Wednesday, August 25, 2010

THE PROBLEM WITH SOY


There are very few things that I am passionate enough to fight for. Besides my relationship with the Lord, my friends and family and a few other topics, I am very laid-back person. I do believe that everyone is entitled to their own beliefs and opinions. Soy, however, I don’t feel is represented correctly by our food industry (who makes GOBS and GOBS of money on this product). Therefore, I do feel that I need to shed some light on the dangers around soy.

There have been thousands of studies published on soy: its dangers, possible benefits, side-effects and risks. I strongly believe that if we all took the time to read these studies, even a handful of them, Americans would not be consuming NEARLY the amount of soy we are today.

The Food Industry has led us to believe that soy is the new “Superfood”. The reason they have done this, is because they make billions (and when I say billion, they made $4 billion last year alone) of dollars off of this product. 95% of Soybeans are Monsanto created (yes, that is genetically modified to be “soybean like” but are not actual soybeans”). Monsanto is a whole other story (they are a terrible company, for more information on them please visit: http://www.mcspotlight.org/beyond/companies/monsanto.html or just go to Google and search for “Monsanto bad” and you will get thousands of results) That fact alone tells us that 95% of soy products aren’t even a real food!!

There are many health risks associated with soy products. Among the largest concerns are:

  • Thyroid Problems – Including Weigh gain, lethargy, hair loss, loss of libido, hypothyrodism
    • The thyroid is part of the endocrine systems. The Phytoestogens in soy act upon the thyroid to have a goitrogenic effect, which basically means it depresses the thyroid, causing it to slow down thyroid metabolism, and increase the size of the thyroid.)

  • Disruption of our Sex Hormones – developmental problems in babies, children and adolescents, premature puberty, increased risk of testicular cancer in boys
    • Soy is a phyotestrogen, which means it mimics estrogen in our bodies. Studies have shown that babies on soy formula are consuming the hormonal equivalent of up to 10 contraceptive pills a day. Also, this puts little girls and boys at a higher risk for developing testicular cancer, ovarian or breast cancer.

  • Soy contains Anti-Nutrients
    • Anti-nutrients are chemicals and compounds that prevent nutrients from being properly used by the body. Anti-nutrients found in soy frustrate the body’s digestion of protein as well as act as magents for many minerals (such as calcium, magnesium, zinc, and iron) and therefore, preventing our bodies from absorbing them.

  • Cancer
  • Brain Damage
  • Kidney Stones
  • Weaken Immune Systems
  • Server Food allergies

A few more interesting facts:
  • Soy-based infant formulas have been banned in many other countries due to the high health risks to infants, so if you are pregnant or have an infant at home, please consider switching to a non soy-based formula (please consult your doctor, as my advice should never replace a medical professional’s).
  • FERMENTED Soy (such as soy sauce, Natto, Miso, and other fermented soy foods used in traditional Asian cuisine) is good for you, and does contain nutrients!
  • Even if you don’t buy soy-based products, you are still getting a lot soy in your diet. Soy is in almost every packaged, processed food in your grocery store.

The safest way to avoid soy is buy whole foods, and avoid any processed food, as soy can be hidden in names such as “natural flavoring”, “bouillon”, and “textured plant protein”.

With all the evidence of the harm that soy can do, I think for me and my family, we will choose to avoid it at all costs. I hope you will prayerfully consider the same for your family.

or check out Dr. Kaayla Daniel’s book “The Whole Soy Story”, or visit their website at: http://www.westonaprice.org/

No comments:

Post a Comment