Monica?

I was confused about it, until I read this article. I think it's very balanced and their counter-arguments make perfect sense to me. It makes sense that soy, when organic and NON-GMO, and prepared properly, is a good food. I see no reason to eliminate soy.

BUT, I am very careful to avoid soy isolates and those 'fake meat' soy products which are highly processed.

I've been eating tofu, tempeh and miso for 30 years. I had cut back for awhile, when I was attempting to sort this all out. Now, I avoid soy in restaurants, since it's most assuredly GMO, and I never ever ever drink soy milk or consume any kind of isolated soy protein.

Soy isn't bad. It's the refining that makes it bad. Just as raw, natural sugarcane is a whole food, but when it's been highly refined, it turns into a toxic, addictive drug called white sugar. There was nothing wrong with the food itself; it's the refining that is to blame.

Since I am approaching menopause, and now that I'm at ease about this issue, I've decided to increase my intake of tofu, tempeh and miso.

I think the 'all soy is bad' argument is propaganda. Looking at the references cited, I noticed that the folks saying that are the same ones also saying to eat more meat. A clue!

---

I love natto - it stinks, it's gooey, it's yummy. Hot white rice and natto, bit of soy sauce and organic fresh raw eggs on top. Yum!

I have some in my freezer you are welcome to! I got over-zealous and bought several packs of it from an Asian grocery. I forced myeslf to finish off 3 of the little cartons, but it was an ordeal getting it down!

I normally will eat almost anything if I know it's really good for me. Green juices? Delicious! Blackstrap molasses? Rich in minerals...yum! Fermented foods? Great stuff!

But this...I just couldn't do it. I guess I've reached my outer limits here. The taste and smell didn't bother me at all, but I just can't stand slimy things.