Health Alert 279
Not all soy products are created equal. You are better to avoid some forms altogether.
Many of the soy products you encounter today use non-traditional soy. The soy industry is manufacturing an ever increasing variety of these non-traditional soy products. They are hiding it in places you might not expect. This particular kind of soy can be harmful to your health.
Today, I’ll expose these hidden sources, why you want to avoid them and how to select traditional naturally "processed" soy.
Despite the marketing as "natural”, soy in its native form is not a food for humans. You can not eat soy unless you process it first. If you try eating soy without some sort of processing, you won’t like the taste at all. You’re likely to get nausea, cramping abdominal pain, bloating, gas and flatulence. And there are other problems…
Of all grains and legumes ever studied, soybeans have one of the highest levels of phytic acid.(1) You encounter this acid in the hulls of the bean. It blocks the absorption of essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and especially zinc. The form phytic acid in soy is very resistant to phytic acid reducing techniques, such as long, slow cooking.(2)
Compounds in soybeans block the action of trypsin and other enzymes that digest protein. Normal cooking does not destroy these "anti-nutrients." This can cause stomach upset and lead to a chronic amino acid deficiency. In animal studies, diets high in trypsin inhibitors increase rates of diseases of the pancreas, including cancer.(3)
Soy has hemagglutinin, which causes clustering of red blood cells. This prevents the cells from absorbing oxygen properly. Hemagglutinin and trypsin inhibitors also act as "growth depressants" in animal studies.
These substances in soy are apparently natures plan for protecting the soy bean from predation by most animals
It is alarming that today, 60% of the food in America’s supermarkets contain unnaturally processed soy in some form. Some examples are soy flour, textured vegetable protein, partially hydrogenated soy bean oil and soy protein. Unfermented soy plays a very major role in the average American diet without real awareness of the average American eating the stuff. It’s in everything from snack foods and fast foods to cereals and prepackaged frozen meals.
Naturally fermenting soy deactivates the harmful substances. This is something Asian cultures have known for centuries. That’s why they eat fermented soy – like miso, tempeh and soy sauce. Eating small amounts of tofu with meat will minimize the mineral-blocking effects of phytates. The Japanese traditionally eat a small amount of tofu or miso as part of a mineral-rich fish broth, followed by a small serving of meat or fish.
Fermented soy, like miso and tempeh – which is 90% of the Asian soy diet – is not popular here in America. Yet soy products are some of the most profitable. So food makers take popular items like ice cream and burgers and turn them into soy ice cream and soy burgers. You should avoid these completely.
The best soy products are miso, tempeh, natto and soy sauce. Begin checking labels of packaged foods for added soy. The best bet for your health, once again, is to choose naturally occurring foods in their natural form as much as possible.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
1 Rackis, Joseph J, et al., "The USDA trypsin inhibitor study, Background, objectives and procedural details," Qualification of Plant Foods in Human Nutrition, 1985, vol 35
2 Ologhobo, AD, et al., "Distribution of phosphorus and phytates in some Nigerian varieties of legumes and some effects of processing," Journal of Food Science, Jan/Feb, 1984; 49(1):199-201
3 Rackis, Joseph J, et al., "The USDA trypsin inhibitor study, Background, objectives and procedural details," Qualification of Plant Foods in Human Nutrition, 1985, vol 35