Beware Of Soy!

[mart]

This is horrible news. I've relied on Boost Plus nutritional drink to help my little celiac disease son recover, and it has soy! He eats so little, yet this drink has helped him gain almost 9 pounds in 8 months. I really hope food manufacturers are on top of this.

[lonewolf]

I don't think that small amounts of soy are what is harmful. Using soy baby formula, drinking large quantities of soy milk or relying on soy for most of your protein needs is the danger. Small amounts like in soy sauce, soy lecithin etc. are not going to be harmful unless you are highly allergic.

[elye]

elye -- Is your dog a Standard Poodle? beautiful and smart. Smarter than some humans I know.

You betcha...Man, this guy is smarter than I am...It's obvious to me why standard poodles are the chosen breed for circus performers--humbling intelligence, an obsession with performing, a great sense of fun and humour--and great company. Can't get a better breed. And he tolerates gluten perfectly.

[Kasey'sMom]

I try to avoid soy as much as I can, but it's hard. Margarine is soy. Mayo is soy. Crisco and every other store brand/off brand "vegetable" shortening is soy. "Vegetable" oil is soy. Even a lot of peanut butter is soy - Peter Pan peanut butter isn't if you can find it.

I use canola oil now, and canola mayo most of the time. I don't bake as much as I used to, of course, but will have to use Crisco for certain recipes during the holidays if I want to try to recreat them gluten-free. I figure I'm getting a lot less soy that I would if I didn't try to sub as much as possible.

My dd is allergic to soy. We use Spectrum Organic Shortening. The shortening is gluten-free and soy free. I've found it is a great alternative to traditional shortening. I use is for cookies, pie crusts, icing etc.

[MallysMama]

[aaascr]

I am highly allergic to soy (along with a bunch of other foods)

and it, like gluten is in nearly everything - it is a cheap filler

for processed foods...

For those who asked about eliminating it:

For cooking oil/margarine spread there are always coconut oil,

and Olive oil as choices.

I eat a vegan diet and can't have nuts or beans so my food choices are

definitely limited but there are alternative choices out there. You

have to be prepared to cook and concoct though....

[Mango04]

We need to keep in mind that the majority of soy people eat is genetically modified and sprayed with saturated amounts of carcinogenic herbicides. Run a google search for genically modified soy and see what comes up.

Here's one example:

Open Original Shared Link

The first sentence of the article states that soy is the number one cash crop in America....

[Carriefaith]

The majority of the food that we eat can have hormones, pesticides, bacteria, or be genetically modified. I always try and buy orgnaic food whenever possible. Organic is more expensive, but the food is worth the extra cost to me.

[Mango04]

The majority of the food that we eat can have hormones, pesticides, bacteria, or be genetically modified. I always try and buy orgnaic food whenever possible. Organic is more expensive, but the food is worth the extra cost to me.

Good point!!!!!

[lapetit8]

I've heard the negativity about soy...but isn't their adverse effects to almost everything? I mean one week we are supposed to eat soy and the next we should avoid it. My doctor tells me to consume soy products to help with inflammation.

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

Keep listening to doctor(s) = keep being sick! Or live in denial. Like most people that find out the hard way...

[lapetit8]

Keep listening to doctor(s) = keep being sick! Or live in denial. Like most people that find out the hard way...

Personally, I feel better when consuming soy products.

[loraleena]

I agree with silly yak. The medical community is messed up. You should all read Natural Cures They don't Want you to know about. Asian cultures only eat fermented soy and very small amount. It is also not gen. modified. Interestingly they still have the highest rates of thyroid cancer. Americans never do anything in moderation. The worst soy offender is hydrolyzed soy protein (in lots of fake meat products). This stuff is poison!!

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

lapetit8 -- You'll see like I did in time. You'll get sick(er) and wonder why... It's poison! I found out the hard way. It took me about 5 year.

[Robix]

Hello,

I am going to weigh in here too on the importance of not eating soy - especially women, children, and triple underscore prepubescent girls.

I (until recently) spent my life as a vegetarian, and have been consuming soy as a staple for years. I am also a fitness professional and have been a leader in my fitness community for 16 years. I just went to a workshop in NYC where I spent one entire day on The effects of nutrition on women's health, with another day on the effects of nutrition on hormones.

One was a professional researcher specialized in nutrition, the other was an endocrinologist.

Both of them (and they are not associated, these were two different seminars) said categorically that we need to counsel our clients (in the fitness industry) away from (are you ready for it?!!!) ta-da:

Wheat

Dairy

Soy

Non-organic foods

Sugar substitutes of all kinds

Now I spent hours on each of these and their affects on the endocrinological system and hormonal balance - but essentially with regards to soy - they said that soy is a phyto-estrogen. In other words, it is a plant source of very strong female hormones. The reason soy is proliferating in north-america is because it is the cheapest source of protein and therefore a very cheap food additive in the packaged food industry. In other words, it is big business.

They went on to explain exactly and in detail how soy deregulates hormones in the body, affecting the thyroid and our body's ability to regulate the sex hormones (estrogen, progesterone and testosterone). It also (being estrogen) signals the body to accumulate fat (which may be good for some of us!!!) and has been directly linked to the rise in severe PMS-syndromes, endometriosis, infertility, impotence (viagra makers are happy!) and early-pubescence in girls - oh, and I forget - contributes to gthe onset of IBS and other GI diseases (ahem - celiac) as the mega-doses of estrogen are absobed in the intestine thereby causing chronic inflamation in the gut.

I was devestated to hear all this - but scared straight. You should see my fridge, I have been living off of soy. I have hundreds of dollars worth of edemame and tofu in my fridge and freezer. Sigh. Garbage. Not to mention that now that I have been reading labels extra-carefully lately, soy seems to be in everything.

In a nutshell they both recomended a caveman-style diet consistent with the evolution of our still very animal-like digestive systems:

Meat/fish/chicken/game/shellfish of organic sources

Vegetables of organic sources

Some seeds

minimul nuts (excluding the peanut)

some wild rices

water to drink (no alcohol, damn - we live off red-wine in here in french-speaking Canada)

No processed foods, no grains, no soy, no dairy

After seeing all the research, and checking off alll my own side-effects, I am absolutedly convinced.

I have been a vegetarian fitness instructor for 16 years, under 35 - there is no reason in hell I should be this sick. Now I know exactly why, because my notion of healthy nutrition was wrong. And because I read fitness magazines that are sponsored by health food manufacturers. They won't print any of the research that could affect their sponsors.

Ok....this is turning into a book....ACK! Sorry to be so long winded. If I find the web links to my two professors, I will add to my entry later - check back tonight if you want to read more.

[lapetit8]

lapetit8 -- You'll see like I did in time. You'll get sick(er) and wonder why... It's poison! I found out the hard way. It took me about 5 year.

I have been tested for soy allergies/intolerances both of which I do not have. When I was younger I had a severe intolerance to lactose along with an allergy to all cow's milk. However, I tolerated soy products fine. I read through your websites and I don't have any of the symptoms that soy causes in "susceptible individuals." I have heard from friends that their is some recent evidence that soy is not good for one to consume, which is why I don't overdose on it or eat it that often. I am just saying that my headaches seem to go away when I have soy milk which is why I still drink it on occassion. And please do not tell me that I will see in time. It took me 16 years of being sick to get diagnosed with Celiac Disease and 5 years of symptoms to be diagnosed with a rare brain abnormality. I've seen some of the supposed "best" doctors in the country and if anyone understands about not always trusting doctors it is me.

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

Robix -- The speakers you wrote of the professional researcher specialized in nutrition, and the endocrinologist do you think they would be interseted in our fight in Washington??? We here mahny of us are forming a very large grassroot group that are going to take on the 'big guys' and fight for your lives. And the lives of future generation to come. The only way we are going to save our lives is to fight back. Let us know your feeling on the professional you mentioned and if you can get them involved.

lapetit8 -- I also couldn't tolerate dairy as a baby and my parnets put me on soy. You WILL see, believe me/us, or not, suit yourself. Look DEEPER for the reason why you wrote "It took me 16 years of being sick to get diagnosed with Celiac Disease and 5 years of symptoms to be diagnosed with a rare brain abnormality." Be in denial if you choose, you choice. I write this with love and care in my heart...

[lapetit8]

lapetit8 -- I also couldn't tolerate dairy as a baby and my parnets put me on soy. You WILL see, believe me/us, or not, suit yourself. Look DEEPER for the reason why you wrote "It took me 16 years of being sick to get diagnosed with Celiac Disease and 5 years of symptoms to be diagnosed with a rare brain abnormality." Be in denial if you choose, you choice. I write this with love and care in my heart...

Believe me, I did look deeper. If cutting soy from my diet is going to make me turn out like you than I think I will start adding more soy products. And seriously, I don't mind you having an opinion but you shouldn't personally attack people on a Celiac Disease message board. I understand soy may not be the best thing to always consume but one could say the same about refined sugar, meat, dairy, processed foods, etc.

[tarnalberry]

Most of the studies on soy that have actually been able to show any true negative effects have been done with fairly high 'doses' in uncontrolled self-reported memory-recalled diet studies. These aren't exactly reliable accounts, and there are a lot of things that are perfectly safe in some doses that are harmful in high doses. While I think we can say, at this point, that soy is no miracle food, the controlled sciences offer no evidence that it's a horror food. (I say this of non-GMO soy, actually. The effects of GMO soy in humans hasn't been shown to have harmful effects, but there are some scary studies, genetically speaking, on the soy itself.)

[Carriefaith]

(I say this of non-GMO soy, actually. The effects of GMO soy in humans hasn't been shown to have harmful effects, but there are some scary studies, genetically speaking, on the soy itself.)

Like the brazil nut genetically modified soybeans.

[eleep]

I'm going to weigh in here on the phyto-estrogen thing (plant-originating estrogens -- like that in soy) -- keep in mind that I'm a researcher on science and culture -- not an actual scientist -- so I'm trying to use scientific principles to the best of my knowledge, but I really lack the advanced organic chemistry to know for sure.

My understanding is that the concerns about phyto-estrogens are still largely inconclusive -- that many of the hypotheses about their dangers are based on the very real dangers stemming from the synthetic estrogens that were recommended, until recently, to treat things like menopausal symptoms.

My instinct in this is to think that the problems with synthetic estrogens (which, by the way, are more related to animal-based estrogens) may turn out to be similar to the recent finding that plant-based fats are, in fact, healthy and necessary in a way that animal-based fats are not -- that is, the plant-based estrogens may actually be okay. This is more instinct here than scientific certainty, so take it for what it's worth.

Having said all of this, I am very concerned about these issues with GMO soys -- Tiffany, I would be very interested in finding some sources for non-GMO soy products -- I do eat edamame, tofu, tempeh and non-wheat soy sauce in small quantities. Maybe I should start another thread on this at some point.

I'm also interested in this fermented vs. non-fermented soy issue.

[ms-sillyak-screwed]

lapetit8 --- I sincerely apologize from the bottom of my heart. I meant nothing but for you to be well and have good heath. I'm very sorry you are sick. Sorry sometimes the computer can be rather impersonal. I wish you only the best (((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))

I write this with love and care in my heart...

[trents]

My guess its like a lot of other foods. It can be good for you in modest quantities but bad when used to excess. We are a nation of concentrators and supersizers. Of course, like many other foods, there are those individuals who have an allergy/intolerance/sensitivity to it who need to avoid it altogther.

[tarnalberry]

Like the brazil nut genetically modified soybeans.

I was thinking of the Russian research on Monsanto Roundup-Ready soy on rats cutting age at death in half when fed GMO soy-based diets instead of non-GMO soy-based diets. It appeared to actually be a decently designed study, enough so to warrant further study, though not actually draw real conclusions.

Additionally, I was thinking of the studies on the soy genome itself. There have been studies on crops of soy in farms that didn't use Monsanto soy that now have the genes in them. (Part of the reason this came up is that Monsanto wants to sue the farmers whose fields were contaminated with their plants genes, because they have the patents on those genes - the plants aren't supposed to be able to reproduce.) What's worse than the spread of the genes, however, is the fact that even the intentionally planted GMO crops are very hard to study because the rate of mutation of the genome is incredibly high. *THAT* scares me more than the effect of the potential effects of the intended mutations on humans.

[Carriefaith]

I have never heard of those studies. Interesting how these studies are not publically advertised. I'm hoping that Monsanto doen't continue to market those soybeans. Do you know?