Soy isn’t ALL Good?

When we go shopping, we’re bombarded with a million people saying, “Buy this product! It’s better than the others!” This happens especially often when we’re looking for food, because what we put in our bodies is a huge deal. Lately, a craze has overtaken American to seek out soy foods because “Asians eat it, and they’re so healthy!” and “It’s the best alternative to dairy products!”. This has happened to the point that everyone just assumes soy is a wonder-product and nobody thinks to look at long-term affects.

First off, we’re all told that we’re eating soy, just like the Asians, right? Wrong. In China, they may eat around 2tsp of soy, and in Japan it may get up to ¼ of a cup. Americans are trying to consume copious amounts of soy that is way beyond what any Asian country might deem fit. Secondly, American soy is completely unlike what they ingest in other countries; American soy is unfermented. Unfermented soy is not eaten in other countries because it contains anti-nutrients–toxins for the body. These anti-nutrients block absorption of all the good things for your  body, and inhibits protein digestion, which completely backfires a vegetarian’s use of soy.

Another dark part of soy is the content of phytoestrogen–a plant estrogen. There has been copious debate about this topic, but the bottom line is that it’s there. Some believe phytoestrogen to be helpful during women’s menopause, but it has also been seen to lend to the development of breast cancer. Some even believe that large amounts of plant estrogen can lead to the development of breasts in men. Think about how this could happen, though. Vegetarians cut out meat completely, and most go to soy to substitute for their protein. In Japan, they typically ingest around 10mg of soy. A soy burger in America has 200mg. Now, imagine this on a somewhat daily basis. It only takes 30mg of this estrogen to harm a low-functioning thyroid–things can get scary fast for soy consumers.

Soy has become an integrated part of the American diet for the most part, though, and while it may be harming some of our diets, we won’t just give it up. If you do insist on continuing this part of your diet, consider regular thyroid checkups, monitor breast cancer signs, and take vitamin supplements to combat the anti-nutrients. Great ways to do this is to take Coral Calcium for the calcium and vitamin D deficiencies, and drink Goji Juice to get all that energy back in your body.