Soy Debate

December 1, 2005

I hate to beat a soy bean to its death, but I simply must interject

for a number of reasons.

Reason #1:

I'm a big fan of soy products and have been indulging in them for

nearly 15 years. Forgive me if I sound like I'm bragging, but I'm

very healthy, extremely active, I feel like I'm 20 (most of the time)

but 45 and it really makes my diet a well-rounded, very satisfying

experience. Soy products make it very easy for me to maintain a near

vegan diet. Just for the record, I also have credentials that would

make me somewhat of an expert in the field of nutrition and fitness.

I'm a certified Nutrition Consultant, a Certified Personal Trainer

and Fitness Instructor.

Reason #2:

I just received my Vegetarian Voice published by North American

Vegetarian Society, and wouldn't you know it, one of the articles

written by recognized experts in nutrition, Virginia and Mark

Messina, addresses the most recent ongoing debate about soy. In this

article, fortunately, they mostly favor it with clinical evidence to

back their statements. But it's not just pro soy, they do address

real issues as well. I would highly recommend reading it. To acquire

references for the article, contact navs. Perhaps they

could also tell you how to get the article. Becoming a member would

probably be a good place to start. I'm sure many of you are.

Do keep in mind that we're all individuals and should take that into

consideration when addressing dietary choices. You need to weigh out

all the issues. I'm not sure that I agree with their recommendations

on how many servings per day (2-3) and they don't make a distinction

between healthier soy choices, i.e. fermented soy products such as

tempeh, miso, tamari.

Reason #3:

Where I went to school, The Director, Ed Bauman, PhD, encouraged

moderate intakes of soy, especially highly processed soy, but also

noted that there have been more than 5200 studies favoring the use of

soy products. That's convincing enough for me not to worry about it.

One serving per day is likely fine, but again, it depends on the

individual.

Reason #4:

John Robbins, although not certified as a nutrition expert, but

certainly looked up to within the vegetarian/vegan community, wrote a

fabulous article a number of years ago with everything cited. It

wasn't completely pro-soy, but very realistic and appearing to be non-

biased. The article was titled, What About Soy? It can be found on

the website, www.foodrevolution.org.

I just want to add that people are free to make their own food

choices. If they aren't harming living beings, causing environmental

problems, and it encourages them to either embrace or maintain a

vegetarian diet, more power to those little magical beans. I'm always

a bit surprised by how much judgement there is around people's food

choices. It would be nice to lighten up a bit around these issues.

I'm pretty certain John Robbins would agree.

February 27, 2008

One point I wanted to throw out here -- yes, at first glance it would

make sense that the soy industry would like to protect their business

and turn a profit, so would be pushing the health advantages of soy.

However, I can't remember the exact figure but I believe close to 2/3 of

the soy grown is actually used to feed livestock -- so from that

perspective, the soy industry would actually have a vested interest in

having us continue to eat lots of animal products, wouldn't they?

And I agree about moderation, I definitely monitor the amount of soy my

family eats and use alternatives whenever they're available. But I

thought the Mothering article was anything but balanced and perpetuated

(and perhaps even started) a lot of distorted truths.

Heather

Paige wrote:

>

> To all,

>

> I have been limiting the amount of soy for my 5 year old son- first

> because

> we are trying to do a better job of eating a whole foods diet and most soy

> products other than edamame are quite processed and often not very

> nutritive. Second, I read an article from Mothering magazine several years

> ago that made sense to me..after all soy companies are just like the meat

> and dairy industry - out to protect their business and turn a profit. just

> because these industries produce vegan foods I can eat does not make them

> healthful for my child. Anyway - for what it is worth we do consume soy,

> but try to limit the amount of processed soy as well as focus on many

> healthful protein alternatives. This article does not point out conclusive

> evidence that soy can be harmful, it just gets you thinking about the

> volume

> and quantity you put into your diet- which I think is the important piece,

> making sure there is variety and moderation.

>

> http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/soy_story.html

> <http://www.mothering.com/articles/growing_child/food/soy_story.html>

>

> Thanks

>

> - Paige

>

> _____

>

> <%40>

> [

> <%40>] On

> Behalf Of Inga McFadden

> Monday, February 25, 2008 4:12 PM

> <%40>

> Re: New to site

>

> For links to LEGITIMATE soy information try this site...

> http://www.bryannac

> <http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/3476771.htm

> <http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/3476771.htm>>

> larkgrogan.com/page/page/3476771.htm

>

> @gro <%40> ups.com,

> " Lorraine Demi " <ldemi wrote:

> >

> > Hi S & T,

> > For veggie burgers, we usually just choke down the price and get

> the box

> > of patties - you can often find coupons for them in the paper and

> > online, so that helps the cost. We also use the powdered mixes

> > sometimes - like Frontier's Soy Burger Mix or Nature's Burger or

> bulk

> > from the health food store. We belong to the Frontier Co-op, so

> it's

> > much cheaper that way than to pay full retail. And for lasagna, I

> use

> > tofu instead of ricotta, lots and lots of mozzarella, and lots of

> > veggies - zucchini, onion, carrots, spinach, tomatoes, etc. I also

> do a

> > layered enchilada dish that is sort of like lasagna - layering corn

> > tortillas that were quickly dipped in hot oil, with a salsa/tomato

> sauce

> > mix, cheese and whatever else - black beans, corn, tomatoes, onions,

> > cilantro, etc. Super fast and easy. Oh, and I've been getting some

> > really great recipes from www.veganlunchbox.com

> > <http://www.veganlun <http://www.veganlunchbox.com/

> <http://www.veganlunchbox.com/>> chbox.com/> . Just

> made the tofu " fish " sticks

> last

> > night, and got a request to make them again tonight! :-) You could

> > also look at the Moosewood cookbooks, Linda McCartney's books, and

> we

> > really like an old Vegetarian Times cookbook we've had for years and

> > years. Have fun!

> >

> > And about soy - we are careful to not overdo soy due to the

> > phytoestrogen concern, but we still eat and drink it regularly. We

> try

> > to not have all our protein in a day come from soy, and try to have

> it

> > only every other day. But, I also just heard that flax seeds have

> more

> > phytoestrogens than soy! Never heard that one before, and I'm

> eating

> > flax every day. Oi. And I think at this point, kids might be more

> > likely to have hormonal problems related to hormones and chemicals

> in

> > non-organic dairy and meat anyway - but that might be the organic

> > chocolate soy milk talking right now. :-)

> > Best of luck!

> > Lorraine

> >

> > @gro <%40> ups.com

> [@gro <%40> ups.com]

> On

> > Behalf Of S & T

> > Monday, February 25, 2008 11:19 AM

> > @gro <%40> ups.com

> > Re: New to site

> >

> > Well, I would like to be lacto-ovo vegetarians one day (hopefully).

> My

> > boys will eat scrambled eggs and cheese more happily than cereal

> > everyday. Chicken has been a big part of our lives, so if there is

> > anything veggie-based that is similar to chicken, that would be

> great. I

> > was going to buy some veggie burgers at the store, but $4.00 for

> four

> > small patties seemed a bit outrageous. If anyone knows of a good

> veggie

> > burger recipe, I would be grateful. I was making a veggie lasagna

> dish,

> > but hubby tired of that, so new lasagna dishes would be great.

> > Also, in the controversy of soy products, what is a better

> alternative?

> > My toddler drinks soy milk, but now I am worried with the rumors of

> the

> > possibility of him developing breasts. The rice milk says not to

> give to

> > children and there was no almond milk at my store (that I could

> find).

> > Thanks to all in advance!

> >

> > Looking for last minute shopping deals? Find them fast with

> > Search.

> >

February 28, 2008

Heather,

Excellent point. To your question so from that

perspective, the soy industry would actually have a vested interest in

having us continue to eat lots of animal products, wouldn't they?

The soy companies are doing very well in their vested interest of livestock

feed, they are looking to grow their market share in other arenas..

businesses now are focusing on grow/ expand/ increase profits for such items

as food and fuel. For ex- the boom in meat alternatives has been very

profitable for health food as well as mainstream food companies (including

those owned by the meat and dairy industries). (other areas of expansion in

terms of use of soy as fuel is biodiesel). In this topic I am much more

well versed as I have friends who work in corporate divisions whose job is

to help expand profits in these areas- from a corporate perspective they

want to keep making the money from their base and find new ways to expand

profit.

On the topic of the Mothering article I am still not sold that it is all

bogus- however I do not have as solid a background in the research you have

done. I am going to continue moderation and review some of the information

you and others have provided on the topic- I definitely want to learn more.

If you have any links (anyone in the group) please send them over- I am

always open to expanding my view as I gain more information.

Thanks,

Paige

_____

On

Behalf Of Heather

Wednesday, February 27, 2008 5:55 AM

Re: soy debate