From years it is said that soy or soya bean is healthy food because of its rich nutritional value. However, a recent study suggests that this might not be the truth. Soy is used in various food products including packaged products and pet food. But did you know that soy is a hidden ingredient in many processed food products? This is to extend the validity of foods like hamburgers, dry kibble pet food and is also found in the packaged bread products at the supermarket.
Ancient culture and Soy
Many sources claim that soy forms a staple diet for Asians and this has been running for years. However, it was the Chinese community that first started eating soybeans, 2,500 years ago, after they understood how to ferment it. They figured that soy contains a lot of toxins and only started eating them once they could neutralize them through fermentation. Soy was formerly an inedible plant, often used to fix nitrogen in the soil. In ancient Asia, soy was consumed in small quantity such as a topping or a condiment along with seafood, pork and other such animal dishes, rich in protein. It is only recently that soy is consumed by many without fermentation or in a highly processed form.
About 2,000 years ago, tofu was used in China monasteries in order to promote sexual abstinence as the phytoestrogens in soy lower testosterone levels. However in times of famine, people started to use tofu as a condiment to add flavor to pork or seafood with high levels of protein.
Miso, fermented soy, was consumed by Japanese about 1,500 years ago. Tempeh –form of fermented soy was discovered by 1,000 A.D when it came to Indonesia. However, this formed a major constituent for a poor man’s meal. Soybean milk was never consumed by Asians. The soy milk available in market today that claims to be healthy and nutritional contains high level of toxins that can hamper your health.
Here are some quick facts about soy
Soybeans contain high levels of phytic acid which reduces assimilation of magnesium, copper, calcium and zinc. The acid cannot be neutralized by regular preparation methods such as sprouting or soaking. Cooking soy slow or fast will not help either. It is found that children with high phytate diets have faced growth problems.
While processing soy, free glutamic acid or MSG – a potent neurotoxin, is formed. This is also added separately in many soy food products.
Vitamin B12 analogs in soybean are not absorbed. This actually increases the body’s requirement for B12.
Soy products can increase the body’s requirement for vitamin D as well.
It is found that soy products contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the kidney and the nervous system of human body.
Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.
Soy contains Trypsin that interferes with protein digestion and can cause pancreatic disorder. When tested on animals, it was found that trypsin inhibitors caused stunned growth.
Fragile proteins are denatured while processing at a high temperature in order to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.
Soy phytoestrogens are potent anti thyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism. This may also cause thyroid cancer. Consumption of soy formula has been associated with autoimmune thyroid disease in toddlers and kids.
Soy phytoestrogens can also cause infertility in adult women and increase the risk of breast cancer due as it upsets endocrine function.
Toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines are formed while processing soy protein.
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