I have a confession. About 7 years ago, I was a bonafide soy addict. On the soy train. The soy express actually. A soy queen.  Not because I was crazy (or aware of it at the time), but all because I thought I was doing something good for myself. In reality, it was one of the worst things I could have done for my health, but something that I didn’t figure out until I became much more aware of what truly goes on in our food supply chain.  I must share with all of you, because I see it too often- the soymilk latte order, the tofu for dinner, and the soy sauce in every “healthy” stir-fry recipe you can find.

It’s such a common situation these days. You hear about some new diet or study that has come out that promises you a life of indefinite happiness- the key to success! The missing link! Do (blank) and you’ll be happier, healthier, richer, smarter, skinnier, leaner, more attractive, etc. Sound familiar? If you pay attention to any sort of food and health marketing, you know exactly what I mean.

Health marketing messaging has gotten out of control. These messages, of course, often target the people who want to be healthy, who want to try harder, are curious to learn more to better educate themselves on the best food choices. Doesn’t it seem wrong that most of the messaging we get around food is just not accurate for people who even care to look into it? Even worse, that following the advice that you commonly hear can make your health worse? What about all the people who don’t spend the time to educate themselves? It makes sense that we are so confused about what to eat- we’re seeing the effects of it everyday, in more capacities than one as our nation’s health continues on its decline.

Soy is one of the prime examples like this in the world of health and one that I had to re-educate myself on. Let’s look for a minute at the little innocent (not-so) soybean. Sounds harmless enough, right? It’s a bean for crying out loud. Well, more accurately, it used to be just a little bean.

If we go back to the basic rule that if the food has been around for thousands of years it’s healthy safe bet to consume, soybeans should pass that rule with flying colors. And yes, while the actual soybean has been around a long time, especially in the old world Japanese culture,   the stuff we eat today is nothing close to that original bean. Fact: today, most soy and soy by-products in our world today are highly processed health-marketed foods (read: not healthy).

There are, however, many of the old-world forms of soy still around and great to eat on occasion like edamame, miso soup, tempeh and tamari sauce. These foods are made with naturally fermented and organic soybeans, thus making it a lot easier to digest (remember this).

Take the above “good” examples of soy in contrast to what most people who eat soy often consume: Soy protein isolate found in shakes and bars, soy milk, tofu and all it’s by-products, textured vegetable protein, soy sauce, soybean oil, soy lethicin (check your chocolate labels- all that I have seen with exception to Theo’s Chocolate have this in it). It’s everywhere! These products are mostly made with non-digestible soybeans, which cause a lot of inflammation on in your gut and digestive system, which leads to much bigger health problems, as we are starting to see across the U.S.. Thyroid dysfunction, infertility, food sensitivities, and general fatigue/sluggishness are on the rise, without a very clear explanation with exception to their linkage to inflammation of some kind within the body’s cells. It is said to have ill-effects in both pregnant women and the ones who are using contraceptives. According to https://getinjuryanswers.com/what-is-the-mirena-crash-after-iud-removal/, the iud removal has led to huge issues which medically roots from the eating habits that include these beans as a major factor.

This leads to the bigger question: why are soybeans not easily digestible? More than a few reasons, actually. Soybeans naturally have the highest amount of phytic acid than any other legume, which is a strong anti-nutrient. This means that it can actually block the absorption of essential minerals like calcium, magnesium and potassium because uses them up in your body rather than providing more nutrition. The processing of the beans is another big factor- soybeans are often mixed with an alkaline solution to remove the fiber, then treated with an acid wash before being neutralized again with more alkaline solution. In the process, the soybean is heated to such a high temperature, that it actually denatures the protein. The chemical structure itself has been edited. What was once a real food has turned into a scary science experiment- unrecognizable to your body on a hormonal level. This is the form that soy protein isolate is used in the most- often to give it a smooth texture and better taste. So on top of the natural phytic acid, you’re eating chemicals and spray that are by no means natural for your body to digest, let alone the altered form of protein. Soy milk, anyone?

In addition to the processing procedure, most soybean crops in the US are Genetically Modified Organisms, (GMO for short). (More like OMG once you understand the process). Together with corn, soy is one of the top two sources of food in our food supply- directly and indirectly we consume more of those foods than anything else. Let’s break it down. GMO foods mean that a human-induced process has physically disrupted the genetic system of the plant. We (humans) actually insert the genetic code of one species into another completely different species. This is not selective breeding as done with our pets and other plants, but an actual combination of two completely different plant genomes mushed together into one, which equals lots of trouble down the road that we are not even aware of today. Like a giraffe-daffodil. Or a penguin-leaf. Not normal.

Do you think our body has the capacity to interpret these GMO and chemicalized food products to use as energy and fuel?  Can a car run on water and sawdust?

Why is this done? High governmental production and large profit margins to be exact. Soybeans are cheap to produce because GMO fields yield large amounts of crops. They are subsidized by the government, making it hard for farmers to refuse to grow them. These processed, genetically strange soy foods are chemicalized, then used in all sorts of food products as a filler, emulsifier, or cheaper replacement for real ingredients. Have you ever seen the ingredients soybean oil? Vegetable oil? Cottonseed oil? Partially hydrogenated oil? All made from soy.  That is where we get into trouble. With such a large presence in foods, soy and all it’s by-products are now the top 3 contenders for most highly allergenic foods in this country. No wonder so many people in this country don’t feel good- their systems are not meant to handle the processed form of soy that we so highly consume today. Talk about confusing your own body’s natural signals on a hormonal, endocrinologal level – there is nothing natural about soybeans and soybean based food products these days.

But why do we always hear soy is healthy? Where are these messages coming from? Remember the government subsidies? Trace many of the health claims about soy back to its original source, and it often leads you back to government-funded products made of GMO soybeans. As for all the health claims we’ve heard so many times like it’s a healthy plant source of protein, great for people allergic to milk, and can even help menopausal women balance their hormones. The list goes on. I myself believed those claims as well for many years, but have since felt so much better since I’ve eliminated soy from my food consumption, along with some other similar culprits on our food system these days. It has made a world of difference for me personally, so I can only imagine that it can be a similar case for you. Have you ever thought about the following?

#1- Eating only plant food does not ensure a healthy body composition or blood cholesterol levels. Eating real food does this, not man-made GMO, fake food, whether it’s “protein” or not.

#2- If you already have a milk allergy, you are already at risk of developing other sensitivities as well much more easily. I literally replaced so many things in my diet with soy for a few years, trying to be healthy, and actually made my body sensitive to all soy- even the good, organic and fermented kinds. Just a warning. Too much of something isn’t that good after all. Try organic coconut or even almond milk- they are real food sources to begin with, and are much easier on your body in many ways.

#3. Soy can mimic the hormone estrogen in the body. You know, the female hormone? Guys, this should be enough of a reason. Girls, why would you want a synthetic fake out hormone in your body messing with things? Everything from appetite, weight gain, early puberty, emotional highs and lows, and sleep cycles are all tied into your hormonal picture. You do not want to mess with it.

So please, dump out that soymilk and get rid of your soy protein bars. Read those ingredient labels on everything in your kitchen and pantry- you will not find this in the nutrition facts alone. If you don’t eat meat, that’s just fine. You can get protein from nuts and seeds, sprouted grains, clean dairy, fish and seafood, and properly prepared beans instead. If you love soy, stick with the good kinds.

And if you aren’t already convinced, do some of your own research. If you just believe what you hear, through indirect marketing and advertising especially, your chances of being misled are very high. It’s not too late to turn it around and educate yourself in a better way. If you don’t take your health into your own hands, don’t assume someone else will. It’s just your life, after all.

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