Soy Products: Friend or Foe?

In recent years, soy has become thought of as something of a wonder food.  Vegetarians near and far rely on it as a protein source.  Soy is best known for its isoflavones, which are high in antioxidants as well as being anticarcinogenic.  Isoflavones are only present in fermented soy products.  Examples of fermented soy products include miso and tempeh.  Eating fermented soy products is a good health choice.  Eating everything else made of soy, however, is another story entirely.

Unfermented soy products like soy milk, soy-based vegetarian foods, edamame, and tofu are being linked to an increasing number of health problems.  Unfermented soy contains phytates, an anti-nutrient that actually blocks vitamin and mineral absorption from other foods.  Alarmingly, magnesium, calcium, and zinc are among the mineral deficiences associated with diets high in soy.  Soy is also linked to excessive estrogen production which can cause problems with hormone imbalance and fertility. Eating excessive amounts of soy is also linked with poor thyroid function and can even cause the thryroid to become unnaturally enlarged.  Poor thyroid function, along with poor circulation is attributed to decreased libido and weight gain.

You may be thinking that cutting out soy is easy enough.  Many of you probably were never that into tofu anyway.  But, think harder.  Soy is hiding in just about every processed food on the market.  It is in your breakfast cereal, potato chips, snack crackers, some processed cheeses, fast food, frozen dinners, and canned soups.  It is difficult to come by any packaged food product that does not say either "May contain soy" or "processed in a facility that uses soy"  The truth is that we are ingesting hydrolyzed soy on a daily basis without even seeking out a soy product.  Over time the anti-nutrients are building up in our bodies and making it harder for us to get the vitamins and minerals from the healthy foods we choose.

So, next time you decide to make a vegetarian stir-fry at home, switch out the extra firm tofu for tempeh and remember that healthy proteins are also easily found in beans and sprouted grains and in bean and alfalfa sprouts.