Soy Health Guide 2026: Fermented vs. Processed Safety Rules

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 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!

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.

Soy Feedback

Posted 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 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.

Soy Feedback

Posted by Dale7010 (Lansing, Mi) on 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.

Ted's Defense of Soy

Posted by Jordan (Lincoln, Nebraska Usa) on 12/08/2011

So I am sure that there are no alterior motives pushing soy? No certain interest groups, multinational companies or goverments who might benefit from more soy being sold?

If you are going to post something like this on the internet at least be non biased. I dare you to find five studies that just as staunchly will tell you how bad soy is. Just because you can copy and paste is no excuse to think you are right.

I was just reading this little tid bit before I ran accross this.

http://humrep.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/11/2584.full

Funny how if you only look at papers supporting your point of view, you end up looking right. Be the devils advocate to your own point of view.

Ted's Defense of Soy

Posted by Mama To Many (Tennessee) on 09/20/2014

25 years ago I had allergy testing done. I was told that I was allergic to soy and peanuts. So I stopped eating them. I started reading labels and found, even then, that soy, at least, soybean oil, was in EVERYTHING! You are right, Tvo.

So, I guess I started to do what Mmsg was suggesting, I fixed everything from scratch. I lost 20lbs without even trying. (It was 20lbs I had gained when I had started a new job and was also eating out a lot.) I don't know if it was soy or something else in processed foods. I wasn't even trying to diet and hadn't increased my exercise. It was an interesting benefit from giving up soy.

~Mama to Many~

Soy Dangers

Posted by Mr. Ree (Somewhere, Usa) on 09/27/2012

I see where Bill from the Phillipines said "NOW" lecithin is GMO... My question is does anybody know where I can find out exactly what lecithins products are and are NOT GMO products? It would help with everybodys health...

I heard 90% of all soy products are GMO and that ALL soy in this country is sprayed with agent orange... This came from a very good source...Thank you

Soy Dangers

Posted by Wendy (Columbus, Oh/usa) on 09/28/2012

I did some googling and found this link re the top 10 genetically modified foods ("GMO") to avoid eating :

http://www.naturalnews.com/035734_GMOs_foods_dangers.html

Soy Dangers

Posted by Cat (Tauranga, New Zealand) on 02/17/2012

However, this was not my actual question; which concerns whether soy products are really as healthy as the food industry likes to portray them? The main principle lies in the amount, because too much is unhealthy, as you always say.

Basically soy is a high-quality plant protein in which Isoflavones are also contained in large quantities in the form of phytoestrogens. Nevertheless, the protein and the Isoflavones, as well as other substances of soy, are in no way harmless. In particular with long-term consumption of large quantities, the Isoflavones effect the hormone balance quite critically.

However, all the other soy substances are not harmless either, which is why they should be used as food only with sufficient caution or not at all. In particular no kind of food for children should contain any soy products at all, because with regard to the Isoflavones, especially the health of babies, toddlers and adolescents is impaired by soy products and in other respects health is seriously damaged. Already less than one quarter of a milligram of Isoflavones per one kilogram of body weight per day can cause very bad and irreparable health defects in children of every age, namely in relation to consciousness activity, the brain, the intelligence, the world of thought and feeling, the psyche, the physical body and the behaviour pattern etc.

If pregnant women consume soy products it can lead to heavy and irreparable damages to the foetus' body, limbs, nerves, cerebrum and muscles as well as to body deformations. More than a quarter of a milligram of Isoflavones per kilo of body weight should not be given to babies and toddlers under any circumstances.

Said with easy and generally understandable words and concepts, soy products of all kind, because of their toxic ingredients, in larger quantities are even capable of impairing the health of strong adults and to cause serious damage, which can lead to growth of tumours, respectively cancer and to the fostering of brain-, consciousness and behavioural disorders, personality changes and to infertility.

Especially breast cancer in women and men is often caused by soy products, as well as depression and Parkinson's, namely in particular when a hereditary disposition exists for it. Also Alzheimer's and dementia can be results of an excess of the Isoflavones, as well as an impairment of eyesight, the taste buds, the ability to concentrate, the moral balance and various other important life factors.

Then what ought to be the amount of soy that the adult may take? The quantity depends on the concentration of Isoflavones, of which a person should consume no more than half a milligram per kilo of body weight daily if he does not want to be impaired toxically. This means that a person of 70 kilograms of body weight should not consume soy products that exceed 35 milligrams of Isoflavones. However, with soy consumption this amount is reached very quickly.

This is indeed the case, because already a normal soy drink of 2.5 dl in size contains about 30 milligrams of Isoflavones.

And what is the case with drugs made of soy respectively concerning their Isoflavones? Such drugs are in no way recommend, if, on one hand, they are not adjusted for the body weight, and, on the other hand, are taken for too long a time, or if the person is especially susceptible with regard to Isoflavones

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/3513607.stm

I recall reading somewhere that tofu, miso etc (the fermented types of soy) are safe and that's why Asians have no problems with their consumption of soy. It's really only the western world that has decided to include soy in so many products (canned tuna for instance) and this is where the problems lies. Check the labels in your pantry and you'll be amazed at how much soy we're consuming, to our detriment!!!

Soy Dangers

Posted by Kumar Reddy (Amravati, India) on 10/20/2014

Hello Everyone..

I am not writing just because we manufacture Non-GMO Soy Lecithin but because I am reading many articles that Soy is very allergic, Not good for health and etc.. It may be but kindly go to the reports and also the environment and the patients health also..

Because in India and other South-Asian countries max you can say 95% people eat Soy or bi-products from age below 5yrs. Then why there is no such Allergy in India? Why people are still healthy when taking or consuming Soy in their regular diet?

Kindly don't follow blindly anything which is published without any studies.. Kumar Reddy

Soy Dangers

Posted by Prioris (Fl) on 10/20/2014

Thanks for the education Ed2010.

Soy Feedback

Posted by Debbie (Melbourne, Australia ) on 12/29/2011

I came across this article on the dangers of soy being hidden in our foods. I think everyone should read it. It says that soy is high in antrinutrients and blocks nutrients being digested in the digestive tract. It can affect masculinity and drive down fertility. Women eating large quantities of soy can experience hair thinning amongst other things. Consumption can according to the article lead to thyroid disfunction.

It certainly is getting harder to try to avoid getting very sick these days and it is hidden using various names in most processed foods. Along with MSG and aspartame you wonder what Governments are doing to the worldwide population.

No wonder our kids minds are being turned to mush. I would be interested in others thoughts on this.

http://www.justmindpower.com/Soy.html

Soy Feedback

Posted by Om (Hope, Bc, Canada) on 01/12/2014

Christina from Queensland: You are right. I used tau fu, etc. for years till I came upon an article from someone in New Zealand opening my eyes.

He was breeding fancy birds and when their food was changed to soy, their offspring were deformed. He personally had health problems and it took him years to flush the poison out.

An RN nurse told me that infants at the hospital are fed soy but they don't do well on it. She was prohibited from mentioning it to parents.

When the NZ man and others tried to alert the public the soy corp. harassed them so they had nervous break downs and had to go into hiding.

Meanwhile we know that soy narrows fine arteries, causes aging and affect even one's DNA adversely. There is tons of research by now. I see, among the gmo-ed oils soy oil is put into a lot of common grocery foods. In China, soy oil is not used for cooking, I was told. Namaste, Om

Soy Feedback

Posted by Butterflyrose (Myrtle Beach, Sc) on 01/12/2014

I have the exact same question as u do.

Soy Feedback

Posted by Suzy (Eugene, Or) on 01/12/2014

Sandy, I wold encourage you to check out the section on Iodine. There is also a Yahoo group whose members supplement with iodine. I have read on that group the stories of several people who have reduced their use of thyroid meds. The iodine protocol requires a number of companion nutrients be used as well. Also Dr. David Brownstein's Book, Iodine Why you need it, Why you can't live without it

Soy Feedback

Posted by Baldev (Maharashtra, India) on 01/13/2014 180 posts

Omji, Ted has recommended non GM Soya Lecithin on this site and also I have read on this site about dark soya sauce to be good. Fermented soya of course is good. What is your say on that.

Since Ted is back I would request him to take some time and please write on Soya and clarify our doubts. Baldev

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!!

Soy Sauce

Posted by Maria (Gippsland, Australia) on 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.

Soy Feedback

Posted by Annon (Anywhere, Usa) on 02/21/2011

Lanos wrote: 02/21/2011: Lanos from Socalifornia, Usa writes: "Tybrid is absolutely correct, stay away from soy products. My experience with it was very regretful.
------------
Hey, Lanos - Maybe you should just pray to God over it, and then take it anyway. Refering to your other post, and your condescending attitude.
GOD BLESS.

Soy Feedback

Posted by Janna (London, Uk ) on 07/21/2010
★☆☆☆☆

I just wanted to comment on the dangers of soya milk for the infants. I didn't read closely about the dangers of soya milk products because as a family we do not really consume them. However, my son who is now 7 years old and who had been on soya formula since the age of 4.5 month till perhaps 22 month. At about two years of age he started drinking cow's milk with no problems. Before had terrible intolerance to it and this soya formula was the only way for me to get him fed. Well, I did listen to the doctors (sadly) and had no idea that goat milk could be a substitute. In my family we are usually all healthy with good genes. In my husband's more or less also. With this in mind, I was taken aback when my son got pneumonia at 2 y.o. Then a few month later it reoccurred. Second time he needed oxygen mask as well. And this condition reoccurred again soon after. I became desperate. In the end we got it under control with salbutamol. The diagnosis wasn't asthma. But some kind of bronkho. . . Spasms. We had been using salbutamol constantly till he was 4 y.o. Then all of a sudden this breathing problem of his was gone. But soon came a new one - heavy allergy to mold that resulted in him no longer being able to properly breath through the nose. It also made him so susceptible to developing severe cough as soon as got a cold. He is otherwise fine - intelligent, very fit and tall. But he does have very strange behavior sometimes. I even thought of taking him to see a psychologist. He likes to annoy every one in the house, cannot find occupation for himself on his own - he craves attention all the time! I've got another boy, 2y.o. who I breast-fed till he was 15 month. Of course, I compare the two often. The younger one is much healthier - no pneumonia, allergies, coughs or bronkho spasms. No attention cravings! And is just as fit, tall and strong and a clever one too. God, if I had only known then what kind of long-term harm I would cause my child with this soya formula!

Soy Feedback

Posted by Elsaeasterly (Elsewhere, Ca, Usa) on 07/29/2010

Francisca,

I was fed soy formula as an infant, and I do not know of any health problems that I have ( I don't have many) that are connected to soy. That being said, knowing what I know now, I certainly would not give a soy formula to an infant, but I wouldn't worry about the past too much. By the way, you have said that you grew up in Portugal and now live in France (correct?), but your English seems flawless. What's your secret?

Soy Feedback

Posted by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 07/30/2010

Hi Elsaeasterly, thanks for your kind words about my use of the English language! Funny enough I only lived in England for a few months when I was 18 (now 53) but my husband is British and we have been together for almost 5 years. Still, when I went to live in England at 18 they considered my English so good that although there was no place for me to study English in Harrow College they were prepared to let me do the course. Being 18 I decided that I didn't feel like it (very silly, I know... ). I started learning English at school when I was 12 and read mostly in English from then on, many, many books. One of my daughters started speaking English fluently at the age of 7 (in Holland) and even translated for the teachers at school when a Canadian girl moved there. She had never had a lesson. Thanks again for your words.... I surely do my best...

Soy Sauce

Posted by Baldev (Mumbai, Maharashtra, India) on 07/07/2010 180 posts

I would like to know if there are any advantages or disadvantages of taking Dark Soya Sauce in meals? Also, is it true that Sodium bicarbonate depletes Vit. B complex from the body? Thanks

Soy Sauce

Posted by Baldev (Maharashtra, India) on 09/15/2013 180 posts

Hi, My question is for the Moderator. Once I read on this site Ted's comments about Dark Soya Sauce, I would like to read it again so how to get to that post. Thanks, Baldev

EC: Hi Baldev, Ted talks about Soy Sauce here... https://www.earthclinic.com/remedies/alkalizing_formulas_questions.html#Question_220

Soy Feedback

Posted by Francisca (Michelbach-le-bas, Alsace, France) on 06/02/2010

I have been reading a lot about unfermented soy products lately and all the problems they create. My children were born in Holland. They all three had lactose intolerance. The oldest was given formula without lactose but at the time the youngest two were born soy was already in fashion and they were prescribed soy formula by the doctor. Back then one didn't think twice about what the doctor prescribed so we had no problem with it. As I understand now it can cause them problems for the rest of their lives. Soy formula is now only prescribed in cases the baby is watched closely by the doctor. But I ask myself... why still prescribe it at all? They say that it is the same as giving a new born one to two anticonception pills....... Who on earth would do that? I don't know whether to tell the news to my daughters but I think that I ought too. Their doctor should know because in case they indeed have a problem it might be easier to solve if the doctor knows they have had this terrible formula when they were babies.

Soy Feedback

Posted by Billie (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia) on 06/02/2010

yes i think you should definitely tell your daughters...im so glad my mum told me about what she had read about soy milk...i saw alot of doctors and none of them seemed too interested in my lack of periods...i kept hearing "just go on the pill to regulate"

One man even sat back in his chair and put his hands behind his head and told me that..."can i ask you how much you weigh" when i told him i have always been a petite 45kgs no matter how much i eat and my parents and friends aren't concerned about my weight because they know my eating habbits, he then said in a patronising way..."well you do relies your the weight of alot of anorexic girls and when you starve you body you most likely stop menstruating" i couldn't believe it....that was the last time i saw him...it was probably easier for him to put me in a box with his conclusion.

i feel that alot of western trained doctors really don't want to believe there is any relation between herbal/natural remedies and health...its too easy to just prescribe a pill.

My youngest brother was bought up on soy milk as he was severely allergic to dairy...he had lots of issues with his health in his early years....he is now 18yrs and as my mum tells me he has confided in her that he has a very small "little friend" (& he just ended up in hospital with enlarged cysts on his testicles) he also has a strange voice which sounds high and blocked...too much oestrogen? i have 2 other brothers that were fine with dairy that have no problems like he has...a coincidence or fluke?

i still eat tofu and temphe as im sure these are good for you...

since i stopped soy milk everything is back to normal im happy to say..

Soy Feedback

Posted by Claudia (Hoor, Skane, Sweden) on 03/07/2010

Ted, hi and thanx for your always amazing bank of knowledge. I personally love soy products, from the taste to the known benefits. My mom is now suffering from severe osteoporois; it's awful and sad to watch her suffer. On a personal note, I used to eat a lot of soy for the obvious reasons - found I could not digest it. My Naturopath told me I was allergic (due to the symptoms I was having) - he also mentioned that so much of the soy we now have is GMO so the that in itself kind of negates the benefits. Am wondering :

A. Do you know of a way to ensure one is not getting GMO product?
B. What can someone like myself do who has allergic reactions to soy (gastric distress, etc).

Thanx so much for all your help!

regards,
Claudia

Soy Feedback

Posted by Bogazot (Cedar Knolls, Nj) on 02/22/2010

Why do you recommend soy as it is very clear in literature that soy is not a healthy food source.

EC: That's Ted's (a frequent contributor) opinion on soy, not Earth Clinic's...

Soy Feedback

Posted by Erynn (New Haven, Ct) on 02/12/2010

While I agree that the commercial industry of food is trying to force us to think that soy is bad, I do have to disagree on one part. I do think Soy effects estrogen, but may not necessarily be in a bad way. Women who are diagnosed with infertility are constantly using soy (in replacement of infertility drugs, like Clomid) to build their uterine lining and ovulate. Estrogen is the KEY horomone in Clomid, related with soy? I think the success of Soy proves this.

Soy Feedback

Posted by Catherine (Kaneohe, Hawaii) on 07/22/2009

http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/avoid_soy.htm

Make up your own mind and please do pass along information to others.

Soy Feedback

Posted by Bob (Moscow, Pa.) on 06/13/2009
0 out of 5 stars

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 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 lrm (San Diego, CA) on 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.

Soy Feedback

Posted by Moi (V Ville, CA) on 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!