Have you been duped by media and advertising into thinking soy is a health food?  Don’t worry, you’re not alone.  Millions of dollars have been spent to convince Americans that soy is a health food and healthy replacement for all sorts of things: meat, milk, dairy, etc. In fact, most vegetarian and vegan processed products are soy based.  To understand this misconception I think you should know where this mindset started:

Years ago, tropical oils, such as palm and coconut oil, were commonly used in American food production. However, these are obviously not grown in the US. With the exception of Hawaii, our climate isn’t tropical enough.

Spurred on by financial incentives, the industry devised a plan to shift the market from tropical oils to something more “home grown.” As a result, a movement was created to demonize and vilify tropical oils in order to replace them with domestically grown oils such as corn and, primarily, soy.

For the most part, they’ve been very successful in their campaign to paint soy in a healthy light. So, the information I have to share with you may disappoint and challenge many of you, especially vegetarians, because vegetarians and vegans use soy as one of their primary sources of protein.

But I’m here to tell you that after studying this issue very carefully, I’m convinced that unless the soy you’re consuming is  fermented, you’re putting your health at risk.

Credit: Dr. Mercola, “Soy Controversy and the Effects of Soy Consumption”

For centuries, Asian people have been consuming fermented soy products such as natto, tempeh, and soy sauce, and enjoying the health benefits. Fermented soy does not wreak havoc on your body like unfermented soy products do.

In fact, these products have phenomenal health benefits, including improving bone density and reducing your risk of heart disease and cancer as long as they are ingested in small quantities.   But, the trick to these items being healthy is in the fermentation process which makes the soy a healthy addition to your diet, as it breaks down the goitrogens, isoflavones and other harmful elements in the soy.

So, why should you avoid non-fermented soy?

Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story, points out thousands of studies linking soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility—even cancer and heart disease.

Besides the fact that soy is the #1 genetically modified food (91% of US soy acres are GM), it has a number of problematic components:

• Goitrogens – Goitrogens, found in all unfermented soy whether it’s organic or not, are substances that block the synthesis of thyroid hormones and interfere with iodine metabolism, thereby interfering with your thyroid function.One common source of soy is soy milk. Many consume it as an alternative to milk or one of their primary beverages. Soy milk is a significant contributor to thyroid dysfunction or hypothyroidism in women in the US.So if you’re a woman struggling with low thyroid function and you’re consuming soy milk, that’s a giant clue you need to stop drinking it immediately.
• Isoflavones: genistein and daidzein – Isoflavones are a type of phytoestrogen, which is a plant compound resembling human estrogen, which is why some recommend using soy therapeutically to treat symptoms of menopause. I believe the evidence is highly controversial and doubt it works.Typically, most of us are exposed to too much estrogen compounds and have a lower testosterone level than ideal, so it really is important to limit exposure to feminizing phytoestrogens.

  Even more importantly, there’s evidence it may disturb endocrine function, cause infertility, and promote breast cancer, which is definitely a significant concern.

  Drinking two glasses of soy milk daily for just one month provides enough of these compounds to alter your menstrual cycle. Although the FDA regulates estrogen-containing products, no warnings exist on soy.

• Phytic acid — Phytates (phytic acid) bind to metal ions, preventing the absorption of certain minerals, including calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc — all of which are co-factors for optimal biochemistry in your body. This is particularly problematic for vegetarians, because eating meat reduces the mineral-blocking effects of these phytates.Sometimes it can be beneficial, especially in postmenopausal women and in most adult men because we tend to have levels of iron that are too high which can be a very potent oxidant and cause biological stress.However, phytic acid does not necessarily selectively inhibit just iron absorption; it inhibits all minerals. This is very important to remember, as many already suffer from mineral deficiencies from inadequate diets.

  The soybean has one of the highest phytate levels of any grain or legume, and the phytates in soy are highly resistant to normal phytate-reducing techniques such as long, slow cooking. Only a long period of fermentation will significantly reduce the phytate content of soybeans.

• Natural toxins known as “anti-nutrients” — Soy also contains other anti-nutritional factors such as saponins, soyatoxin, protease inhibitors, and oxalates. Some of these factors interfere with the enzymes you need to digest protein. While a small amount of anti-nutrients would not likely cause a problem, the amount of soy that many Americans are now eating is extremely high.
• Hemagglutinin — Hemagglutinin is a clot-promoting substance that causes your red blood cells to clump together. These clumped cells are unable to properly absorb and distribute oxygen to your tissues.

Where is Soy Lurking?

Just because you aren’t drinking soy milk or eating tofu, veggie burgers or soy chicken nuggets doesn’t mean you are avoiding soy.  Soy is a common ingredient is protein shakes and protein bars.

Another common form of soy you’re likely exposed to is soy oil.  Consuming a diet high in processed foods, which by default is high in soy oil, is a primary contributor to the severe imbalance most people have in their omega-3 to omega-6 ratio, which in turn contributes to creating disease.

How Did Soy Become So Prominent in Our Food System?

If it seems like soy foods appeared out of nowhere to be regarded as the “miracle health food” of the 21st Century, it’s because they did.

From 1992 to 2006, soy food sales increased from $300 million to nearly $4 billion, practically overnight, according to the Soyfoods Association of North America. This growth came about due to a massive shift in attitudes about soy. And this shift was no accident—it was the result of a massive investment in advertising by the soy industry that’s been wildly successful.

Soy is indeed big business, very big business.

From 2000 to 2007, U.S. food manufacturers introduced more than 2,700 new soy-based foods, and new soy products continue to appear on your grocer’s shelves.

According to the survey Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition 2008 (by the United Soybean Board):

• As of 2007, 85 percent of consumers perceive soy products as healthful
• 33 percent of Americans eat soy foods or beverages at least once a month
• 70 percent of consumers believe soybean oil is good for them
• 84 percent of consumers agree with the FDA’s claim that consuming 25 grams of soy protein daily reduces your risk of heart disease

This is a tragic case of shrewd marketing and outright lies taking root among the masses with the end result of producing large profits for the soy industry and impaired health for most who have been deceived into using unfermented soy long-term.

Many thanks to Dr. Mercola for outing this pseudo-health food. This is a condensed version of his two articles:

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/10/13/soy-controversy-and-health-effects.aspx

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/09/18/soy-can-damage-your-health.aspx