When Soy Becomes the Villain

Does soy really have a dark side?

Every comic book reader knows that every story has a villain. Without the villain, the hero can't exist. In our story today, the hero is now perceived as a villain by some. The hero turned villain is soy. The question now on everyone's mind is, does soy really have a dark side? Let's find out.

Where It All Began – Fermented vs Unfermented Soy

In the Western diet, soy is now almost everywhere. Soy this and soy that. Soy came from a species of legume called soybean, planted and cultivated in East Asia. The soybean is known for its many uses, one of which is for food. Food that comes from the beans can be either fermented or unfermented.

When you visit your favorite grocery store, the fermented soy foods are commonly located in the refrigerated section. The great thing about fermented soybeans is that when they undergo fermentation, the phytates and trypsin inhibitors are removed making it much more usable by the body. We'll discuss more about these weird sounding words later. The following are examples of fermented soy products:

Natto
Tempeh
Miso

Tamari (shoyu) – proceed to the Asian foods corner or section in your grocery. It's actually a different version of your soy sauce (fermented).

Note: There are other fermented soy products not listed here. The ones listed here are the popular ones, which will give you an idea of what we're talking about. In order to appreciate the full health benefits of soy, you should consume it’s fermented form. Not to go racial on you, but that is how Asians consume it, especially the Japanese. No wonder those guys are among those who live the longest on Earth!

Unfermented soy products include soy burgers, soy nuts, soy infant formula, soy ice cream, soy milk, soy cheese, textured vegetable protein, soy protein powder, edamame and tofu. unfermented soy still contains phytic acid and trypsin inhibitors (I’ll explain these two later).

Soy

Genetically Modified or Organic Soy?

What!? Two more terms which can confuse you about soy? Calm down. I just want to be thorough about soy. In addition to soy being fermented and unfermented, soy can also be genetically modified or organic.

Soybeans are widely available and highly versatile. These two reasons are responsible for making soybeans the subject of intense genetic research over the years. Genetically modified soybeans are essentially soybeans that have genetic material (DNA) incorporated or added artificially. This is in comparison to the standard union of male and female gametes (sperm and egg respectively, to us humans). If you live in the US, chances are that what you're buying are genetically modified soybeans or soybean products. Sadly, 85% of genetically modified soybeans in the US are mixed with the conventional soybeans. Let's be clear that soybeans are genetically modified in order to produce favourable characteristics such as to increase yield and resistance to pests.

However for those who consume genetically modified soybeans, the long term effects on one's health remain largely undetermined. Most research so far has been done on animals. Animals which were fed solely genetically modified soy, were unable to produce offspring by the third generation (their grandchildren were unable to bear offspring, so to speak in human terms). Some of those who did give birth had offspring with birth defects. Intense, huh? The lack of research on long term soy ingestion in humans may steer you towards the organic food section in the supermarket or your local organic shop. We leave that choice to you for now. Organic soy should not be genetically-manipulated and isn't treated with harmful pesticides so look for organic soy products whenever possible. Organic soy and its products are harder to find, but the effort exerted may just be worth your time, not to mention you and your family's health.

Soy the Villain

So, when did soy become the villain? It came trickling out through the years; the news about soy having negative effects on health. Maybe now, it’s our reality. Let’s look at the problems with soy.

1. Unfermented soy includes trypsin inhibitors. Trypsin is an enzyme needed to digest protein in the food you eat. It's naturally released during digestion of proteins in your intestines. Recent studies in animals have discovered that soy foods which are abundant in trypsin inhibitors can cause a variety of pancreatic disorders (trypsin is produced in the pancreas). In addition, they can also stunt growth.

2. Women of reproductive age can become infertile due to the high levels of phytoestrogens (natural plant estrogens or female sex hormones found in plants) present in unfermented soy. They interfere with normal endocrine function. Some studies have found an indirect link between soy ingestion and increased incidence of breast cancer in women.

3. Unfermented soy contains a lot of phytic acid. Phytic acid acts as the storage form of phosphorus in plants. Phytic acid decreases your body's ability to absorb and assimilate vital minerals like magnesium, copper, zinc, iron and calcium. You need to ferment soy to ensure that the phytic acid is removed. Children can also experience growth problems when they consume meals high in phytic acid.

4. Some studies have found that soy formula fed to infants is associated with increased incidence of autoimmune thyroid diseases (your immune system attacks your own thyroid). Soy contains goitrogens that interfere with thyroid hormone production and normal thyroid function resulting in a less active thyroid (hypothyroidism). Some studies also suggested an increase in childhood allergies in infants fed soy formula.

5. Are you a vegetarian? You thought you were getting enough vitamin B12 because of your increased consumption of soy? Wrong. The form of vitamin B12 present in soy is an analog (resembles vitamin B12 in structure but cannot be used by the body) and isn't really absorbed efficiently by your digestive system. This can actually exacerbate vitamin B12 deficiency in vegans and vegetarians. Another vitamin affected when you consume soy is vitamin D. Soy products are known for increasing your body’s requirement for vitamin D.

6. Western diets are saturated with processed soy proteins. These processed soy proteins produce a lot of toxic and carcinogenic compounds called nitrosamines. Lysinoalanine and glutamic acid (MSG) are two other substances produced when processing soy. They can bring harm to your body. Lysinoalanine is known to decrease the availability of nutrients, while MSG is a flavour enhancer that is considered to be toxic to your brain (a neurotoxin).

7. Soy foods have been found to contain high concentrations of aluminum. The soybean plant has a unique ability to absorb aluminum from the soil. Soy consumption can also lead to zinc deficiency, a mineral which is required to prevent the body from storing aluminum. Some studies also found that soy foods contained higher levels of cadmium.

What Now?

The question you're probably asking now is, should you abandon soy and look for other healthier alternatives? Maybe not just yet. Let's try to keep it as simple as possible. Eat organic, fermented soy products where possible and limit unfermented soy products. Try alternatives such as rice, almond or oat milk instead of soy milk. The western diet contains too much unfermented soy. So until we get to the bottom of whether soy is the ultimate villain or not, let's try to focus on fermented soy foods instead.