The Whole Soy Story

After a visit to a homeopathic doctor in 2008, I discovered that I am soy intolerant, a diagnosis that has changed my life in many ways.*  I used to be a sushi addict and my mouth still waters at the idea of a spicy tuna roll dipped in soy sauce, but then I remember the days following my sushi binges and how the soy sauce would leave me curled in the fetal position on the floor of my bathroom, writhing around in pain. 

I also was a vegetarian for nearly ten years prior to this diagnosis.  I lived off of tofu burgers and veggies shreds.  As soon as I learned that the soy was making me sick, I had to completely change my lifestyle and begin eating meat again.

A few months prior to my diagnosis, it was also discovered that my older son, Gabriel, had a soy allergy.  His first bottle of soy-based formula caused a severe allergic reaction.

Because of this our home has been soy-free for nearly two years, except for a couple of foods that my husband enjoys to have around as snacks.  Gabriel and I are also unable to eat food that has been prepared at restaurants, because the only items on the majority of menus that do not contain a soy product are plain fruits and veggies that haven't touched the grill (which is usually covered in either margarine or soybean oil).

It is estimated that nearly 70% of the foods on our supermarket shelves contain soy.  It has become filler that is used in just about everything, because it is cheap.  But what's even worse is that over 60% of the soybean crop in the United States is genetically modified.

One day Adam heard a news story that linked soy to hormone imbalances in men, specifically that eating high levels of soy causes men to produce more estrogen, leading to a whole host of health problems.  That was the final straw - all of the negative information I had been hearing about soy made me want to learn more about why it is considered a "healthy" food in our culture.

I finished reading The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN and I learned more than I ever wanted to know about the food.  The book gives a background on how this crop that historically was used as a cover crop to enrich soil, became part of a health-food craze in America. It also breaks down all of the health concerns about eating soy.  I recommend the book for anyone interested in learning why you shouldn't be consuming this food in the amounts that we find in the average American's diet.

I just wanted to highlight some of the interesting things I learned while reading the book:

The study that really made soy a healthy food in America showed that the Japanese (who eat 30 times the soy we eat) have lower rates of breast, uterine and prostate cancer.  What the media coverage of this study failed to also tell us is that the Japanese have higher rates of esophageal, stomach, pancreatic and liver cancers.  Asians also do not eat soy in the ways we eat it.  They leave the soybean intact in fermented products like miso, tempeh and natto. 


The FDA approves soy protein as a heart healthy food but it is also found on their "Poisonous Plant Database."


Soybean oil is a mosquito repellant.  It actually kills the mosquito, which makes you wonder what it does to your insides.


People who eat ground meat with textured soy protein extenders (this is what is served to our children in school) lose 61% (at a 3:1 ratio) and 53% (at a 2:1 ratio) of their ability to absorb the iron from the meat.


Here are all of the toxins and antinutrients that soy contains: 

• allergens
• goitrogens - cause thyroid damage
• lectins - cause immune system reactions and play a role in allergic reactions because they destroy intestinal mucosa.
• oligosaccharides - cause bloating and gas
• oxalates - prevent the absorption of calcium and linked to kidney stones
• phytates - leads to poor growth and anemia.  Levels are higher in soy than in any other food.
• isoflavones - cause reproductive damage
• protease inhibitors - cause gastric distress, poor protein digestion, cancer, and damage to the pancreas.  Many foods contain them (grains, nuts, seeds, some veggies, etc.), but cooking deactivates them.  They are at higher levels in soybeans (and even higher in GM beans) and are more resistant to neutralization through cooking.

The scariest information to read was about soy-based formula:

• The isoflavones in the formula effect hormones and can cause developmental problems in the reproductive system.  They also put children at an increased risk of thyroid problems (hypothyroidism and autoimmune thyroid disease). 
• Infants fed soy formula also produce more gas (CH4 and H2S), which has been linked to intestinal disorders, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's Disease. 
• Scientists have suggested expensive techniques that would neutralize the phytates in formula, but the industry prefers to go the cheaper route and enrich the formula with zinc, iron and calcium to compensate.  They are required by law to do this. 
• Iron absorption from soy formula is 27%.  It is 65% in breast milk, 60% in whey formula and 46% in casein formula.

Something I learned from the author's website - "The Israeli Health Ministry has issued a health advisory warning that infants should not use soy formula. So have the British Dietetic Association, the New Zealand Health Ministry, and the Swiss Federal Health Service."

Soy lectin may contribute to Type 1 Juvenile Onset Diabetes because it destroys pancreatic cells that secrete insulin.

Asian monks used to eat high levels of soy because it was known to lower their libido.

I have also read before that animals that are fed diets high in soy fail to thrive and show signs of malnutrition.  They also have a shorter lifespan and produce less offspring. 

When I put all of this information together, it's a no-brainer for me.  It's yet another reason to make sure the food I am feeding my family isn't processed and is prepared properly (soaked, cooked properly, etc.).  Since cutting out soy from my diet, I have not had a major flare-up of my Crohn's Disease and have been able to stay off of toxic drugs like Prednisone.  I think I now know why!

If you are interested in learning more about soybeans, I suggest reading this book!

-Jessica

I was not contacted by anyone to review this book.  I just enjoyed it and wanted to share some information with my readers.

*Diagnosis made through IgE fecal test.

My Superfoods

Organ Meat (especially liver)

Wheat Germ

Leafy Greens

Sunflower Seeds

Mollusks

Squash and Pumpkin (the fruit and seeds)

Rice Bran

Wild Game Meat

Eggs

Lentils

Nuts

I have been on a prenatal vitamin for nearly three years now, but am unable to take most prescription strength types because they contain either soy or a stool softener that can upset my Crohn's Disease. I have found a few OTC vitamins that seemed to work well in the past, but lately they have been upsetting my stomach.

Because of this, I decided to start researching what exactly these vitamins contain. I discovered that most of the brands you find on the store shelves are synthetic - vitamins created in a laboratory from coal tar derivatives, which are not absorbed by your body in the same way as vitamins from natural plants and other materials. Even when the vitamins say they are coming from natural sources, we don't know exactly what that means. For example - Vitamin E often comes from soybean oil (most likely genetically modified at that).

So, I've made a decision to stop taking vitamins and to focus more on getting my vitamins from the food I eat. This decision lead me to NutritionData, a website that allows you to search for foods that contain high levels of certain vitamins and minerals. From the lists they provided, I weeded out the processed and enriched foods to find the raw foods containing the highest levels.

While looking at the lists I created, I noticed that many of the same foods were appearing over and over again. Organ meat (especially liver) was found on 46% of the lists. Leafy greens (especially spinach) and wheat germ were on 36%, while sunflower seeds and mollusks were on 32%. Squash and pumpkin seeds were on 27% and the following foods were on 18% of the lists - rice bran, wild game meat, eggs, lentils, and nuts.

So I am now considering these foods my "superfoods" and am going to make an effort to include them in my diet as much as possible. I've always known that I need to eat these foods, but never really knew why until now.

Here are the specific lists:

Foods high in Vitamin A -Leafy greens, Carrots, animal liver, Broccoli, Asparagus, Cabbage, prunes, Okra, Leeks, Kiwi. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin B6 - hot peppers, Paprika, Summer squash/zucchini, Watercress, Bell peppers, Turnip greens, Bamboo shoots, Spinach, Okra, Garlic. Full list found here.

Foods high in vitamin B12- Mollusks, Animal liver, Crustaceans, Animal heart, Fish, Wild game meat, Eggs, Milk, Beef, Poultry. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin C - Bell peppers, guavas, Currants, Hot peppers, Orange peel/oranges, leafy greens, Broccoli, Kohlrabi, Papaya, lemons. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin D - Cod liver oil, Fish, Oysters, Eggs, Cheese, Milk, Mushrooms, Clams. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin E - Wheat germ oil, Hazelnut oil, Almond oil, Sunflower seeds, Paprika, cayenne pepper, chili powder, grapeseed oil, Almonds, Flaxseed oil. Full list found here.

Foods high in Vitamin K - Kale, Swiss chard, Dandelion greens, Collard greens. Full list found here.

Foods high in folate - Yeast, Animal liver, Beans (mothbeans, chickpeas, cowpeas, mung beans, etc.), lentils, Giblets, Wheat germ, Peanuts, Sunflower seeds, Spinach. Full list found here.

Foods high in calcium - Whey, Milk, Cheese, Seaweed, agave, Grape leaves, Flaxseed, Leafy greens. Full list found here.

Foods high in iron - Whale/seal/walrus meat, Animal spleen, Animal liver, Seaweed, Clams, Yeast, Pumpkin/squash seeds, Sesame seeds, Bell peppers. Full list found here.

Foods high in magnesium - rice bran, Seaweed, Wheat bran, Pumpkin/squash seeds, Flaxseed, Brazilnuts, Sesame seeds, Beans (yardlong, cowpeas, hyacinth, etc.), Sunflower seeds. Full list found here.

Foods high in zinc - Oysters, Wheat germ, Agave, Animal liver, Pumpkin and squash seeds, Beef, Wild game meat (bear, caribou, bison, elk), Lamb, whale. Full list found here.

Foods high in potassium - Palm hearts, Beans (white, lima, black, etc.), Molasses, Wheat bran, Nuts (pistachio, ginkgo, chestnuts, etc.), Lentils, Arrowhead, Wheat germ, Sunflower seeds. Full list found here.

Foods high in phosphorus - Rice bran, Smelt, Seeds (pumpkin, squash, sunflower, etc.), Wheat bran, wheat germ, Cheese (Parmesan, goat, gruyere, swiss, etc.), Cashews, Oats, Walnuts, durum wheat. Full list found here.

Foods high in copper - Animal liver, Oysters, Seaweed, Dried shiitake mushrooms, Sesame seeds, Nuts (cashews, brazilnuts, walnuts, etc.), Lobster, Sunflower seeds, Lentils. Full list found here.

Foods high in manganese - Rice bran, Wheat germ, Nuts (hazelnuts, pine nuts, etc.), Oats, Mussels, Maple syrup, Bulgur, Spelt, Grape leaves. Full list found here.

Foods high in selenium - Nuts, Mollusks, Animal kidneys, Animal giblets, Durum wheat, Sunflower seeds, Wheat germ, Kamut, Animal liver, Fish . Full list found here.

Foods high in choline - Egg, Organ meat, Whey, Beef, Game meat, Pork, Veal, Animal fat, Milk, Beef stock/broth. Full list found here.

Foods high in beta carotene - Grape leaves, Carrots, sweet potatoes, Leafy greens, pumpkin, Squash, Cabbage, Plums, Peas, apricots. Full list found here.

Foods high in lycopene - Tomatoes, Watermelon, Grapefruit, Asparagus, Red cabbage, Carrots, Chicken liver. Full list found here.

Foods high in Betaine - Quinoa, Spinach, Beets, Kamut, Bulgur, Amaranth, Tilapia, Oat bran, Beef, Game meat. Full list found here.

Foods high in Pantothenic Acid - Rice bran, Organ meat, Whey, Egg, Shiitake mushrooms, Wheat germ, Lentils, Peanuts, Cheese. Full list found here.

-Jessica

Note - on NutritionData, I used the Nutrient Search Tool and sorted for foods highest in a particular vitamin or mineral based on levels per 100-gram serving.

Soak Your Oats!

Oatmeal is a wonderful food - it is heart-healthy and high in vitamin B, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. But, the oats are also very high in phytates/phytic acid - a form of phosphorus that inhibits the absorption of many of those healthy vitamins and minerals, and over the course of time can cause deficiencies.

All you need to do to maximize the health benefits of your oats is soak them in warm water with an acid base during the night and they will be ready to eat in the morning. You will find that soaking them makes them cook almost as quickly as instant oats.  Suggested acid bases are - whey, yogurt or other fermented dairy products, or if you're allergic or intolerant to dairy you can use lemon juice or vinegar.  Add 1-2 tablespoons to your bowl of water and oats.

The same should be done for all grains, nuts, legumes and beans to maximize vitamin and mineral absorption.

I have to admit that I am really bad about doing this, because it requires planning ahead, and that isn't one of my strengths. But it is so important to do, as studies are showing that the buildup of phytic acid is causing vitamin deficiencies in many people. Remember that most of the processed foods on the grocery store shelf that contain grains, nuts, beans and legumes are not soaked!

-Jessica

Source:

Fallon, Sally. Nourishing traditions the cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats. Washington, DC: NewTrends Pub., 1999.