GROSS, or Get Rid Of Soy Society

On the food blog by Mr. Cabbage Head, he asks: So, is soy good for you? Soy has become very popular and has been pushed as a health food. We are lead to believe that it is a major component of the Asian diet, but this is not true. In Asian countries, soy is used more as a condiment and only in quantity after fermentation which reduces the danger.

SOY WAS INITIALLY GROWN AS A NITROGEN FIXER IN CROP ROTATION AND NOT USED AS A FOOD.

In 1913, soy was listed in the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) handbook as an INDUSTRIAL PRODUCT - not as a food. LET'S LOOK AT SOME OF THE REASONS WHY SOY IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH.

Phytic acid in soy: Soy contains high levels of phytic acid, which is not neutralized by the usual preparation methods. High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Vegetarians who consume soy as a major source of protein risk SERIOUS MINERAL DEFICIENCIES.

Haemagglutinin: The haemagglutinin in soy is a clot-promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together.

Vitamin D: Soy foods increase the body's need for vitamin D. This is serious given that many people are already vitamin D deficient. Vitamin D is needed by the body to fight cancer.

Vitamin B12: Soy contains vitamin B12 analogs. These are not absorbed and can actually increase the body's need for vitamin B12. This is especially a problem for vegetarians who need to be more diligent in obtaining vitamin B12.

Trypsin inhibitors in soy: The trypsin inhibitors in soy INTERFERE WITH PROTEIN DIGESTION and may cause pancreatic disorders. Animal based tests with soy containing trypsin inhibitors showed stunted growth.

Aluminium: Soy foods may contain high levels of aluminium which is toxic to both the nervous system and kidneys.

Accelerated brain aging: A study by Dr White of Japanese Americans living in Hawaii, showed a significant statistical relationship between two or more servings of tofu a week and accelerated brain aging. Those participants who consumed tofu in mid-life had lower cognitive function in late life and a GREATER INCIDENCE OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE AND DEMENTIA.

Phytoestrogens: The phytoestrogens in soy can disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and breast cancer in women.

Babies Fed Soy: Infants fed exclusively soy-based formula have up to 22,000 times more estrogen compounds in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula. This is the equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day. Premature development of girls has been linked to the use of soy formula, as has the under development of males.

SOY AND CANCER: The soy industry pushes soy as a cancer preventing food. On the contrary, soy contains toxins such as lysinoalanine and nitrosamines. Nitrosamines are highly carcinogenic. Laboratory rats fed soy develop thyroid cancer, pancreatic cancer and digestive cancers. Note that cancer preventing compounds are found only in fermented soy, not in tofu, soy milk and other soy products.

References: Alarcon P. et. al. Clinical trial of home available, mixed diets versus a lactose-free soy-protein formula for the dietary management of acute childhood diarrhea. Journal of Pediatric and Gastroenterol Nutrition. v.12 (2), Feb 1991.

As if all of this were not bad enough, I have just learned from some research that aproximately 95% of soy is genetically engineered to be pest resistant. Do you know what that means? It means that the seeds have their DNA modified by adding pesticide DNA, so that farmers won't have to spray the pesticides. If a pest eats the plant, any part of the plant, it will die. So if you eat soy, you are unknowingly eating pesticides! Disgusting!!! (On a side note, corn is 85% genetically engineered in the same way.)

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Try finding canned tuna without soy protein added. It is almost impossible. Why manufacturers can put out a product that is tuna and soy without labeling it as such is beyond me. It should have to say "Tuna and Soy", not "Tuna."

Try finding hot dogs without soy. Or canned chicken.
Or any frozen meals with a protein component.
The reason? Soy is easy and cheap to grow. But what about the cost to our bodies?

In the Texas prisons, inmates were fed a diet with mostly soy as an experiment, to save taxpayer money. Prison officials had to abandon the experiment because inmates were lethargic,(possibly thyroid related) and had severe abdominal problems including increased flatulence and cramping, plus constipation. This is not surprising since dieticians and doctors alike know that soy in the intestines gives off a compound that paralyzes the villi, the tiny hair like extensions in the wall of the intestine that push food along. So in sensitive individuals, digestion actually stops! This is a severe allergic reaction, and many people are walking around not knowing that this is happening to them, and are taking massive amounts of laxatives to counteract the effects of eating soy or soybean oil.

Besides just the hydrologized protein that is soy, the other way it is poisoning our bodies is in the amount of soybean oil that is in products that used to contain olive oil, canola oil, or corn oil. Almost all salad dressings, breads, chips, crackers, cereals, margarine,and prepared frozen foods contain it. Unfortunately the oil is even more insidious than the protein. For many people, using soybean oil will completely stop digestion, forcing them to use laxatives, and at the least, they will experience extreme flatulance. For some individuals, this will produce anal bleeding. Amazingly, stopping all soy will cause all these symptoms to disappear. But since it is in everything these days, it is very hard to eat at restaurants or buy frozen foods to eat. Only a diligent shopping excursion will allow you to buy a soy free diet.

And all of this is because soybeans are so easy and inexpensive to grow and stockpile and prepare for food. To get us to accept soy as a great food, the government embarked on a campaign to tout it as "heart healthy" and a boon to menopausal women because of the phytoestrogens, but all of this has been discredited.

Here is an exerpt of an article about soy advertising:

Promotion of modern, industrially processed soy products should be viewed with skepticism. This is a huge and powerful industry. Archer Daniel Midlands, the world's major soy processor, spends heavily on advertising, especially for news programs on major networks. The company spent $4.7 million for advertising on "Meet the Press" and $4.3 million on "Face the Nation" during the course of a year.

ADM also has holdings in major newspapers. Naturally, the press presents soy in a favorable light. ADM lobbies heavily in Washington, and supports university research programs. ADM president Dwayne Andreas is a fanatic about spreading soy-based food around the world. There's a lot in it for him- but not much in it for us. Consumer beware. There is no joy in soy--it's a ploy.
~Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PHD

$4 Million in Research Grants to Examine Soy Health Benefits. The soybean checkoff's Soy Health Research Program solicits research proposals to study soy consumption and its impact on the prevention of osteoporosis, breast cancer, prostate cancer and the health benefits of isoflavones, a component of soy protein. Scientists submit research proposal applications to USB and, if their applications are selected, USB awards a $10,000 grant to scientists to help defray the cost of preparing the proposal submission to the NIH. In 2000, the very first year of the program, it yielded a $1.2 million NIH grant. Since then, an additional $4 million has been secured.

Multiple millions of dollars are spent on soy research each year. Most State Soybean Boards fund their own research programmes (e.g., Arkansas Soybean Board which spent US$1.1 Million in research in 1998-1999) but the grants offered are insignificant when compared with that of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The USDA Soybean Promotion and Research Program was established by the Soybean Promotion and Research Order and is authorised by the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Act [7 U.S.C. 6301-6311]. The Act was passed as part of the 1990 Farm Bill. It authorized the establishment of a national soybean promotion, research, and consumer information program. The program became effective on July 9, 1991, when the Order was published. Assessments began September 1, 1991.

As required by the Act, USDA conducted a referendum among soybean producers on February 9, 1994, to determine whether the program should continue. Of the 85,606 valid ballots cast, 53.8 percent of soybean producers voting favoured the program. As required by the Act, USDA conducted a producer poll on July 26, 1995, to determine whether producers supported conducting a referendum to determine if refunds should continue. Only 48,782 producers participated in the poll--less than the 76,200 required to cause a refund referendum to be conducted. Refunds were discontinued on October 1, 1995.

The program's goal is to strengthen the position of soybeans in the marketplace and to maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets and uses for soybeans and soybean products. It is funded by a mandatory assessment of 0.5 of 1 percent of the net market price of soybeans. All producers marketing soybeans must pay the assessment. Assessments under this program total approximately $80 million annually and are used to fund promotional and informational campaigns and to conduct research with the objective of expanding and improving the use of soybeans and soybean products.

You can read more about the USDA Soybean Promotion and Research Program at the United Soybean Board Site.
Of course there's nothing wrong with research, but Soy Online Service thinks that the motivation for research should be the honest search for scientific truth (remember the good old days!!). The vast majority of current USDA and industry funded soy research is obscenely slanted toward the benefits of soy. And, what do you know? Soy cures cancer! Little surprise soy consumption is up, the soy magnates are laughing all the way to the bank and the US economy also gets a nice little boost.

Well the facts are that if you believe the industry message about how great soy is then you are just another sucker. Soy Online Service views the soy industry as the worst type of scum on the face of the earth; happy to promote dubious health claims and take your money, while at the same time endangering more than a million soy formula fed babies each year.

You can read more of this report and more soy facts at SoyOnlineService

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Soy Dangers Summarized

High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking, but only with long fermentation. High-phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.

Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals, soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.

Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.

Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.

Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body's requirement for B12.

Soy foods increase the body's requirement for Vitamin D. Toxic synthetic Vitamin D2 is added to soy milk.

Fragile proteins are over-denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.

Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.

Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods to mask soy's unpleasant taste.

Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum, which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.

Myths and Truths About Soy
Here we dispel the myths of the "Diet Dictocrats" and reveal the scientific validity behind our wise ancestors' nutrient-dense diets.

Myth: Use of soy as a food dates back many thousands of years.

Truth: Soy was first used as a food during the late Chou dynasty (1134-246 BC), only after the Chinese learned to ferment soybeans to make foods like tempeh, natto and tamari.

Myth: Asians consume large amounts of soy foods.

Truth: Average consumption of soy foods in Japan and China is 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons) per day. Asians consume soy foods in small amounts as a condiment, and not as a replacement for animal foods.

Myth: Modern soy foods confer the same health benefits as traditionally fermented soy foods.

Truth: Most modern soy foods are not fermented to neutralize toxins in soybeans, and are processed in a way that denatures proteins and increases levels of carcinogens.

Myth: Soy foods provide complete protein.

Truth: Like all legumes, soybeans are deficient in sulfur-containing amino acids methionine and cystine. In addition, modern processing denatures fragile lysine.

Myth: Fermented soy foods can provide vitamin B12 in vegetarian diets.

Truth: The compound that resembles vitamin B12 in soy cannot be used by the human body: in fact, soy foods cause the body to require more B12

Myth: Soy formula is safe for infants.

Truth: Soy foods contain trypsin inhibitors that inhibit protein digestion and affect pancreatic function. In test animals, diets high in trypsin inhibitors led to stunted growth and pancreatic disorders. Soy foods increase the body's requirement for vitamin D, needed for strong bones and normal growth.

Phytic acid in soy foods results in reduced bioavailabilty of iron and zinc, which are required for the health and development of the brain and nervous system. Soy also lacks cholesterol, likewise essential for the development of the brain and nervous system.

Megadoses of phytoestrogens in soy formula have been implicated in the current trend toward increasingly premature sexual development in girls and delayed or retarded sexual development in boys.

Myth: Soy foods can prevent osteoporosis.

Truth: Soy foods can cause deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D, both needed for healthy bones. Calcium from bone broths and vitamin D from seafood, lard and organ meats prevent osteoporosis in Asian countries-not soy foods.

Myth: Modern soy foods protect against many types of cancer.

Truth: A British government report concluded that there is little evidence that soy foods protect against breast cancer or any other forms of cancer. In fact, soy foods may result in an increased risk of cancer.

Myth: Soy foods protect against heart disease.

Truth: In some people, consumption of soy foods will lower cholesterol, but there is no evidence that lowering cholesterol with soy protein improves one's risk of having heart disease.

Myth: Soy estrogens (isoflavones) are good for you.

Truth: Soy isoflavones are phyto-endocrine disrupters. At dietary levels, they can prevent ovulation and stimulate the growth of cancer cells. Eating as little as 30 grams (about 4 tablespoons) of soy per day can result in hypothyroidism with symptoms of lethargy, constipation, weight gain and fatigue.

Myth: Soy foods are safe and beneficial for women to use in their postmenopausal years.

Truth: Soy foods can stimulate the growth of estrogen-dependent tumors and cause thyroid problems. Low thyroid function is associated with difficulties in menopause.

Myth: Phytoestrogens in soy foods can enhance mental ability.

Truth: A recent study found that women with the highest levels of estrogen in their blood had the lowest levels of cognitive function; In Japanese Americans tofu consumption in mid-life is associated with the occurrence of Alzheimer's disease in later life.

Myth: Soy isoflavones and soy protein isolate have GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) status.

Truth: Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) recently withdrew its application to the FDA for GRAS status for soy isoflavones following an outpouring of protest from the scientific community. The FDA never approved GRAS status for soy protein isolate because of concern regarding the presence of toxins and carcinogens in processed soy.

Myth: Soy foods are good for your sex life.

Truth: Numerous animal studies show that soy foods cause infertility in animals. Soy consumption enhances hair growth in middle-aged men, indicating lowered testosterone levels.

Myth: Soybeans are good for the environment.

Truth: Most soybeans grown in the US are genetically engineered to allow farmers to use large amounts of herbicides.

Myth: Soybeans are good for developing nations.

Truth: In third-world countries, soybeans replace traditional crops and transfer the value-added of processing from the local population to multinational corporations.

Soy Infant Formula: Birth Control Pills for Babies
Babies fed soy-based formula have 13,000 to 22,000 times more estrogen compounds in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula. Infants exclusively fed soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent of at least four birth control pills per day.

Male infants undergo a testosterone surge during the first few months of life, when testosterone levels may be as high as those of an adult male. During this period, baby boys are programmed to express male characteristics after puberty, not only in the development of their sexual organs and other masculinity traits, but also in setting patterns in the brain characteristic of male behavior.

In animals, studies indicate that phytoestrogens in soy are powerful endocrine disrupters. Soy infant feeding -- which floods the bloodstream with female hormones that inhibit testosterone -- cannot be ignored as a possible cause of disrupted development patterns in boys, including learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder.

Male children exposed to DES, a synthetic estrogen, had testes smaller than normal on maturation and infant marmoset monkeys fed soy isoflavones had a reduction in testosterone levels up to 70 percent compared to milk-fed controls.

Almost 15 percent of white girls and 50 percent of African-Americans girls show signs of puberty, such as breast development and pubic hair, before the age of eight. Some girls are showing sexual development before the age of three. Premature development of girls has been linked to the use of soy formula and exposure to environmental estrogen-mimickers such as PCBs and DDE.

Intake of phytoestrogens even at moderate levels during pregnancy can have adverse affects on the developing fetus and the timing of puberty later in life.

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Here are some symptoms of soy intolerance or allergy:

Severe Abdominal Cramping
Weight Gain
Puffiness
Irregular Menstruation
Inordinant Flatulence (Bad Gas)
Inability to Pass Gas
Anal Bleeding
Stomach Aches
Intestinal Pain
Lumps under the Arm or on the Neck
Lethargy (Severe lack of energy)
Constipation
Shortness of Breath after eating
Swollen Tongue
Swollen Eyes
Migrane Headaches
Sinus Infections
Hives
Thyroid Disease

If you have any of these symptoms, try stopping all soy, especially the oil, and see if you get better. I would bet on it.

Then we come to the issue of soy. Even the conservative US government has recognized that soy formula is a potent endocrine disruptor. There is absolutely no reason to ever give your child soy formula or soy milk. It is one of the worst foods you could possibly give your child and the long-term health complications can be quite significant.

Prostate and breast cancer, early puberty, endometriosis and infertility, irregular and painful menstrual periods are only a few of the things your children will have increased risk for if they are given soy formula or soy milk.

If you have already given your child these foods the best way to reverse the damage is to have them rigidly follow the eating plan. The nutrition from whole organic foods is the most potent corrective force for these disruptions in hormones.

If you still aren't convinced of the dangers of soy you might want to review the protest letter two FDA experts wrote earlier this year which points to studies that show a link between soy and health problems in certain animals.

Don't believe the hype: Soy can't cure cancer

Soy represents a $4 billion industry built on the filthiest lies and the flimsiest so-called science - including the latest nonsense.

A new study claims a lipid in soy can help fight colon cancer. That's led to the usual wave of nonsensical headlines that might make you think soy is already a proven cancer cure.

But hold the tofu - because the only thing soy is proven to do is make you sicker and weaker... and if you're male, it'll make you less of a man, too.

The new study, published in the journal Cancer Research, finds that sphingadienes give fruit flies some kind of protection from mutant cancer cells. And because soy contains this lipid, they're drawing the conclusion that soy fights cancer.

PUH-leeze!

This isn't a conclusion - it's massive leap of logic.

Not only is it highly unlikely that soy will cure anything, let alone cancer, but this junk is about as dangerous a substance that's ever been sold as food.

Soy contains hormones that mimic estrogen. They do such a good job of it, your body even thinks it's estrogen.

That's why soy products have been linked to breast cancer in women, and prostate problems and sexual dysfunction in men. Research has also found a connection to heart disease, allergies, compromised immune systems, thyroid problems, nutritional deficiencies and digestive problems.

And all the whacked-out vegans and hippy health-food nuts who swear by soy are clearly eating too much of it - because another one of its side effects is declining mental function.

Here's what you need to know about colon cancer: Catch it early, and you're fine, no tofu necessary. Colonoscopies are one of the few reliable cancer screening tests. If you're due for one, get it done - and if you care at all about staying healthy, skip the soy.

Tossing the tofu into the trash,

William Campbell Douglass II, M.D.

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Don't buy any products with Soybean oil in them. Ditto soy isolate, hydrologyzed protein, soy flour.
This will be hard! Since it is so cheap, it is in everything now. But it can be done; you just might have to make more food the old fashioned way and be diligent in your shopping. Read all labels.

Write your congressman(or email) and tell them you want it out of our food supply and labeled on everything it is in. If it says tuna, it should not be part soy.
Write your food manufacturers and tell them you won't buy their products with soy. Money still talks.
Tell the deli people that you can't have soy and you want only soy free baked goods.
Don't give it to your pets either. It's not good for any of us.

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