soy article from Sunday's Chronicle

[Guest guest]

On Aug 14, 2006, at 11:38 AM, Karen wrote:

> Anyone have thoughts or comments on this piece from the Sunday

> Chronicle magazine? I am VERY confused about how to feel about soy;

> generally I try to eat in moderation but it's tough when it's used so

> prevalently as a filler/protein source. Karen

 

Sam Halsey <samhalsey wrote:

>There is a good article in one of Dr Mcdougall's Newletters entitled

> " Soy – Food, Wonder Drug, or Poison? " (see link below):

 

35 grams a day? or the 50-100 recommended by

huckster/quack Sears? No. That much *protein* per

day is far too much, and from one source

certainly excessive.

 

I agree with McDougall's position -- use in

moderation primarily as a whole food. I think one

of the guidelines is to eat no more than 5-10

grams of soy protein a day, comparable to what

Asians eat in tofu-eating countries.

 

So if I have soy yogurt in the morning, I don't

have soy ice cream later in the day. Or I have

either soy yogurt or soymilk with breakfast, but

not both. One Thanksgiving, I had been planning

to make a soy-based pumpkin pie for a small

dinner with friends until I found out that

someone else was bringing tofurkey, so I changed

to a nonsoy recipe at the last minute. Or if I

have a soy-based main course for dinner, I avoid

soy products the next few days.

 

I also like (and usually but not always follow)

voice-of-reason Marion Nestle's guideline to eat

no prepared foods that have more than 5

ingredients. Of course, this applies more to

snack-type foods than to foods made from

wholesome ingredients.

 

Bigger issues with actual public-health

ramifications (and which I have not seen covered

in the scare-of-the-day popular press) are

 

-- the predominance of corn in the standard

American diet, particularly in junk food and fast

food, as pointed out by Michael Pollan in his

recent book, The Omnivore's Dilemma.

 

-- the fact that milk protein is the most

carcinogenic substance known, as pointed out by

Colin Campbell in his recent book, The China

Study. Setting up soy formula vs. dairy-based

formula is a paper tiger unless the risks of all

ingredients are known, and I have never seen a

discussion of formula that even mentions these

risks from cow's milk.

 

Tanya