Just how safe is soy?
Are the fears justified?
I'll answer very simply: soy is an excellent food. However, I present one warning right here at the beginning, to make sure you don't miss it: avoid soy if it's genetically modified.
The good news is that not only is soy safe when properly processed, it's actually beneficial when used in moderation, meaning you should get a good variety of nutrients by varying your diet.
Why Soy?
Soy is actually an ideal protein source. Plant-based protein does not carry with it any of the negative consequences that animal-based protein does. Soy's protein content is not a strong argument for eating soy, though, because people get enough protein just by eating a varied diet of whole foods.
A better argument for soy-and one that has caused quite a bit of confusion-is that soybeans contain phytoestrogens. Phytoestrogens are plant estrogens, which are not to be confused with human estrogens.
Phytoestrogens have numerous benefits. For example, new bone is built by cells called osteoblasts; older, more fragile bone is dissolved by osteoclasts. Phytoestrogens reduces the dissolution of bone, while stimulating osteoblasts to build up new bone.
Professor Walter Veith, in his health DVD Your Health Your Choice, cited some benefits of soy phytoestrogens. Studies have shown that genestein, a plant estrogen, prevents bone loss almost as well as the leading hormone replacement therapy (HRT). But, as Veith explains, "HRT causes cancer; genestein doesn't."
Koreans, among others, have been eating soy for centuries. However, they do not eat as much as those looking to replace meat in their diets with equal amounts of something else. Soy is a small but integral part of the Korean diet. Interestingly, Korean women don't experience menopausal symptoms as Western women do.
Regarding soy specifically, one doctor points out, "Rarely will you find billions of people embracing a food for centuries only to find they have been wrong." His journal article debunks many of the myths about soy.*
So does the research of John McDougall, MD, who points out the "Soy-food consuming populations of people, like the Chinese and Japanese, have a much lower incidence of heart disease, osteoporosis, and cancer of the breast and prostate."
Soy Advice
It bears repeating that the closer the food is to the original condition it was in when harvested, and, the sooner it's eaten after it's harvested, the better the food is for the body.
Tofu and other soy products are partially processed; I would not discourage their consumption, but I would suggest eating a variety of foods and increasing the use of whole foods. As always, it is wise to read labels to see if any additives would make purchase of a processed food inadvisable. Some soy milks, for example, have sugar and other "flavor enhancers" added.
One dangerous addition to many soy products is hexane, a neurotoxin used in the production of soy flour, soy grits, soy oil, and soy protein. Hexane can be found in soy bars, health food bars, many vegetarian products, some soy milks (many Silk soy products, for example), and even in baby formula. These products are made with soy bean flour, which is chemically treated with hexane. Enough traces of hexane remain to cause health warnings.
If you use a lot of soy milk, you might want to consider purchasing a soy milk maker and your own organic beans. It is actually very easy to make soy milk at home.
Soy Confusion
One can find conflicting information about the effect of soy on thyroid function, and there's also confusion as to whether soy phytochemicals cause dementia.
The primary originator of warnings about soy seems to come from the Weston A. Price Foundation and smaller organizations relying on the same flawed information. It is wise to investigate what the foundation advocates, and the basis for their advocacy. Sally Fallon is the founder of that foundation, having been impressed with the nutrition research of dentist Dr. Price. She is also author of Nourishing Traditions, in which she recommends animal fats and cholesterol, among other things, as necessary elements of a healthy diet.
In her book and lectures she also recommends "traditional" fermented foods, yet every mention of fermentation in the considerable health writings of Ellen White is in the context of warning due to harmful impact to the digestive system, not commendation.
In addition to the Weston Price Foundation's specific warnings not to eat soy products, the foundation advocates fermented foods, liberal use of animal fats, meats from pasture-fed animals, and regular intake of cod liver oil. However, the foundation's credibility is questioned in print and online by a significant number of scientific researchers and investigative websites such as quackwatch.org and navigator.tufts.edu.
Most telling, perhaps, is that much of the Weston Price Foundation's recommended diet is in stark opposition to the conclusions drawn from the China Study, which is the largest, the most comprehensive study ever done on the correlations between diet, disease, and mortality. It was carried out in China, where there is up to a one-hundredfold difference in cancer incidence among different locales. Cancer is a localized disease in rural China, present in one village but totally absent in another village. Diet is the differentiator. In the US, however, where we tend to eat the same things nationwide, cancer is regarded as a national affliction. Indeed, in the US we have only a twofold difference in cancer incidence between different areas.
The China Study's findings are almost impossible to refute. T. Colin Campbell, the project's coordinator and author of the book The China Study, reports the study's startling finding of a linear relationship between consumption of animal foods and disease states. As the consumption increases-even in small amounts-so does disease. But the higher the level of antioxidants in the blood, which is obtainable only from plants, the less disease there was.
The point being made here is that the main opponent of soy and soy products is a foundation whose dietary recommendations, which emphasize significant consumption of full-fat animal and dairy products, leave much to be desired and often run markedly contrary to predominant research findings indicating the deleterious effects of consuming a diet rich in foods of animal origin. One must be most cautious before embracing any other nutritional advice they might offer.
In summary, soy is a beneficial nutrition source for both humans and animals. The cautions revolve primarily around genetic modification, hexane use in processing, the importance of dietary variety, and highly-processed soy products.
* David Dahlman, DC, "Putting Soy in Accurate Perspective," Today's Chiropractic (March/April 2005).
Jean Handwerk, a former teacher living on the East Coast of Canada, now writes on Biblical and health topics. Organic gardening occupies the rest of her time. Watch health videos "Life at Its Best" from Amazing Discoveries TV or check "Life at Its Best" DVD.
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