Clearing Up the Myths & Secrets About Soy

Since I know its the time of year when the veil is thin and things go bump in the night, I thought it was a good time to clear up the myths about soy. Recently, I was asked a complex question on Linkedin regarding soy and hormones. I think my readers could benefit from my answer so I have decided to post the information to my website. I receive alot of questions about soy.

 

The Japanese, whose diet has been, and still is, very high in fermented soy, tend to have very low rates of breast and prostate cancer. One reason is due to the fact that active estrogen- and progesterone-like substances called phytoestrogens and phytoprogesterones are found in thousands of plant varieties they consume, specifically the soybean. If you are going to eat soy, purchase soy products that have been properly fermented and organically grown, and like everything else you eat, consume soy in moderation. (Many Americans tend to “over-do” a good-thing.)

 

Another positive characteristic of natural soy is the presence of the sterol diosgenin. Diosgenin is naturally abundant in plants such as the tropical wild yam and the soybean, and can be converted by the body into the exact molecule as human progesterone.

 

Diosgenin is actually used commercially to manufacture many types of pharmaceutical hormone products, including progesterone, DHEA, estrogen, testosterone, and the cortisones. Diosgenin’s molecular structure makes it a convenient laboratory precursor to human steroid hormones. The final laboratory product produces molecules identical to the ones found in the human body, and even though they are manufactured, we label them as natural hormones.

 

The core of soy safety rests with the chemical makeup of adulterated soy: the manufacturing of soy converts the presence of natural phytoestrogens (in the soybean plant) to toxic chemicals called xenoestrogens (a man made influence). Xenoestrogens mimic the female hormone estrogen, while its health effects can be lethal to the body’s hormonal system. Some studies in animals show that xenoestrogens can alter sexual development. But, research doesn’t show the same results concerning phytoestrogens in soy that has been properly fermented. In fact, the results show the opposite! The Japanese have historically consumed thirty times as much soy as North Americans, and have a lower incidence of cancers of the breast, uterus and prostate. The Western diet is typically deficient in phytoestrogens that by natural competition, block the more toxic and potent effects of xenoestrogens.

 

There are literally thousands of plants that contain sterols, and many vegetables are included in this category. Plant sterols are close relatives of human steroid hormones. In some cases your body will use the sterols to balance your hormones by filling hormone receptors. The phytoestrogens found in soybeans can take up estrogen receptors, but only have a very weak, if any at all, actual estrogenic activity in your body. Thus eating soy can be an indirect way of reducing estrogen effects by occupying your estrogen receptors with something besides estrogen itself.

Here lies a problem and a major point: the wild soybean is a different species from the soy we eat in modern America. Our soy is not “true” soy, and has little to no plant steroid activity due to human manufacturing and processing. And, the addition of chemical pesticides and fertilizers accelerates the conversion of phytoestrogens to xenoestrogens. So, we are not comparing apples to apples when we connect novel soy to “toxic” soy estrogens and to the increasing harmful soy concerns. Instead of faulting the “soy”, let’s closely examine blaming man’s “intervention” of soy as the problem. We need to further examine the fact that soy has been used safely for centuries in cultures throughout the world, and only within the past ten years in Westernized nations has there been a problem with consuming soy.

 

American soy has been GMO-d, contaminated, sprayed with pesticides, fertilized with toxic chemicals, and harvested and sent to market before being properly fermented. This is one reason many European countries such as France and Denmark, and Eastern European countries such as China, Taiwan, and Singapore have turned away ships exporting American soy to their countries. GMO soy, on the other hand, produces xenoestrogens, not the phytoestrogens found in whole foods and naturally fermented soy. Xenoestrogens are found in our modern petrochemically polluted world and are at the root of my primary concerns about modified soy. Another positive characteristic of natural soy is the presence of the sterol diosgenin. Diosgenin is naturally abundant in plants such as the tropical wild yam and the soybean, and can be converted by the body into the exact molecule as human progesterone.

 

Over ninety percent of American soy products are genetically modified, and the good ol’ USA can also claim having one of the highest percentages of food contamination due to pesticides. Another problem with processed soy is soy protein isolate (SPI). SPI is the key ingredient in most soy foods because it imitates the natural protein in meat and dairy products. The formation of SPI takes place in the factories when soybeans are first mixed with an alkaline solution to remove their fibers. Then, the soy is separated using an acid wash and, finally, neutralized in an alkaline solution. Next, the soy goes through an acid washing in aluminum tanks. As a result, manufactured soy can possess over 1000 percent more aluminum than conventional milk. And last but not least, the processed soy curds are sprayed – dried at high temperatures to produce high-protein powders. The original soybean has now undergone high – temperatures and high-pressure extrusion processing to produce textured soy vegetable protein. That’s not all. Nitrites (known carcinogens) are formed during the spraying-drying stage, and a toxin called “lysinoalanine” is formed during the alkaline processing. MSG and other artificial flavorings are added to the textured vegetable protein products primarily to mask the strong ‘bean” taste so to impart the flavor of meat.

 

Dr. Kaayla Daniel has written about the dangerous effects of soy in her book The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food. She reports that recent studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders and infertility, cancer, and heart disease. She describes the different types of soy, the macronutrients in soy, the anti-nutrients in soy, heavy metals found in soy, soy allergens, and soy estrogens. While this information rings true, we must address the differences between “original soy ‘ and “modern-day soy” in order to learn who and what to blame for this very serious problem. What modern man has done to the soybean must be differentiated from our concerns about soy itself.

When soy is not properly fermented, enzyme-inhibitors present in the soy remain, and can block the uptake of trypsin and other digestive enzymes the body needs for complete protein absorption. Mass production of soy will not neutralize these harmful anti-nutrients, which can cause gastric distress, reduced protein digestion, and can lead to deficiencies in amino acid uptake. Soybeans also contain hemagglutinin, a clot-promoting substance. Again, when soy is not properly fermented, the hemagglutinin can cause red blood cells to clump together. Generally, clustered blood cells cannot properly absorb oxygen for distribution into the body’s tissues, and are unable to assist in maintaining good cardiac health.

 

Fermenting soybeans does de-activate both hemagglutinin and trypsin inhibitors, but cooking and rapid processing do not. Soy products like tofu have reduced levels of these inhibitors. Soybeans also contain phytic acid, which all beans do. However, soybeans have higher levels of phytic acid than most other consumable legumes. Too much phytic acid at one meal can block the absorption of certain minerals, specifically magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc. Some studies claim that people in Third World Countries who have a high consumption of grains and soy also have deficiencies in these particular minerals.

 

Limit your use of soy to fermented and organic soy products only, like tempeh or miso. Purchase soy that is grown and processed “properly”, primarily from select foreign and specialized organic sources. Avoid GMO and domestically mass-produced soy products, and read labels carefully. Limit your daily consumption of soy, just as you limit your consumption of meats, dairy, and other foods. Treat soy consumption in Westernized nations with scrutiny, just as you do with tuna, farm-raised salmon, GMO grains, and highly processed dairy.