During my years as a vegetarian, my primary source of protein was tofu. This was even before the soy food industry inundated us with propaganda about the supposed health benefits of soy, and encouraged everyone to eat huge amounts of it. I just thought since it was a bean, contained lots of protein, very little fat, and most importantly was NOT meat, it must be good for me. Like so many who fall prey to this thinking, I was misled and naive.
The chief results of my years on a soy based diet were a wrecked digestive system and thinning bones. Years later, after perhaps another decade of research and personal experience, I am now healthy again, and have become a campaigner for education about the health dangers of soy.
Here are some things you need to know:
1. There are very high levels of phytic acid in soy which are not neutralized by soaking, sprouting, or long cooking. This substance interferes with assimilation of crucial minerals such as Calcium, Magnesium, Copper, Zinc, and Iron.
2. Soy is also full of trypsin inhibitors which interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders, (which after years of a soy based diet, I had.)
3. The phytoestrogen content of soy is high enough to disrupt endocrine function, and is a potential contributor to infertility and breast cancer.
4. Soy is a significant thyroid inhibitor. (Farmers actually feed soy to pigs to make them fat.) Soy formula fed to infants is linked to autoimmune thyroiditis.
5. The B12 analog in soy is not absorbed, and actually increases the body’s B12 requirements due to its blocking action on real B12.
6. Soy increases our requirements for Vitamin D, which most of us are sorely lacking in anyway.
I am convinced that my years of eating soy, combined with the high levels of grain in my vegetarian diet, were a key factor in my deteriorating digestion and thinning bones. Not only was I unknowingly impairing pancreatic function, but I was also making it next to impossible for my struggling digestive system to assimilate the minerals I desperately needed.
Today I eat a traditional diet according to the guidelines of Weston Price. (See the Price Foundation’s website, www.westonaprice.org., for excellent writing and research about food.) I include abundant traditional fats like butter, coconut oil, whole raw milk, and cod liver oil. These fats are necessary to absorb minerals, fat soluble vitamins, and to digest protein. I also eat grass fed meat, fish, poultry, plenty of eggs, and fresh vegetables and fruits. I eat very little grain and no refined sugar. At age 60 I’m healthier then I’ve ever been, and grateful to have finally discovered the benefits of eating real food.
If this brief article has got you thinking about the dangers of soy and you want to know more, I urge you to read Kaayla Daniel’s book, “The Whole Soy Story” or review some of the research on the Weston Price Foundation website. This is particularly important if you’ve been struggling with any unresolved health issues.
This one change can make a world of difference in your health and well-being.
