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To soy or not to soy?
February 16, 2007 | 5 Comments
Soy is often touted as the magic food. The isoflavones in it, it is claimed, can lower cholesterol, prevent prostate and breast cancer, ward off osteoperosis, aid weight loss, pay your mortgage … you get the drift. Many companies selling soy substitutes to meat makes these claims, as do those who advocate soymilk as a substitute for cow’s milk.
Then, there is the counter-charge by those who claim that the estrogen-like effects of isoflavones can actually stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells, and affect cognitive functions.
Who’s right? Both are partly right and/or partly wrong, states nutritionist and Eat To Live guru Dr. Joel Fuhrman.
At this time, consensus is building that soy food intake during adolescence, a time when breast tissue is most sensitive to environmental stimuli and carcinogenesis, may reduce the risk of breast cancer later in life. Beyond adolescence, the results on soy and breast cancer are more difficult to discern, especially since dietary influence on cancer is greater before adulthood compared to after.
…….there is fear that soy isoflavones may have detrimental effects in women with breast cancer or those with a history of breast cancer due to the estrogen-like effect of isoflavones. Concerns are based primarily on the estrogen-like effects of isoflavones and the results form one rodent study which showed that in immunocompromised mice with their overies surgically removed to abolish estrogen production, certain soy products and isoflavones stimulated the growth of exisiting estrogen-sensitive mammary tumors.
To summarize, there are two contradictory claims being made about soy. One is that soy is protective against breast cancer and should be recommended for consumption by healthy women and breast cancer patients. The other is that soy is harmful for women with a history of or at high risk for breast cancer and because of this should be avoided by such women. There is actually a lack of convincing evidence to endorse either claim. Beans in general have dramatic benefits to protect against breast cancer. A healthy diet includes a variety of beans, and not a disproportionate share of calories from any one food. Some soy beans or tofu added to a healthy diet should not be expected to be a risk or offer significant benefit…..
Soy may not be a super-food (such as broccoli) but the preponderance of evidence does not suggest that eating moderate amounts of unprocessed (edamame or soy beans) or lightly processed (tofu or soy milk) soy creates hypothyroidism or causes cancer. Processed foods, because of their low nutrient levels, high amount of salt, acrylamides and other toxic additives should not be considered healthy. Vegetarians and vegans who eat tofu-turkey, soy burgers, soy ice cream, soy hot dogs, soy cheese and other soy-derived processed foods on a regular basis are certainly not eating a healthy diet……
Lastly, there are some legitimate health concerns from soy-based infant formulas. Why should that be a surprise, since the beneficial health effects from breast milk is not even closely approximated by infant formulas. The fact that soy formulas may be worse than cow’s milk based formulas because of higher aluminum content or high isoflavone content does not criminalize the soy bean.
Simply stated, if you want the real health benefits of soy,
1. Consume unprocessed or slightly processed soy products (like shelled edamame, tofu, soymilk and soy yogurt)
2. Buy organic. 80% of the soy grown in the U.S. is genetically modified, and involves the use of toxic pesticides and chemicals. Organic soy is safer.
3. Avoid sodium-laden processed soy products like soy burgers and tofurky-type things that have a lower nutrient density.
4. Avoid isolated soy protein in the form of powders and shakes.
5. Don’t go overboard. Limit quantities to two to three times a week.
As a daily substitute for dairy milk, rice milk and almond milk are great options.
If you’re a sensational, dedicated chef like Bryanna Clark Grogan, you’ll make your Not-Beany Creamy Soymilk at home. If you are lazy bums like Jai and Bee, you’ll amble over to the store to get yours.
Choosing soy milk
Soymilk often is associated with a nasty ‘C’ word, and that’s carrageenan.
Connections have been drawn between degraded carrageenan and gastrointestinal cancer.
Unfortunately, most of the refrigerated soymilk brands like Silk and 8th Continent have carrageenan in them. Most oriental markets sell pure soy milk, sweetened or unsweetened, without additives. VitaSoy, Trader Joes’s, Eden Soy, West Soy, Soy Dream etc. are other carrageenan-free brands. These are usually found in tetra packs in the regular aisles. Watch out, though. Product lines within the same brand may differ. Soy Dream original does not have carrageenan, Soy Dream Plus does. Reading labels is key. Another thing that vegans and vegetarians need to watch out for is the red colouring in strawberry soy milk. Some brands (like Trader Joe’s strawberry soy milk) use ‘carmine’, aka beetle juice. Not kosher.
Filed Under: 64-days, 64-Ways, Almond, cancer, carrageenan, choosing-soy-milk, isoflavones, NUTRITION, soy-milk-brands, Soy/Tofu/Tempeh, soymilk, Tofu, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes
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5 Comments
[...] Check out Bee’s article – To Soy or not to soy? [...]
[...] pod. Eat it in the form of shelled bean, tofu, tempeh, granules, milk, yogurt….. (more on soy here). Marinating and baking is one of our favorite ways to cook tofu. You can always switch the [...]
I’ve been told that sprouting the soybeans, (not the easiest bean to sprout, actually) then cooking it is a healthy way to consume soymilk. I made it this way, and it doesn’t give my stomach distress the way the store bought soymilk does. And, as you say, using organic beans, also.
Vita Soy has red Irish moss which is carrageenan… And I am holding an Original Soy Dream that also has carrageenan in it…
Extremely useful and well put-together. Thank you!