By Gisela Hoffman
- 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.
- Soy also contains hemagglutinin a clot-promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together.
- Soy beans 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.
- Soy also contains goitrogens, substances that depress thyroid function.
- 99% of the soy on the market today is genetically modified. It also contains the highest percentage 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.
- 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 the soy beans is through the use of solvents such as hexane and acetone. Traces of these carcinogens remain in the soy oils available at the supermarkets.
- Even fermented soy (like tempeh, miso and soy sauce) cannot be relied on for a complete meat substitute. In the Orient, tempeh is served with rice to complete the protein. On the positive side, most of the phytates have been inactivated in fermented soy products.
- Soy supplements have been touted 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, and increasingly wealthy industry that takes 1% of the market price from the farmers in order to “research” (i.e., advertise) soy products. (Total of $80 million per year.)
- 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.
- Soy Particulate Isolates (SPI), such as TVP, are highly processed soy beans 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.
- Soy milk based infant formulas are dangerous. In the 1930s, 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 I.Q.s, and are smaller. They also have higher incidences of diabetes. Behavioral 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 phytoestrogen in soy are suspected to be responsible for mental retardation, stunted growth, deaf mutism, digestive problems, etc. The amount of phytoestrogens that a baby on soy formula ingests per day is equivalent to 5 birth-control pills.
- The final point on soy products is the isoflavones, phytoestrogens much-touted by the press and by advertisements 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.
Some additional references (The internet is full of soy info.):
www.mercola.com (Look for Aug 20, 2000 article—as well as others.)
Enig MG, Fallon SA, Tragedy and Hype, the Third International Soy Symposium, Nexus Magazine Vol 7, No 3, April-May 2000
