The Truth About Soy

Here’s the truth about soy; soy in the past has been the bee’s knees for a hard core vegan. And for good reasons like it’s punch of protein and wonderful phytonutrients. And for years now people of put soy on a pedestal, nutritionally speaking, until now.

Is it all it’s cracked up to be. The answer may be no. Dangers of soy have been coming up more and more in products like soy protein powders, soy formulas, or plain old soy lecithin (commonly described as an emulsifier to prevent clumping). Turns out soy may be more harmful to our health than helpful.

This “super bean” has been linked to possibly increasing the risk of cancer, causing hormonal disturbance and stunting growth in our children. Need I say more? Well, I’m going to! Here’s a look at the hidden dangers of soy.

What is Soy?

Before we dive into what soy’s dangers are I’d like to explain what it is! Soy is derived from the soybean plant that is largely harvested in the US, Brazil and East Asia.

The plant itself is a hairy little pod that sprouts huge beans typically classified as “oilseeds”. This is due to the fact that about 60% of its composition is protein and oil (40% protein and 20% oil). The remaining 40% of the soybean consist of isoflavones and some questionable properties like phytoestrogen. We’ll be coming back to this in a minute.

So where can you find soy in your food? Well for one it’s being added to more and more products than I can count in the form of soy lecithin and soybean oil, but you’ll also find it in tofu, soy protein powders, yogurts, soy milk, cereals, crackers, baby formula, dairy substitutes, meat products with fillers, sauces such as teriyaki and worcestershire, tempeh, miso etc…

The Truth About Soy

I don’t beat around the bush, okay. A big reason I’m not a soy lover – over 90% of soy produced in the US is genetically modified. That means it isn’t riddled with pesticides but in fact is sprayed with herbicides. These herbicides act as carcinogens in the body. Carcinogens are substances capable of causing cancer in living tissue.  No human should be exposed to carcinogens that can eventually lead to various forms of cancer. Furthermore, genetically modified soy has repeatedly been found with a multitude of other harmful chemicals in it due to it’s GMO roots.

For this very reason, many countries refuse to import genetically modified soy products from the US and other main distributors. Raw, organic soy is usually what is in demand. But even raw soy cannot be consumed as it is. It possesses a toxic metal base that must still be treated with a “wet” heat before being made ready for consumption. Therefore, no longer being considered “raw”.

You also have anti nutrients in soy, which do exactly as they sound and affect the body in a negative manner. So to offset the anti nutrients that naturally occur in soy, manufacturers treat it once again.

All of this processing increases the levels of phytic acid in the soy which actually reduces a person’s’ ability to digest and absorb calcium, vitamin D, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. This obviously is very very bad and causes stunted growth in children, and illness and autoimmune disease in adults.  

Wait there’s more…

Goitrogens are in soy which is what alters your thyroid function and wreaks havoc on ones metabolism. So much so it’s now being researched on if it’s adding to or causing our obesity, hashimoto disease, and thyroid cancer epidemic (all of which can begin in infancy). There are also high levels of aluminum and manganese in soy which are toxic to the nervous system, kidneys and metabolic system.

Remember earlier when I mentioned other questionable properties that make of the other 40% of soy? Phytoestrogens (PHYTO – ESTROGENS) is the main additional component that could be disastrous to our health. This along with all of the other harmful things I’ve listed above is a contributing factor to hormonal disturbances in the body. I’m not just talking increased estrogen or altered testosterone levels in men. I believe these phytoestrogens are causing chemical imbalance in the brain, and complete changes in our hormone panels. It literally destroys you on a cellular level!

Women, BEWARE!

Isoflavones in soy can react violently in the human digestive and endocrine system, blocking cell communication and natural human estrogen, causing infertility and possibly even leading to breast cancer.

Phytates in soy can block how a woman’s body absorbs essential nutrients which help to fight illness and build strong immune systems and bones. Iron and calcium deficiencies are two usual byproducts of this.

Textured vegetable protein is rendered through a process of denaturing soy proteins. The results of that are your various incarnations of soy meal replacements that may have hidden levels of toxic agents and are equally hard to digest. These products can cause clumping in the intestines and even disrupt bladder and bowel function.

Then there is the elephant in the room. Soy lecithin. It’s in a TON of “health” food products specifically targeted to women.

Soy lecithin dangers include:

• Diarrhea
• Weight gain and metabolic disease
• Nausea and vomiting
• Skin Rashes
• Blurred vision and vertigo
• Fainting and lightheadedness
• Impaired brain function – “chronic brain fog”
• Lack of energy and stamina, feeling weak

There is the study Cornell University conducted on 28 women. After consumption of soy products, supplements and soy lecithin for 6 months, they were all found to have increased growth of milk ducts in their breasts. While the FDA does not require soy lecithin to be monitored and approved like other agents, soy lecithin is DANGEROUS. The best advice in this case is to avoid processed foods that contain it altogether. You can do this by always checking the ingredients list on the nutrition label.

Meatless High Protein foods to eat instead:

• Nuts
• Lentils and beans
• Spreads like peanut butter, almond and cashew butter.
• Pea protein milk
• Almond flour
• Quinoa

Bottom line is I’d recommend avoiding the word “soy” at all costs. This includes anything that uses the word soybean as well!

My hope as always is that my words, and this information helped you to better understand what is our there in the wide world of nutrition. I encourage you to do your own research and continue to explore more nutrition, and finally take actionable steps to investing in self-care.

You and your family are totally worth it.

All my love,