Comments on: The War On Soy: Why the Miracle Food May Be a Health Risk and Environmental Nightmare

By: A Mindful Approach to Wellness - The Philosophie

A Mindful Approach to Wellness - The Philosophie — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 22:12:32 +0000

[...] to digest than the kind made from cow’s milk. Additional sources include sauerkraut, miso, tempeh, and organic soybeans. Immediately after a course of antibiotics, you may wish to recharge your [...]

By: Starbucks offering vegan options?! | The Philosophie

Starbucks offering vegan options?! | The Philosophie — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:22:32 +0000

[...] don’t love that it’s made with soy milk (I’d prefer almond or oat milk) but it’s definitely a step in the right direction [...]

By: Sophie

Sophie — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 12:34:56 +0000

Thank you, George, for your comment. This article was written by Tara Lohen from Alternet, the post I wrote was less thorough and a few posts back.
I wanted to include more information on soy, so I posted this information she so meticulously put together.
Before posting this I actually had the same qualm about phytic acid. I did further research and discovered its true, phytic acid is a toxin in soy. Small amounts of Phytic acid can also be found in barley, oats, wheat and rye, but in higher quantities like in in soy, it can block the uptake of certain vital minerals.
And yes, there are many things that shouldn’t be given to infants, but your example of honey is specifically about allergies, in a similar fashion as peanuts. I’ve heard about many studies and true life cases where children (particularly boys) have grown up after having unfermented soy from infancy and their hormones, neurobehavioral development and reproductive growth affected. Soy formula has been on the market for over 100 years but only recently has evidence against it been evolving. In 1980 iron and other vital minerals were added to soy formula because of the high amount of phytic acid which binds iron.
There’s no question that breast milk is the best source of nutrition for human babies. If breast milk can’t be used, it seems soy is the last resource one would want to use.
this is a great article (double blind study) on this topic: PEDIATRICS Vol. 121 No. 5 May 2008, pp. 1062-1068 (doi:10.1542/peds.2008-0564)
Again, thank you for your comment, and I look forward to hearing from you in the future.

By: George Popham

George Popham — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 01:04:20 +0000

OK, I share reservations about gmo foods (though, to be fair, the jury is still out on how bad they might be and they do have significant benefits in terms of feeding lots of people.) I also share your reservations about utterly criminal ways of industrial agriculture, but those issues are separate from the problems with soy itself as a dangerous food. I’m more than a little skeptical of the claim that legumes are in some way unhealthy in general owing to phytic acid. I’d need a lot more info on that to trust these claims. I’m willing to be convinced, but bad agriculture practices are one thing and soy as a food source is another and this article had very little on the negative effects of soy as such. Maybe it is bad for infants, but then so is honey, that is not a definitive criteria. And reports of “chronic and painful constipation alternating with debilitating diarrhea, vomiting after eating, sharp pains in the digestive tract after consuming soy, passing out after soy-based meals, heart palpitations, rashes, acne, insomnia, panic attacks, depression and symptoms of hypothyroidism, such as low body temperature (feeling cold all the time), brain fog, fatigue, weight gain, frequent infections and an enlarged thyroid gland.” Will have to be born out by real, controlled, double blind, studies as all of those symptoms can be caused by any number of factors aside from soy. I think you have a good article on the evils of corporate agriculture here, but you are a bit premature on your condemnation of unfermented soy in general.