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Health & Fitness

There Is NO Joy in SOY!!

The not so healthy, health food.

Contrary to popular belief the so-called “health food” soy is actually more detrimental then people realize. So why do people eat it? The answer goes a little deeper than just the health and wellness arena. Government, big food corporations, and the pharmaceutical industry all have their hands in the farming and food business to push soy down our throats. It all comes down to money and how to make the most of it at the expense of our health.

Let’s address the damaging affects of soy. It has taken the health food industry by storm. They promote it as a great alternative for protein, cancer preventing, great for women who are going through menopause, and the list goes on. No one really knows how this big surge in soy came about. Some believe it was due to seeing the longevity and health of the Japanese and their consumption of many soy-based foods.

Being of Japanese descent, I never remember eating soy as much as people think. Everything my family and I ate was traditional Japanese food. We hardly ate soy, except for fermented soy products (some what “healthier”), which was miso, tempeh, natto, and shoyu (soy sauce). Even that was a rare occasion.

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Asians consume very small amounts (2 oz per day). Plus they eat the whole bean, not a stripped, processed version Americans eat. Only in America do we have to go overboard with everything. More is not always better, especially with the drastic health issues that arise due to soy consumption.

Now its everywhere, look at most food labels and there will be some soy as a listed ingredient. It pretty much does the opposite of its proposed benefits. Soy contains phytoestrogens, which mimic the effects of estrogen in the body. These estrogenic effects promote breast cancer in women and gynecomastia (male breast growth) in men.

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I have an older male client who consumed a strict vegetarian diet that included a high amount of soy. He had to undergo surgery to remove excess breast tissue. He had high amounts of estrogen due to his over consumption of soy products. Soy also increases the aromatase enzyme (process of converting testosterone to estrogen) activity in the body, which is responsible for the low-testosterone levels in males.

Soy causes thyroid disruption (inhibits ability to produce its primary hormone T4; tyrosine/iodine molecule) and deregulates hormonal levels. All soy in consumed in the U.S. is processed and unfermented, which contain high levels of phytic acid, let alone being stripped of any possible nutrients. When consumed the phytic acid binds to minerals (zinc, magnesium, iron, zinc) which prevents them from being assimilated and absorbed.

Unfortunately soaking, cooking and other methods to reduce phytic acid content do not work, as it does with nuts and legumes. There are also trypsin inhibitors in soy that interfere with protein digestion. Processed soy damages the digestive tract, decreasing protein absorption. This doesn’t sound like a miracle health food to me, plus it doesn’t even taste good!

I always encourage everyone to do his or her own research. Don’t take my word for it or the companies that promote soy. I am just shedding light on a flawed, unhealthy nutrition source. I feel the perfect end to this would have “The More You Know” star shooting by.

Sources:

  • Ross M.A., Julia. The Diet Cure, (New York, New York, Penguin Books 2000)
  • Timmins N.D., William. The Chronic Stress Crisis, (Bloomington, Indiana, AuthorHouse 2008)
  • Owens, Paula. The Power of 4, (2008)
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