1. Soy
Reduces Assimilation of Minerals
Phytic acid is
present in the bran or hulls of all seeds and when we compare
the phytate of soy to many other types of beans and nuts, the
percent mass is not that far off, but that's not the problem.
The problem is how much we are
consuming. Most people stuck on the soy bandwagon are consuming
far more phytate by the sheer volume through mass consumption of
things like soy milk, tofu, cereals, and processed foods.
It doesn't even compare to the
amount they would consume through seeds and nuts. The effect of
phytic acid on iron absorption has been thoroughly studied.
As evident in a study in the
American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition, as phytic acid increases, it has a
diminishing impact on iron while inhibiting its absorption. This
applies to almost every major mineral including zinc - one of
the most important minerals for the human body.
Two billion people may now have zinc deficiency.
Phytates bind to zinc and thereby
decrease its bioavailability. Phytic acid levels in soy reduce
assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.
2.
Soy Causes Growth Problems and Even Cancer In Children
The phytic acid in soy is not
neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking,
sprouting and long, slow cooking.
Consequently these high phytate
diets have caused growth problems in children. Combined with the
presence of both phytoestrogens and arsenic, soy-based formulas
are a disease promoting ticking time bomb for infants.
A
study published in the peer-reviewed journal
The Prostate, revealed that
humans exposed to a combination of both toxicants were almost
twice as likely to develop cancerous cells in their prostate.
While it is established that both arsenic and estrogen can cause
cancer, the research raises concerns about the dangers of
chemicals in combination, and the efficacy of regulations that
are established by testing one chemical at a time.
True cancer of the prostate, carcinoma, is seldom seen in
infants and children, but other forms of malignant tumors may
develop and more cases are appearing in developed nations where
the link appears to center around soy infant formula.
While many claims have been made
about the health benefits of these estrogen-like compounds,
animal studies indicate that soy (both conventional and organic)
contain powerful endocrine disrupters that alter growth patterns
and cause sterility.
Soy formula is also laden with toxic
chemicals such as aluminum and manganese, which can cause both
physical and mental health problems, learning disabilities,
brain damage, and behavioral problems.
A study (Effect
of soybean phytoestrogen intake on low density lipoprotein
oxidation resistance) published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the
highly concentrated phytoestrogens in soy formula weaken the
immune systems of babies.
Toxicologists estimate that an
infant exclusively fed soy formula receives the estrogenic
equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day.
3.
Soy Linked To Cancer
The Chinese did not eat unfermented soybeans as they did other
legumes such as lentils because the soybean contains large
quantities of natural toxins or "antinutrients".
First among them are potent enzyme
inhibitors that block the action of
trypsin and other enzymes
needed for protein digestion. These inhibitors are large,
tightly folded proteins that are not completely deactivated
during ordinary cooking.
They can produce serious gastric
distress, reduced protein digestion and chronic deficiencies in
amino acid uptake. In test animals, diets high in trypsin
inhibitors cause enlargement and pathological conditions of the
pancreas, including cancer.
What about the Japanese? The
Japanese, and Asians in general, have much higher rates of other
types of cancer, particularly cancer of the esophagus, stomach,
pancreas and liver. Asians throughout the world also have high
rates of thyroid cancer.
The logic that links low rates of
reproductive cancers to soy consumption requires attribution of
high rates of thyroid and digestive cancers to the same foods,
particularly as soy causes these types of cancers in laboratory
rats.
Just how much soy do Asians eat? A
1998 survey found that the average daily amount of soy protein
consumed in Japan was about eight grams for men and seven for
women - less than two teaspoons. Americans are consuming amounts
far exceeding this quantity.
Thousands of women are now consuming
soy in the belief that it protects them against breast cancer.
Yet, in 1996,
researchers found that women consuming soy protein isolate
had an increased incidence of epithelial hyperplasia, a
condition that presages malignancies.
A year later, dietary
genistein was
found to stimulate breast cells to enter the cell cycle - a
discovery that led the study authors to
conclude that women should not consume soy products
to prevent
breast cancer.
4. Soy
Promotes Infertility
Soy beans contain genistein, a
natural compound that has estrogenic effects because it binds
the estrogen receptor with relatively high affinity.
A study in the
Journal Toxicology and Applied
Pharmacology showed that dietary genistein exhibits a
strongly increased estrogenic effect and cautionary attitude
towards the consumption of large amounts of soy or soy
supplements is warranted to prevent infertility.
Another study in the journal
Obstetrics and Gynecology International found that soy
ingestion increases amniotic fluid phytoestrogen concentrations
in female and male fetuses.
Phytoestrogens daidzein and
genistein may, alone or in combination with other chemicals,
function as endocrine disruptors, with potentially adverse
effects on male reproductive function.
5. D-Glutamic Acid
Natural glutamate in plants and animals is known as L-glutamic
acid.
Our normal digestive process slowly
breaks down this natural or "bound" glutamic acid and it is then
delivered to glutamate receptors in our body and brain. Broken
down this way, it is harmless. However, factory, artificially
bound D-glutamic acid in soy is broken down or made "free" by
various processes (hydrolyzed,
autolyzed, modified or fermented with strong chemicals,
bacteria, or enzymes) is toxic to the human body.
Since free glutamate can be a
component part of certain food additives, such as hydrolyzed soy
protein and cheap soy sauce, it is essentially unregulated when
it comes to labeling standards.
Many people who are very sensitive
to D-glutamic acid experience respiratory, neurological,
muscular, skin, urological and even cardiac symptoms.
6.
High Levels of Aluminum
Soy has to go through a process to become soy protein isolate.
Acid washing in aluminum tanks,
which is designed to remove some of the antinutrients (but the
results often vary widely), leeches aluminum into the final
product.
Aluminum can have
adverse effects on brain development and cause symptoms such
as antisocial behavior, learning disabilities, alzheimer's
disease and dementia. Harsh alkaline soaking solutions are used
mainly in the production of modern soy foods such as soy protein
concentrates, soy supplements, soy protein shakes, textured soy
protein (TSP), etc.
Much of the trypsin inhibitor
content can be removed through high-temperature processing, but
not all. Trypsin inhibitor content of soy protein isolate
can vary as much as fivefold.
7. Blocks
Production of Thyroid Hormone
In 1991,
Japanese researchers reported that consumption of as little
as 30 grams or two tablespoons of soybeans per day for only one
month resulted in a significant increase in thyroid-stimulating
hormone.
Soy foods have a high concentration
of goitrogens which block production of thyroid hormones.
Scientists have known for years that soy-based formula can cause
thyroid problems in babies.
Scientists Daniel Sheehan and
Daniel Doerge, from the National Center for Toxicological Research
presented findings from rat feeding studies, indicating that
genistein in soy foods causes irreversible damage to enzymes
that synthesize thyroid hormones.
Soy consumption is
associated with thyroid disorders such as hypothyroidism,
goiter, and autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD) as well as
increased iodine requirement in certain cases.
8.
Causes Allergic Reactions
Soy is one of the top allergens - substances that cause allergic
reactions.
Today, soy is widely accepted as one
of the "big eight" that cause immediate hypersensitivity
reactions. Some 28 different proteins present in soy have been
found to bind to IgE antibodies. It's also worth noting that the
more soy protein you eat, the more likely you are to develop
allergies to it - and the more severe those allergies are likely
to become.
Delayed allergic responses to soy
are less dramatic than the top allergens like peanuts or
shellfish, but are even more common.
These are caused by antibodies known
as immunoglobulins A, G or M (IgA, IgG or IgM) and occur
anywhere from two hours to days after the food is eaten. These
have been linked to sleep disturbances, bedwetting, sinus and
ear infections, crankiness, joint pain, chronic fatigue,
gastrointestinal woes and other mysterious symptoms.
Food "intolerances", "sensitivities"
and "idiosyncrasies" to soy are commonly called "food
allergies", but differ from true allergies in that they are not
caused by immune system reactions but by little-understood or
unknown metabolic mechanisms. Strictly speaking, gas and
bloating - common reactions to soy and other beans - are not
true allergic responses.
However, they may serve as warnings
of the possibility of a larger clinical picture involving
allergen-related gastrointestinal damage. The soybean industry
knows that some people experience severe allergic reactions to
its products.
In a recent petition to the FDA,
Protein Technologies
International (PTI) identified "allergenicity" as one of
the "most likely potential adverse effects associated with
ingestion of large amounts of soy products".
9.
Genetically Modified
Any ingredient listed as soybean
or soy on any product ingredient list has a 93% chance of being
GMO if it is not listed as organic.
But even organic soy cannot be
trusted. Soy is very problematic crop. Non-organic sources of
soy in many agricultural practices are being passed off as
organic. In 2011, the USDA
uncovered a plot to import fraudulent organic certificates
produced by an uncertified supplier in China.
The Chinese firm used the
counterfeit certificate to represent non-organic crops,
including soybeans, millet and buckwheat, as certified organic.
These types of things are happening
every year and only a fraction are being discovered. Even
domestically sourced organic soybean crops are now being
investigated for having GMO origins.
Organic soy also does not change the
toxicity of unfermented sources so abundant in the food supply.
10.
Most Soy is Unfermented
Phytates in unfermented soy products actually obstruct
absorption of protein and four key minerals: calcium, magnesium,
iron, and zinc better than fermented sources.
In their natural form, soybeans
contain phytochemicals with toxic effects on the human body. The
three major anti-nutrients are phytates, enzyme inhibitors and
goitrogens. These anti-nutrients are the way nature protects the
soybean plant so that it can live long enough to effectively
reproduce.
They function as the immune system
of the plant, offering protection from the radiation of the sun,
and from invasion by bacteria, viruses, or fungi.
They make the soybean plant
unappetizing to foraging animals. All plants have some
anti-nutrient properties, but the soybean plant is especially
rich in these chemicals. If they are not removed by extensive
preparation such as fermentation or soaking, soybeans are one of
the worst foods a person can eat. The net protein utilization of
unfermented soy is 61 which quite low.
The most common soy (99%) sold at
major grocery retailers in soy milks and processed foods is
unfermented soy. It is deadly.
Unfermented soy has been linked to
digestive distress, immune system breakdown, PMS, endometriosis,
reproductive problems for men and women, allergies, ADD and
ADHD, higher risk of heart disease and cancer, malnutrition, and
loss of libido.
Fermented sources of soy such as natto, miso, tempeh and some fermented tofus are likely the only
types of soy that should be consumed by humans and that's only
if you can get around the crap shoot that they're non-GMO and
organic (which there is no guarantee despite labeling).
11.
Enzyme Inhibitors
When food is eaten, digestive enzymes such as amylase
lipase and protease are secreted into the digestive tract to
help break it down and free nutrients for assimilation into the
body.
The high content of enzyme
inhibitors such as trypsin in unfermented soybeans interferes
with this process and makes carbohydrates and proteins from
soybeans impossible to completely digest.
When foods are not completely
digested because of enzyme inhibitors, bacteria in the large
intestine try to do the job, and this can cause discomfort,
bloating, and embarrassment.
Anyone with naturally low levels of
digestive enzymes such as elderly people would suffer the most
from the enzyme inhibiting action of soy. In precipitated
products, enzyme inhibitors concentrate in the soaking liquid
rather than in the curd.
Thus, in tofu and bean curd, growth
depressants are reduced in quantity but not completely
eliminated.
12.
Immunotoxic
The prevalence of autoimmune diseases has significantly
increased over the recent years.
It has been proposed that this
epidemiological evidence could be in part attributable to
environmental estrogens, compounds that display estrogen-like
activity. Environmental estrogens can be found in phytoestrogens
which occur in soy. There is a considerable burden of evidence
both in vitro and in animal models that these compounds exert
immunotoxic effects.
Phytoestrogens drastically reduce
not only the size of the thymus, but also the bone marrow cavity
as well, the sites where most deletion of autoreactive cells
occur.
Isoflavones, which are
phytoestrogens present in large quantities in soy and
soy-derived products, inhibit protein tyrosine kinase, and exert
other effects in the body such as
exacerbating the clinical course of this autoimmune disease.
