The Truth About Soy

Soy Feedback

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Posted by Tara (Boston, MA) on 06/18/2009

For those who think they are buying organic soymilk, this article may interest you. It was quoted in a recent newsletter from an organic consumers website.

"I was very involved in the creation of Silk Organic Soymilk when it was first designed and manufactured. Steve Demos was very committed to Silk being Non-GMO, Organic and Vegan. Suddenly, when buying Silk at Whole Foods, I discovered that none of the Silk flavors in half gallon containers were certified organic. The cartons look exactly the same as before with the exception/removal of the USDA Organic Seal and the word "organic" before soybeans in the nutritional panel. This is a very sneaky way for a manufacturer to discontinue Non-GMO Organic soybeans in the manufacture of thier product. I also wonder why Whole Foods continues to sell this product without a "warning sign". Sincerely, Tedelan"

http://organicconsumers.org/forum/index.php?autocom=blog&blogid=78&showentry=96#comments

Replied by M
(Mukilteo, Wa)
03/15/2010

I use Silk a lot so I wrote the company to ask about an email on your site. I got this back from the company and if it is something you can use, you might put it on the site.

----------------------------

Thank you for your recent e-mail to Silk®. We appreciate your interest in our products.

Until recently the terms Genetically Modified Organism (GMO), GMO-Free and Non-GMO were used to help identify foods that contained genetically altered ingredients. These terms are no longer recognized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and therefore cannot be used on food packaging.

According to the National Organic Standards, products that are certified organic by definition cannot contain genetically modified ingredients. At Silk, we use only Non-GMO soybeans. Look for the biotechnology statement on our packaging, under Nobody makes soymilk like we do: "We take extra care to select only the best beans, grown without genetic engineering right here in North America."

Thanks again for contacting the Consumer Affairs Department.

Sincerely,
________
Consumer Response Representative


Soy Feedback
Posted by Bob (Moscow, Pa.) on 06/13/2009

I am very allergic to soy. If I consume any it causes my heart to race. Until a chiropractor had me check my pulse with each food I put in my mouth, my life was very uncomfortable. any food that affected me negatively would immediately cause my pulse to jump 15 or more points.


Soy Feedback
Posted by Rosa (Phoenix, AZ) on 05/12/2009

Regarding the "NAY" on soy products, I would like to suggest that most adverse effects are due to allergic reaction. Over a 6 month period I took in large portions of Soy products from Milk to Edamame all in the name of good health. I too experienced irregular heartbeat, hair loss on my head, but more facial hair growth, extreme bloating, a bulge in my throat and my fingernails became brittle and had lumps. For an otherwise healthy, late 20's female, I was in shock at the changes to my body. I began to do some research on the symptoms and found that indeed these changes could be a result of the effects of soy on the thyroid. I immediately ceased my use of the products. After one year, I felt I had returned to "normal". It was then another year, after some allergy tests, that I was advised to refrain from eating anything containing soy products.

For those living in the far east, I believe a combination of the Asian diet along with the local production of soy is what allows for their tolerance of this substance.


Soy Feedback
Posted by Karina (Munich, Bavaria/Germany) on 04/28/2009
★★★★★

Since I changed my lunch meals from bread to soy my metabolism seems to have been supported. I used to be so fatigued after lunch that I stopped eating lunch and just took a couple of cookies & chocolate as they gave me quick energy without draining me. Well, the long-term health effects of this idea were detrimental as it brought my hormonal balance into chaos. So I tried to find a substitute and went for tofu. This helped my overall health a lot. In between I was nearly stopping to eat soy because of the extremely bad press - so I am pleased to have read Ted's comment and stayed with my common sense as I thought millions of much healthier looking Asians can not be wrong! So thanks a lot [the only thing which I have to exclude are some sticky soy milk brands they caused within 2 days constipation and eczema - perhaps toxic soy is used or some additive which is not natural... anyhow whoever has problems with soy should try to change the brands - it might be as simple as that].

Replied by Ted
(Bangkok, Thailand)
04/29/2009

Some brands of tofu products was not properly processed and sugar should not be added to get the benefits. There was a documentary on how to live to 101 which mentions that scientist found why 100 year old Japanese was different from the rest of their Japanese ancestors living in Hawaii. The reason was that their long lived Japan were eating tofu and carries a tradition of eating only half of the food they considered to be full. It should be noted that I also try to regularly consume tofu, because it just gives me more energy.

Ted


Soy Feedback
Posted by Jeanine (Traverse City, Michigan) on 03/01/2009

hi, just wanted to share my story which developed a year ago. i went to fla for the winter to help my aunt and uncle . they eat tons of soy products and i began to eat with them. after two months my heart began to race , my skin became dry, i was constipated for the first time in my life, my hair stated to fall out, i felt like i had a lump in my throat and i had to cough every once in a while to clear it and i had pain in my neck area off and on all the time. in the summer i return to michigan because my father was ill. i went through two months of racing heart beats one day the next day feeling like a mack truck ran me over and than about a week later my heart would skip beats for 48 hours. i would feel better for a few days and than another attack of racing heart beats....etc.. this went on back and forth. when my heart was racing i felt hyper my basal temperature was 98.6. on the days my heart was skipping beats my basal temperature was 97 and i could not get warm. i became very scared and went to a doctor because i thought i had heart problems. i had a blood test done everything was normal but it showed i had both antibodies and the doctor diagnosed me with hashimoto's and said i should begin thyroid immediately. i told her i was going to try alternative first. i asked her what would happen on the days my immune system attack my thyroid if on that morning i also took thyroid med. i pictured my heart exploding. she couldn't answer that so i waited and began my own research.

first i stopped all soy products. i had to be real careful with this because i quickly realized that to ingest even a little soy that may be hidden in bread etc gave me a violent reaction.i began to read labels very carefully. by the way our food is invaded by soy. after stopping soy my thyroglobulin ab antibody became normal in two months and is stiil normal 8 months later. i decided to stopped eating all foods that decrease thyroid production know as goitrogens , to go on a gluten free diet and i also stopped dairy products because of the caseins. every day i take selenium, and because i drank reverse osmosis water all my life and wanted to get more minerals i bought a water filter from aquasana that does not remove the minerals. i had questioned hauling and storing the reverse osmosis water in plastic containers that i was filling at the heath food store. pcbs can leach into the water and pcbs damage the thyroid gland. i got rid of all my plastic containers in my house and replaced then with healthy glass containers.i also made sure i got 150 mcg of iodine a day and if i took more than that i felt heper that day. i don't have heart racing but it made me nervous, so i am careful with the iodine. i know people in japan get about 12.5 mg iodine a day .... but think about this...... hashimoto's disease was discovered in japan and japanese people eat lots of goitrogens in their diet including soy which cause the thyroid not to absorb iodine so that is why they can get away with the amount of iodine they get from eating lots of seaweed.

in any case when i stopped all goitrogens and began iodine the pain in my neck area completely stopped within 24 hours and has not returned.i had also began to feel pain in my breast which also disappeared. i felt great on 150/mcg a day. during this transition since i made all these changes my test results are all normal except my tpo ab is still a little high but every two months it drops 20 points. it was 141 and now it is 120. i am sure it will continue to drop until it is normal. i am feeling sooo much better. my basal temperature is 98.2 every morning.

finally after 10 months of this whole progress and changes i found an alternative healer in my area. he was amazed by my progress and the decisions i had taken. he suggested i add a homeopathic remedy called thyroidinum 30x 2 pills 3 times a day. i am doing this and really feel i am almost 100% healed. when i think back to those times my heart was acting up so badly i know my metabolism was really in bad shape. i feel the major cause was the soy. it turns out i am allergic to soy, but even so 1/4 cup of soy milk will cause the thyroid in an non-allergic individual to work 50% less for 24 hours. i also think if you eat a goteiren type food on those days and maybe a few days afterwards it would be wise to increase iodine but than go back to a standard dosage. every night before i retire i take 1/2 teaspoon of magnesium citrate in a glass of water this heals me sleep like a baby. i hope my experience can help someone out there. if you want more information on any change i made in my diet just go on line and look..soy and thyroid ,gluten etc.... this is a great sight to read all about it as well.

god bless you all .....jeanine.


Soy Feedback
Posted by Rajesh (Port-of -Spain, Trinidad) on 02/25/2009

Dangerous side effects of soy products: I have been a Vegetarian for twenty years and using soy products for the same time period, i had high thyroid flow which lead to Pancreatic complications which i almost died from. Also low sperm count is a reality, I have definately stopped the use of all soy products..


Soy Feedback
Posted by Catherine F Clark (Chicago, Illinois, USA) on 09/02/2007
★★★★☆

BSM [blackstrap molasses] is good stuff. However, if you wish to use milk, use raw milk. Raw cow's milk does not have the problems associated with pasturized, homogonized milk. Also, please be aware that soy is not the wonderful thing the soy industry would have you beleive! If you have hypothyroidism, unfermented soy is the worst thing you can ingest! Almond milk and any seed milks are very good. We drink goat milk when we have milk. BSM would fit in with goat milk very well.


Soy Feedback
Posted by Joella (Los Angeles) on 07/08/2007
★☆☆☆☆

My husband and I started to make smoothies about 2 weeks ago every day, adding soy/green protein powder to the fruit smoothie. Well, this month I had the worst PMS symptoms ever! My breast size increased by one cup size (at least), I was terribly bloated and the bottom left side of my left breast had a constant shooting pain. As the symptoms got worse as my period approached, I realized the soy powder was probably causing the side effects. I continued to have my daily smoothies, but stopped substituted rice protein in place of the soy powder. 2 days later (but 4 days before my period) all the symptoms disappeared. I think women should be very careful with soy as there is clearly a hormonal response. The soy powder I used was Alive by Nature's Way with non GMO soy. If I kept it up, who knows about truly serious side effects like breast cancer? Perhaps organic soy wouldn't have produced the same side effects.

Replied by Alex
(Los Angeles, USA)
05/28/2008
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

Soy protein powder made my temples go bald in two months!! And I had the fullest head of hair and zero family history. It was insane. I'm trashing the rest of it.


Soy Feedback
Posted by Donna (Bakersville, NC) on 02/14/2007
★★★★☆

Hello, Having spent years researching soy and it's benefits and dangers, I was offended by Ted's page on soy. Properly fermented organic soy in small amounts is very good for humans. Chemical extracted soy with residue of each chemical in your food is NOT good for humans! Considering that soy is in almost every food you put in your mouth off of the grocery store shelf..... if it did all Ted said it does.... logic states that America would be one of the healthiest places on earth. Which it isn't! After removing all non-fermented soy from our diet, our family is the healthiest it has ever been. Ted needs to do more research!


Soy Feedback
Posted by Karen (BC, Canada) on 11/22/2006
★★★★☆

I enjoy most soy products with no adverse effects, but find that textured soy and soy isolate affects my thinking. When I stop using products that have textured soy in them my thinking improves. This happened numerous times when I did not know there was textured soy/soy isolate in them until I read the labels.


Soy Feedback
Posted by Ted (Bangkok, Thailand) on 09/22/2006 391 posts

Is soy toxic? Well maybe yes and maybe no for some people. In general it is good for you, but there are exceptions!

I have devised a simple tests decades ago as a part of a research study on allergy and communicable disease during my studies in microbiology that you can conclude yourself.

This was later confirmed in that this simple test can prove to you if soy is good for you. Remember, no medical fact can prove you otherwise if it simply isn't working for you!

Here is a remarkably simple tests (that doctors also secretly used they call it the patch test, but this is simpler).

In science we must use a control and experimental group, but in this case we use milk and soy as a comparison, while your friend is a "control" which he or she DOES NOT DRINK ANY MILK.

1. Prepare a standard milk and soy. We first start with the soy or milk it is up to you.

Assuming you drink soy, keep it in your mouth for about 1-2 minutes then swallow. Drink more, such as about 500 cc to 1 liter of soy milk throughout the day.

2. After about 15-30 minutes, notice if there is bad breath coming in your mouth. You can ask a friend if you are not sure. However I am sure the sticky slimy feel you can tell.

3. The next day, observe if you are coming down with a cold or a rash, or allergy. Most pathogenic bacteria tends to be observable in symptoms after 24 hours of consumption.

4. The next day you can do the milk test. Repeat the procedures 1-3 but using a standard cow's milk. The common symptoms for people with lactose intolerance on cow's milk is diarrhea, allergies or getting colds will come in the next day. If you aren't sure, use your friend as a "control" or reference point.

You can do this in using sundae ice cream or your other favorite choice of suspicious food. It works better then the patch test doctor do, since you are doing it one at a time instead an array of allergens on your arms.

The ones I am asking you to investigate is fried chickens, microwave cooking and french fries. The quantities it must be consumed are about what you alway consume with regular food, in bulk of course, but only this time you will be eating JUST only one type of food - monolithic diets. This is how I learned which food raised my blood pressure, allergies, or even get "the blues".

The best judge for whether the soy works for you or not is yourself. However, based on my own test soy with many people, at least here in Asia, soy works. On the other hand, 90% of all Asians are actually lactose intolerant. However a similar figures are found throughout all ethnic groups but with different percentages. Therefore it doesn't work for everyone! Cheers!

Replied by lrm
(San Diego, CA)
08/10/2008

1)What I find interesting about Ted's soy claims is that the 'research' he points to is not 'full- proof', though he offers the links and info as though it is God's word. In fact,much of the debate about soy is that the research has been skewed in favor of soy,by major medical research teams. Ted did not address this, that I was able to see/read.

2)Second major point: The amounts of soy being consumed by many Americans far exceeds those of Asian cultures. Fermented or not,Americans have tended toward excess consumption of anything they are told is 'good for them'. Cow milk=case in point! As well,one cannot take one food in isolation without looking at a complete diet,on a culture by culture basis. I do not see Asians consuming gallons of soy milk per day,along with tons of dairy and huge steaks.

3)In asian medicine,it is well known that soy is 'damp',in energetic quality-people with excess mucous or any form of deficiency are often depleted,spleen deficiency,as a result of eating too much soy.This particular affects digestion and can be particularly true in women.

4)Extremely important: the soy quality being consumed is of utmost importance here. GMO's,pesticides and the like make a HUGE difference. Asian countries are only recently beginning to reap the 'not so great' benefits of high pesticide rates,high smoking/tobbaco use,high refined oil and trans fat consumption,etc. Watch as their cancer,diabetes and degenerative diseases rise.

This at a time when Americans are beginning to become informed about their dangers. Give it another decade,and you will suddenly find back to the land and organic/non refined movements throughout asia.

There is no point in debating-but I hardly think milk sales are down enough to be the 'cause' of senseless soy bashing. Especially when many of these refutes of soy's benefits,are submitted by citizens and consumer groups,not large dairy corporations. Please consider the sources of funding for research on either side. And consider the types of evidence-ie,'medical research' claims vs. evidence based approaches. Statistics can be manipulated.

If anything,milk companies would be trying to refute claims that 'organic' milk is better-as organic requires more space and money to produce. And certainly organic milk sales are on the rise. Besides,most of the major milk companies I know of are now producing SOY MILK,as well as COW MILK-so they make a buck either way.

NOONE needs to consume gallons or even quarts of any kind of milk in a daily basis. Everything in moderation should take care of the situation. And I myself do not digest soy products well,so I do not eat them.

I will also say that 'TRUE FERMENTATION' is very different than what passes as fermented on most American store shelves. Tofu and Tempeh are produced en masse with chemicals,hardly the traditional asian way-and hardly a stretch to think that this method might produce less than positive health effects.

I'm all for considering both sides-I just look for logic and reason in thinking things through.

Replied by Moi
(V Ville, CA)
08/10/2008

Irm,

you may or maybe right about soy, but my own personal experience with it is that it is not for me. I am 45 and last year I decided to use soy instead of milk. I used only organic non-sweetened soy and shortly thereafter began to have hot flashes. I did not put 2 + 2 together and used soy for many months. Stopped using soy and flashes went, used it again recently and within 10 minutes had a hot flash. I was also buying supplements with soy in them to counteract peri or menopause, so there I was consuming more and more soy to help the flashes. Too much estrogen (soy) which is a hormone or it was at least mimicking it in my body.

Peace
thanks for this great site!


Soy Feedback
Posted by Michael (USA) on 09/15/2006
★☆☆☆☆

Do a google search for "soy toxins" and you will find info that contradicts the drumbeat in favor of soy. The true fact is that many people including me have a strong negative reaction to soy - it destroys your immune system and makes you susceptible to any germ you come into contact with - an AIDS like reaction to germs. You have an excellent website, but you have duped about soy as I was until my father discovered the problems others have had with soy - I cut soy out of my diet and got off my deathbed and started living again.

Replied by Ted
(Bangkok, Thailand)
391 posts

Is soy toxic? Simple. I read through medical literature, or you can go through pubmed. Do a search and read every literature on soy. It is quite positive. The only negative thing about soy is it can't be used in infant formula, the same is also true for cow's milk. I only read first hand information, most information on soy toxin as claimed are positive. Asians is the world's largest consumer of soy. We Asians have been consuming soy for centuries. We also use soy protein to accelerate plant growth. China also consume soy and have very low incidence in cancer, they also recently begun a switchover to cow's milk and now the cancer rate is starting to rise. In fact, try a chemical analysis of the cow's milk you are drinking, it is high in vaccines, antibiotics, and growth hormone. Remember I am speaking from a country that is already one of the world's largest consumer of soy for centuries.It has only been in recent years (about 10 years) that the switchover is to cow's milk, with devastating consequences, such as obesity (cow's milk is high in hormones that forces the body to increase fat). You can find this information yourself, but the government are afraid to admit this fact. People who are allergic to something can be allergic from soy to cow's milk. I went to check on soy toxin, nothing much. You can debate me on it! I have more than enough ammunitions to back up my claims.


Soy Feedback
Posted by Victor (New Port Richey, FL) on 08/22/2006
★★★★☆

i have used soy protein in the past but have learned that soy is high in oxalates that can cause kidney stones, is this true? hope to hear your reply since i do not eat meat. thanks

Replied by Ted
(Bangkok, Thailand)
391 posts

Dear Victor: Yes, soy is high in oxalates. Many high protein diets are high in oxalates such as meats, dairy products, vegetables, milk, nuts, beans, seafood products are also high in oxalates. But vegetables, such as spinach, green peas, broccolli, and many others are also high in oxalates. If you think what you drink is safe, well consider chocolates, cocoa, and tea are also high in oxalates. My guess is if you avoid rich oxalate food, you are depriving yourself or a lot of nutrients.

People who get cancer, infections, viruses, fungus infection or lowered immune system have LOW oxalates. It is also true that people with high oxalate may get kidney stones. Few people also know that certain foods and supplements will rid or dissolve your body of oxalates.

The real secret is not avoiding oxalates, or eating foods high in oxalates, or even finding the middle ground as to how much oxalates you are eating by getting those RDA (Recommended Daily Allowances) of oxalates. They don't exist.

So where do we get the answers? Do we need more high tech knowledge to find such an answer? Look no further then a gorilla raised in the wild. They don't get kidney stones! Gorilla raised in the zoo do! So I guess a Gorilla does not have to get a Ph.D. to know the RDA for oxalates! People get kidney stones for a very simple reasons. If the body's bicarbonates or buffer is insufficient in the intestines, the oxalic acid rich foods, goes right through your intestines and directly into the blood. The oxalic acid will then react with the body's calcium usually in the bloodstream to form calcium oxalates. This is then slowly accumulates in your kidney to form calcium oxalate stones. Calcium oxalate stones is relatively insoluble, whenever your kidney's pH remains at a level below 6. It is more soluble at a more alkaline pH such as 7.

Assuming on the otherhand that your has sufficient levels of bicarbonate or buffer. What happens is this: the body's bicarbonates reacts directly with the oxalic acid in the intestines to neutralized the acid to form sodium oxalate, which prevents any further reaction from becoming calcium oxalate and safe.

You can do this experiment at your own home to prove to you why a urinary pH acid causes calcium oxalate, which is one of the common components of the kidney stones. This is a small experiment I devised sometime ago in the beginning of this year (2006) to resolve the oxalic rich food paradox. I will be first to admit, this is not an exact science, but with the resources that I have quite limited!

Prepare a fresh urine sample in a cup. Get 1/4 teaspoon of oxalic acid and dissolve. The urine will become instantly cloudy. Precipitates will form. There you have it, instant kidney stones!

Now perform another experiment, get 1 teaspoon of baking soda and put it in ANOTHER, fresh urine sample cup. Now add 1/4 teaspoon of oxalic acid. The baking soda will react with oxalic acid to form sodium oxalate, instead of reacting with the calcium in your urine. The ending urine sample will be clearer then the one without the baking soda. So a person with plenty of bicarbonates is unlikely to get kidney stones!

So the cure for kidney stones, or the nemesis of oxalic is simple: baking soda. No need to avoid oxalate, or determine the RDA for oxalate diet and you now have a way of preventing kidney stones! Of course many other supplement will also dissolve kidney stones: citric acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin C. So the reason to avoid the soy on oxalates is unfounded. as you can easily get them from other foods too. The secret is something that covers so many illness is baking soda.

Replied by Dale7010
(Lansing, Mi)
12/18/2011

I read carefully the first entry on the page -"Ted's Defense of Soy" and clicked on the link for pubmed.org which he stated would support the case for soy not affecting testosterone. I found this link

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21353476

which clearly demonstrates in this particular case that discontinuing a soy-based vegan diet restored a male's normal testosterone levels after a year.

I'm going to limit soy from now on.


Soy Feedback
Posted by Ben (Scottsdale, AZ) on 08/20/2006
★★★★★

I'm glad Ted cleared this up about soy. I used to consume soy milk and other soy-based products on a regular basis, until I started reading negative press about soy and its potentially harmful effects. I realize now that it was just special interest propaganda to discourage sales of soy products. I have since gone back to eating soy in all forms.

Replied by Leanne
(Brisbane, Queensland Australia)
08/27/2009
★★★★★

In defence of soy - I have been having some really atrocious hot flushes as I enter menopause. For the last 12 months I have simply endured them, thinking they will just go away eventually.

In desperation last week, I bought a bulk pack of soy beans (non GMO)and have been making my own soy milk. The taste is absolutely terrible of course(no sweeteners or flavouring added), but frankly, I'd drink battery acid if I thought it would help.

Well, it has - no, not the battery acid! I got my first full night's sleep in over 12 months last night and the hot flushes have not recurred since the first 24 hours of drinking my home made soymilk.

I have to add however, that I am on the bicarbonate soda/ACV mix as well, and tried oil-pulling with sesame oil for the first time two days ago. The bicarb/ACV drink did help in terms of severity of the flushes, but adding the soymilk to the whole protocol really did the trick, as far as I'm concerned. The difference is amazing and I can't believe how much more energised I feel. I feel as if some heavy horror has been lifted and my outlook on life is now really positive. I find it hard to believe how much the whole menopause thing had affected my vitality and enjoyment of life. I now have my rather immature and much enjoyed sense of mischief back!

I'll keep up the soymilk along with the bicarb/ACV. Despite the taste!

Replied by Kc
(Duboise, Pa)
08/27/2009
★☆☆☆☆

Its not just anti-soy propaganda. I nearly ruined my health and destroyed my thyroid gland by eating soy foods. Not everyone can eat soy, just as not everyone can eat wheat, or eggs, or milk etc. And even though soy is helping you now, watch out for signs of "soy toxicity" in the months to come. Soy also contains a powerful enzyme inhibitor that inhibits the action of trypsin, a pancreatic enzyme that digests protein, making soy very hard on the pancreas, again, especially in some people. The bottom line is: know your body, listen to what it is saying to you, and don't let ideaology rule you. In matters of health, biology trumps ideaology every time.

Replied by Cindy
(Ch, Wi, USA)
08/28/2009

what about lecithin, are there health benefits from it?


Soy Sauce

Posted by Loren (Queens, Ny) on 10/11/2011

Hey everyone: Can someone tell me once and for all if soy sauce (kikkoman for example) is not good for people who are hypothyroid? I use this sauce in everything I cook and am worried now if it should be off limits for people who have thyroid disease because of the soy. Help please!!

Replied by Maria
(Gippsland, Australia)
10/12/2011

Soy sauce is not created equal most have only a very small percentage of fermented soy and the rest is soy (usually GMO soy), wheat, colours and salt. It is very rare that the salt is the good sea salt. Traditional soy sauce is called Tamari (or at least in Australia it is) and it contains only soy beans, water and sea salt and is naturally fermented. As you are using it every day it would be worth getting the organic tamari. It would also pay to make sure you are getting enough iodine.



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