12 Points on Soya
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Soya is a legume, or pulse which is exceptionally high in protein compared to other plant based foods - 36% of its dried weight. It has thus been seen as a meat substitute by many vegetarians. Soya like other legumes, suffers as a complete protein source by being low in the sulphur containing amino acids cysteine and methionine, when compared to animal based proteins. Use of soya as a food in industrialised nations is widespread. It is estimated that 70% of supermarket foods contain some soya or its derivatives. Soya oil is the most commonly consumed oil in the world (usually just labelled “vegetable oil”). 90% of soya grown today is used to feed animals for human consumption. Soya is big business and compared to other high protein foods it is inexpensive. Marketing of soya's health benefits by the industry is biased and not based on good science.
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Soya contains almost double the amount of phytic acid as other pulses, grains and seeds. Phytic acid binds with minerals (at least calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc) in the digestive process, rendering them insoluble and unavailable. Phytic acid can only be inactivated by fermentation in a conducive environment by micro-organisms that produce the enzyme phytase. It is not inactivated to any great extent before binding to minerals in the normal digestive process. Hence unfermented soya products such as soya milk and soya flour are highly de-mineralising to the body.
- Soya contains an enzyme inhibitor which inhibits the action of pancreatic trypsin. Enzyme inhibitors in foods are well known for their effects on inducing the body to produce excessive digestive enzymes. More enzymes than normal are then excreted in the faeces producing accelerated onset of chronic diseases. Experimentally when rats are fed foods high in enzyme inhibitors they die much faster than when fed the same foods with the inhibitors deactivated [Howell, Enzyme Nutrition]. Enzyme inhibitors are deactivated by sprouting the seed, or by sufficient fermentation. Enzyme inhibitors are normally deactivated by cooking, with the exception of the trypsin inhibitor in soya.
- Soya protein is notoriously difficult for humans to digest, partly due to the trypsin inhibitor. It has thus become a key food source allergen. The American Academy of Pediatrics admits that early exposure to soy through commercial infant formulas may be a leading cause of allergies among older children and adults.
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TRADITIONAL USE : Soya was traditionally grown in the Far East for
consumption by cattle and as a “green manure”. Cattle have a far greater
capacity to ferment food in their intestines than humans do. Human consumption
of soya did not occur until fermentation processes were established in 12th
Century China.
Traditional use of soya as a food for human consumption
centred on fermented soya until the modern day era. Fermented
soya is the product of bacterial or yeast action which yields a partially or
fully digested product. Japanese fermented soya products include the fully
digested miso and tamari (a type of soy sauce - see picture for traditional production methods!), and the
partially digested food tempeh. Soya bean curd tofu is
another soya food used in Japan, though traditionally it has only been used
in small amounts and as a protein source is only 8%. Tofu is not a well
fermented food and contains phytic acid. The Japanese as of 2003 are the only
industrialised nation to have its health increasing.
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Miso has been rediscovered in more recent times when it was used as a medicinal food for medical workers after the bombing of Hiroshima. The fact that these workers suffered little from the effects of radiation poisoning was attributed to the use of miso. Sub-optimal protein digestion in the majority of people means that they could benefit from a fully digested protein source, and in addition miso contains beneficial organisms and the enzymes they have produced in their digestive processes.
- The Chinese today eat little in the way of animal products as a nation due to economic reasons. For the majority, the staple diet is mostly grains, and pulses of which 2/3 is soya. Recently less emphasis is placed on traditional fermentation methods. They eat very little fat and thus very few of the fat soluble vitamins A & D found in fats of animal origin which could to some extent counteract the demineralising effects of the diet. Whereas the Chinese diet of rice, pulses and vegetables is often extolled as healthy with the Chinese given as an example of health, the Chinese are in fact an unhealthy nation. They have twice the cancer rates of the USA and high rates of strokes. Although there will be a number of reasons for this, the fact is that eating unfermented soya cannot be attributed to creating good health.
- Soya contains a lectin (blood agglutinin) which could cause digestive inflammation and reduce the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood in individuals prone to its effect. Effects of particular lectins are especially relevant to individuals whose ancestry has not been exposed to them. This means that soya may have an additional negative effect on people not of Chinese or Japanese decent.
- In an attempt to eradicate phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors, soya is often extremely processed to such things as Soya Protein Isolate and Textured Vegetable Protein. In the processing much of the mineral and vitamin content as well as the fibre are lost, and enough phytic acid remains to compound the problem of demineralisation of the body. Industrial, rather than traditional, methods of producing soya milk reduce the already problematically low amino acid cysteine, leaving a poorer protein source.
- Soya contains analogues of vitamin B12. B12 analogues interfere with B12 uptake and use in the body. Thus someone reducing animal products and increasing soya products in an attempt to become more vegetarian may be accelerating the onset of vitamin B12 deficiency symptoms.
- Soya contains chemicals which have a hormone-like effect on the body, similar to oestrogens. These are generally termed phyto-oestrogens. In vitro investigation shows that these phyto-oestrogens reduce sperm motility. They have also been shown to reduce thyroid function. Contrary to popular press, soya's role in reducing (especially breast) cancer is not well established. Studies on the role of soya phyto-oestrogen's in cancer are conflicting. Some show it reduces certain cancers and other studies show it increases other types.
- Soya was the first food crop to be genetically modified (GM). There are many serious problems with GM food which cannot be covered here. Any source of soya which does not explicitly say that it is not GM or organic is very likely to be in at least part, made from GM soya.
