Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Reasons to Avoid Soy


Here are 12 reasons to avoid soy

1) Soy contains several enzyme inhibitors that block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed to digest proteins. These are not de-activated by cooking, only by fermentation. In test animals, it causes enlargement and other conditions of the pancreas, including cancer.

2) Soy also contains hemagglutinin, a clot promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together.

3) Soybeans are high in phytic acid and phytates. This is an organic acid that blocks the uptake of essential minerals (calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc). Many scientists are in agreement that grain and legume based diets high in phytates contribute to widespread mineral deficiencies in third world countries. Again, fermentation (like soy sauce and tempeh) will reduce the phytate contents of the beans, but extraction (like for tofu, TVP, and soy milk) does not.

4) Soy also contains goitrogens, substances depress thyroid function.

5) 99% of the soy on the market today is genetically modified. It also contains the highest percentage of contamination by pesticides of ANY of our foods. Soy beans are also very high in aluminum and cadmium, dangerous metals implicated in Alzheimer's and heart disease.

6) While the soy beans are relatively rich in omega-3 oils, these go rancid when subjected to the high temperature and pressure required to extract them from the beans. Rancid oils are dangerous carcinogens. The only other way to extract the oils from soy beans is through the use of solvents such as hexane and acetone. Traces of these carcinogens remain in the soy oils currently available in supermarkets.

7) Even fermented soy like tempeh, miso, and soy sauce cannot be relied on for the complete meat substitute. In the Orient, tempeh is served with rice to complete the protein. But at least MOST of the phytates have been inactivated in the fermented products.

8) Soy supplements have been taunted as helping menopause symptoms. This has not been verified in recent studies. In fact, most of the previous studies claiming that soy supplements have helped menopause were SPONSORED by the soy industry, an increasingly wealthy industry that takes 1% of the market price from the farmers in order to "research" (i.e. advertise) soy products…..a total of $80 million per year.

9) The history of soybeans in the Orient has been much abused (and possibly rewritten for the benefit of the soy manufacturers.) Soy was much revered as a crop rotation grain (used to fix nitrogen in the soil). It became a food in China only after they learned to ferment it sometime around 200 BC. The Japanese have been eating small amounts of tofu only with mineral rich fish broth, followed by a serving of meat or fish.

10) Soy Particulate Isolates (SPI) such as TVP, are highly processed soybeans that are full of aluminum, nitrates, MSG, as well as the trypsin inhibitors and phytates. Test animals fed SPI reportedly developed enlarged pancreas and thyroid glands as well as increased deposits of fatty acids in the livers.

11) Soy milk based infant formulas are dangerous. In the 1930's, it was reported that hot soy milk was a drink for the old people in China. It was never used for infants. Infants brought up on soy milk formulas have lower IQ's and are smaller. They also have higher incidences of diabetes. Behavior problems from the pesticides (dioxins, DDT residues, cadmium, aluminum, fluoride, and other toxins) are rampant. The depressed thyroid glands due to these toxins and the phytoestrogens in (GMO and non-GMO) soy are suspected to be responsible for the mental retardation, stunted growth, deaf mutism, digestive problems, etc in infants. The amount of phytoestrogens that a baby on soy formula ingests per day is equivalent to 5 birth control pills.

12) The final point on soy products is the isoflavones, phytoestrogens much-taunted by the press and by advertisement as the product that will save all women from hot-flashes, etc. In fact, it looks like these phytoestrogens compete with natural estrogen for estrogen receptors in the brain. This interferes with hormones involved in reproduction and growth. Studies have shown that women consuming soy protein isolates have an increased incidence of "epithelial hyperplasia," a condition that often precedes cancers. The isoflavones also depress the thyroid gland causing hypothyroidism. One of the isoflavones, genistein, has been shown to inhibit tyrosine kinase in the hippocampus, thus blocking the mechanism for memory formation.

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