Guest guest Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 The anti soy contingent consistently claim " Asians don't really eat soy, except as a condiment " . Here's the Weston A. Price Foundation's (WAPF) page on soy-related issues: http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtsoy.html They claim: " Average consumption of soy foods in Japan and China is 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons) per day. Asians consume soy foods in small amounts as a condiment, and not as a replacement for animal foods. " Kaayla Daniel's says the very same thing in the Mercola page interview that was posted here today by flower child. I think they need to chant this mantra in order to convince themselves that the generally higher health standards in Asia cannot be due to their soy consumption. So, they argue, Asians don't really eat soy....they eat soy sauce, right? It's just a " condiment " . That's all they eat that's got soy in it, right? Wrong. A cursory look at available websources completely disproves this claim. Here's an article on soy consumption and it's positive effect on health in Hong Kong (which is China): http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16631248 This article is a bit over the top on it's anti cancer claims, in my opinion, but still relevant: http://www.koreanrestaurantguide.com/health/health_0.htm " Doenjang (soy bean paste), a traditional Korean food that is fermented from soybeans, has been a fixture of the Korean diet for centuries. " Here's a page from a text that's right on point regarding Korean soy intake (hello WAPFers! Korea is in Asia! There are 72 million of them! 48 million in S. Korea, 24 million in N. Korea! They eat lots of soy and have for a long time!) http://books.google.com/books?id=CuARGRnPGKUC & pg=PA440 & lpg=PA440 & dq=Korean+soy+consumption & source=web & ots=JQamrRaMoC & sig=rA27tMWR5KAcCVuhpUpHDkLlulc & hl=en & sa=X & oi=book_result & resnum=9 & ct=result There are plenty more. Soy and soy products of all stripe are eaten as a regular part of the pan-Asian diet, along with plenty of wheat, rice, fish, and, yes, meat. WAPF and their ilk refuse to recognize this as part of their disinformation campaigns. I know anecdotal evidence is always suspect, but my best friend's mother, while he was growing up, served tofu to their Japanese/American family several times a week, served up right out of the package looking like a white stick of butter, covered with (you guessed it) soy sauce. He still eats it like that today. I can't imagine they were eating any differently than other Japanese American families, who obviously got their culinary and nutritional habits and traditions from the home country. I asked this same friend, who is now a periodontist (gum surgeon) about Price's claims regarding teeth health and that " healthy natives don't have cavities, and that's why they are healthy " , and he said " well, its mostly undernourished and starving people who don't get cavities because, obviously, they don't eat " . He guessed that Price's observations may have been just that: undernourished, and therefore cavity-free, natives, with no understanding of the relationship between the factors. Although they deny it, I think WAPF is basically a lobbying group for the meat and dairy industry, who are seeing shrinking profits due to the growth of healthier alternatives. Blake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 A friend of mine went to Korea, and he can tell you the same thing--he ate plenty of tofu there and now cooks with it all of the time. He lost a bunch of weight and discovered that he didn't have to worry about the lo-carb thing as much as he used to. Now he eats very little meat, very rarely and sticks to vegetarian meats a lot. I'm quite happy for him. He'll never really go vegetarian but he's at least eating better! On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 2:13 PM, Blake Wilson <mbw wrote: The anti soy contingent consistently claim " Asians don't really eat soy, except as a condiment " . Here's the Weston A. Price Foundation's (WAPF) page on soy-related issues:http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtsoy.html They claim: " Average consumption of soy foods in Japan and China is 10 grams (about 2 teaspoons) per day. Asians consume soy foods in small amounts as a condiment, and not as a replacement for animal foods. " Kaayla Daniel's says the very same thing in the Mercola page interview that was posted here today by flower child. I think they need to chant this mantra in order to convince themselves that the generally higher health standards in Asia cannot be due to their soy consumption. So, they argue, Asians don't really eat soy....they eat soy sauce, right? It's just a " condiment " . That's all they eat that's got soy in it, right? Wrong. A cursory look at available websources completely disproves this claim. Here's an article on soy consumption and it's positive effect on health in Hong Kong (which is China):http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16631248 This article is a bit over the top on it's anti cancer claims, in my opinion, but still relevant:http://www.koreanrestaurantguide.com/health/health_0.htm " Doenjang (soy bean paste), a traditional Korean food that is fermented from soybeans, has been a fixture of the Korean diet for centuries. " Here's a page from a text that's right on point regarding Korean soy intake (hello WAPFers! Korea is in Asia! There are 72 million of them! 48 million in S. Korea, 24 million in N. Korea! They eat lots of soy and have for a long time!) http://books.google.com/books?id=CuARGRnPGKUC & pg=PA440 & lpg=PA440 & dq=Korean+soy+consumption & source=web & ots=JQamrRaMoC & sig=rA27tMWR5KAcCVuhpUpHDkLlulc & hl=en & sa=X & oi=book_result & resnum=9 & ct=result There are plenty more. Soy and soy products of all stripe are eaten as a regular part of the pan-Asian diet, along with plenty of wheat, rice, fish, and, yes, meat. WAPF and their ilk refuse to recognize this as part of their disinformation campaigns. I know anecdotal evidence is always suspect, but my best friend's mother, while he was growing up, served tofu to their Japanese/American family several times a week, served up right out of the package looking like a white stick of butter, covered with (you guessed it) soy sauce. He still eats it like that today. I can't imagine they were eating any differently than other Japanese American families, who obviously got their culinary and nutritional habits and traditions from the home country. I asked this same friend, who is now a periodontist (gum surgeon) about Price's claims regarding teeth health and that " healthy natives don't have cavities, and that's why they are healthy " , and he said " well, its mostly undernourished and starving people who don't get cavities because, obviously, they don't eat " . He guessed that Price's observations may have been just that: undernourished, and therefore cavity-free, natives, with no understanding of the relationship between the factors. Although they deny it, I think WAPF is basically a lobbying group for the meat and dairy industry, who are seeing shrinking profits due to the growth of healthier alternatives. Blake -- Email: bluerose156AIM: A Blue Rose 156 YM: blue_rose_156 http://x-bluerose-x.livejournal.com~Boston_GothicBoston_Mystic Boston-Pagans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 Thanks for the information Blake. On their website they also claim that vegetarianism is extremely unhealthy and risky.(let alone veganism) Duh. They are then dismissing the entire nation of India where something like 90 percent of people have been vegetarian for thousands of years. Blue rose, I agree. if they use soy as a condiment only, then why is it that they bring it over to the states in their cuisine in Asian, Thai, Chinese restaurants where we see many tofu dishes on the menu. , " Blue Rose " <bluerose156 wrote: > > A friend of mine went to Korea, and he can tell you the same thing-- he ate > plenty of tofu there and now cooks with it all of the time. He lost a bunch > of weight and discovered that he didn't have to worry about the lo- carb > thing as much as he used to. Now he eats very little meat, very rarely and > sticks to vegetarian meats a lot. > > I'm quite happy for him. He'll never really go vegetarian but he's at least > eating better! > > On Wed, Sep 17, 2008 at 2:13 PM, Blake Wilson <mbw wrote: > > > The anti soy contingent consistently claim " Asians don't really eat soy, > > except as a condiment " . Here's the Weston A. Price Foundation's (WAPF) page > > on soy-related issues: > > > > http://www.westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtsoy.html > > > > They claim: > > > > " Average consumption of soy foods in Japan and China is 10 grams (about 2 > > teaspoons) per day. Asians consume soy foods in small amounts as a > > condiment, and not as a replacement for animal foods. " > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 17, 2008 Report Share Posted September 17, 2008 My best friend is Chinese. She rarely uses soy sauce. She does, however use a great many other soy products. Oh, and she's very healthy. - flower child Wednesday, September 17, 2008 11:38 AM Re: Do Asians eat soy? I agree. if they use soy as a condiment only, then why is it that they bring it over to the states in their cuisine in Asian, Thai, Chinese restaurants where we see many tofu dishes on the menu. .. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 20, 2008 Report Share Posted September 20, 2008 I spent six years in Japan and I can assure you soy is a regular part of diet there. The most common example that springs to mind is miso, a soup made of soy paste, which accompanies most meals. Any self- respecting Japanese restaurant offers that as a starter (it's delicious and easy to make, btw!). Edamame, another popular snack and appetizer, is really just steamed or boiled and salted soy beans, usually in the pod. I could go on and on. The notion that Asians don't eat soy except as a condiment is ridiculous and a gross generalization. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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