NoSoy Debunks the Bean

Print out the Soy Decoder (Soy Aliases) to use in dicussions with school and hospital dieticians. It is a list of soy food products. Beware inhalers such as Atrovent, which contains soy lecithin.

The truth is that soy is not a miracle food suppling complete protein. In the orient they had to ferment it (tofu, soy sauce) to make it edible.

What is soy?

The soybean is a legume, also known as Glycine max. It products include machine oil, edible oil, printer's ink, pressed imitation food (beef, crab, pepperoni, etc.), food additives, flour, grits, and stockfeed. The United States is the largest grower of soybeans (50 percent of the world crop). It is not known in the wild and is believed to have been created through cultivation from Glycine ussuriensis, a wild Asian vine.

History

Chinese cultivation of soybeans began before recorded history. The soybean was considered one of five sacred grains (along with rice, barley, wheat and millet). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) began introducing varieties to the United States in the late 19th century. The vegetable oil industry started a cooperative program in the 1930s of U.S. and Canadian researchers to improved soybeans through selective breeding. The program introduced new varieties with higher yields and oil content. Subsequently, the United States became the world's largest producer of soybeans. American strains have spread to Africa, Latin America and back to Asia. Genetic improvement, aiming for better surviveability (not being killled by the chemicals sprayed on them), higher yields and better protein composition, have already begun. These genetically altered beans are restricted in some European countries but are sold unmarked in the U.S.

How it is grown

Soybeans need irrigation but can be grown in most soils. They do not tolerate frost. Plants mature in 75 to 200 days. They can be used to fix nitrogen in the soil by plowing the plants under when green. Soybean seeds are hard pea shaped yellow beans harvested with combines.

Soy Products

Although not readily digested without fermenting, soybeans have seven of the eight essential amino acides, deficient only in methionine. Soybeans produce numerous foods: flour, grits, green or dried bean, soy milk, tofu (curd), cheese, soy sauce, teriyake sauce, vegetable oil, food flavor enhancers (msg and natural flavors) and emulsifiers. Soybean protein is also used as a meat substitute. Soybeans are also the major component of domestic animal feeds (although it has been shown to stunt the growth or kill some young birds). The green crop is used for hay, forage, and fertilizer. The soybean also has industrial uses: the manufacture of glycerin, paints, soaps, linoleum, rubber substitutes, plastics, and printing ink. Almost half of the U.S. soybean oil production is used in margarine and shortening, and another 20 percent is used to make other food products.

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Health Claims

There have recently been a spate of health claims made for the soybean. Careful examination of the research does not support these claims.

• The cholesterol lowering research shows that cholesterol is lowered in 20 percent of the cases over the 350 level but not in people below 250. Almost anything other than lard will reduce cholesterol over 350 (unless the body is out of control and producing the cholesterol itself, in which case medication sometimes doesn't even work). You should try to keep your cholesterol in the 150 to 180 range (see your doctor).
  
• The claims about reducing breast cancer are based upon very slender research, namely a small select group of Japanese women, who are probably genetically not prone to breast cancer. The test needs to be performed upon women with a tendency toward or family history of breast cancer. Then see what soy does!
  
• Soybeans have a component which stimulates estrogen production (in both men and women) and most doctors don't recommend using estrogen in any form for people with a family history of breast cancer or fibroid tumors. A Report released this June states that women who take estrogen for more than ten years have an increased risk of breast cancer. A Yale physician specifically warned us off estrogen way back in the 1970's. Menopause is a poor time, because of the stress, to take soy as an estrogen replacement because the stress can trigger an allergy to soy (as more and more women are writing to us). See Developing a Soy Allergy below.
  
• Infertility. There should be an investigation of whether soy causes infertility in men (low sperm count) because of soy's estrogen stimulating properties. We suggest that males cut out soy for three months before trying to impregnate.