Great news is afoot with regard to the public’s perception of soy. There’s no doubt that more and more people are getting the message that soy is not the “health food” that it is portrayed to be. Soybeans in the diet pose a danger to health even in menopausal women.
This includes the innocuous green bean known as edamame.
The bad news is that a little information can sometimes be dangerous!
Sprouted Soy Myths
In this case, it appears that many who recognize that soy is an unhealthy food are under the mistaken impression that sprouted soy is fine to consume.
Or, just as bad, some believe that organic soy or soy that is certified GMO free poses no problem to health.
Perhaps the healthy traditional practice of sprouting grains, legumes, and other seeds resulted in confusion about soy because it is a legume. Somehow this fact caused it to get lumped in with everything else.
Or maybe it’s the GMO issue which is confusing folks. Some seem to just assume that the reason soy is bad is that almost all of it is now genetically modified.
Sprouting Soy Does Not Make it Safe
Even food manufacturers are misguided about this issue. Some supposedly “wholesome” bread and pasta are including sprouted soy and trumpet this fact on the label like it is somehow a good thing. Some vegetarian and vegan websites are promoting recipes for sprouted soy milk as healthy alternatives to dairy.
Let’s set the record straight once and for all:
Any form of soy with the exception of fermented nonGMO soy in small condimental amounts should be avoided as much as possible in the diet!
Soy was an unhealthy food to consume long before the issue of GMO soy came into play. The fact that most of the soy on the market these days is GMO just makes what was already an unhealthy food even worse!
With regard to sprouted soy, don’t be fooled! It’s actually more harmful than unsprouted soy!
The Truth about Sprouted Soy
Here’s what Dr. Mercola’s interview with Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story revealed about sprouted soy:
Soy sprouts, by the way, are not healthy. Short-term germination increases the strength of soy‘s antinutrient fractions. In contrast, long-term sprouting plus fermentation will decrease and nearly eliminate them. Soy sprouts are mentioned in historical accounts as useful, sometime pharmaceuticals, not as a daily food.
The Weston A. Price Foundation concurs, warning that high levels of phytic acid even in sprouted soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and zinc.
Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.
Phytic acid also blocks mineral absorption, causes digestive distress, and can contribute to tooth decay, according to Rami Nagel author of Cure Tooth Decay.
Be sure not to be fooled by soy that is organic, nonGMO or sprouted. These characteristics do not make it safe to eat.
NonGMO, fermented soy in small, condimental amounts as practiced in traditional Asian cultures is the only safe way to consume this legume. Those who have thyroid conditions should still avoid it, however, due to the goitrogens.
One of the most popular examples of cultured soybeans is miso. Sushi restaurants in Western countries seem to always feature miso soup on the menu (though it is usually GMO).
Tempeh, natto and soy sauce (IF traditionally brewed) also fall under the healthy soy category. The benefits of natto, in particular, are unequaled by any other soy food.
Everything else soy? Just pass!
Sarah Pope has been a Health and Nutrition Educator since 2002. Her work is dedicated to helping families effectively incorporate the principles of ancestral diets within the modern household. She is a sought after lecturer around the world for conferences, summits, and podcasts.
Her work has been covered by major media including USA Today, ABC, NBC, and many others.
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What about lecithin granules? My midwife recommended them to me.
You can get lecithin made from sunflowers (very popular in Europe but not here: in US soy rules!). I would Google it. I wonder why the lecithin recommendation? What is it supposed to do?
Lecithin granules as a supplement can help resolve and prevent clogged milk ducts in nursing moms, while she cleans up the bad fats in her diet that might be contributing to the problem.
Lecithin is also a good source of phosphatidyl choline and serine which are helpful in brain functions. It was recommend by a naturopathic dr. for my daughter’s learning differences when she was younger. But now, I would not use a soy based lecithin. I don’t even like seeing it in our dog or cat food, even though they say it is used in small quantity.
You can also get lecithin granules that are made from eggs instead of soy.
This is the first I’ve heard of sprouted soy. Gross. But glad to see non GMO or organic soy mentioned as well. Seems nobody was sure whether it was okay or not. I figured it wasn’t. I try to avoid ANY soy of ANY kind. (I do not like soy sauce even though it’s okay to have it as a condiment.)
Soy sauce tastes very different depending on the country of origin. We only use fermented Soy sauce made in Japan for the taste we like. We still use it sparingly. The culture with more people over 100 years old are from Okinawa Japan. They eat Natto, a fermented soy bean, almost daily in 1 tablespoon amounts. It’s an acquired taste and an extremely healthy food. Eat what you like but to throw out all soy is like throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Thanks for the info about nato 🙂
Where does edamame fall in all of this?
It falls in the unfermented soy category…it isn’t good for you.
The article states “Edamame–the green immature soybeans–contains fewer of the toxins found in the mature beans and so can be eaten occasionally. People who are not allergic or sensitized to soy can consume these whole soy products safely at the levels eaten traditionally in Asia, which is to say in small amounts as condiments, not staples.” (from Dr M’s site in which Sarah linked to.)
How close are mung beans to soy?
here is information on the phytoestrogens, which says that mung beans have 94 mcg per 1/2 cup, and soy beans have 100,000 per half cup. in that regard I’d say they’re pretty different. http://www.drgourmet.com/askdrgourmet/phytoestrogens.shtml#.US1R-qKG0i4
also http://arealfoodlover.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/whole-grains-may-not-be-as-healthy-as-you-think/
this has an except from ramiel nagel’s book. to sum it up, it says about half of phytic acid is gone from mung beans when sprouting them.
all in all I’d say mung beans are not that closely related to soy in phytic acid and the estrogen effects if sprouted, at least.
if anyone else has info I’d love to hear it. I have some mung beans sprouting in a jar on the window as we speak.
You got that right, the only closest foods in terms of estrogen mimicking compounds is sesame seeds at 8000
OFcourse Flax seeds have high estrogen mimicking compounds than soy, but more than a few tablespoons has a laxative effect.
Unlike Soy its not possible to gorge up on flaxseed.
Mung beans are the healthiest beans you can ever eat.
They are very different from soy and most beans because of their high starch content.
I am planning to make some tofu with them. there is a starch kind of tofu made from sprouted mung. But you have to boil it, not popular with raw foodists.
In Ayurveda the system of diagnoses is called “doshas” Vata kapha and pitta. All disease are an imbalance of either 1, 2 or all of these 3 doshas.
Various foods aggravate of pacify these doshas. While one food will pacify one dosha it can aggravate the other.
Mung is the only(I know of ) food that will balance all 3 doshas.
Which means eating them everyday and you will be healthy. too much of mung beans can never be bad.
What about moderate tofu take in addition to traditional fermented condiments?
Tofu is what Asian women use to keep their men at bay. One american meal of tofu is enough to dampen his amorous desires, so I would say no to any tofu… unless that is the plan to begin with. When my Japanese mother eats tofu, she makes it herself, and she eats about a 1″ cube with her miso soup. she will have her soup almost every day with tofu in it once ever few days. She likes to change it up. That is moderate. What do you call moderate? My dad never eats tofu!!
I would like to add to Sally reply, that Japanese use a lot of seaweed and other “superfoods” seaweeds are bursting with nutrition so they make up for any absoprotion problems in tofu or other forms of unfermented soy.
For me moderate is making a tofu once a month, I am from India so I can’t get my hands on seaweed. I do it mostly to introduce my friends to tofu replacement for egg
I used to have a soy milk cold coffee almost everyday and it was bad.
The last time i had lots of soy was when I used a liter of chocolate soy milk to make a mousse and almost 2 cups of soy cream. I put on a lot of weight after that. haha.
I must have eaten half of everything.
I must add never think of soy/tofu as a protein replacement for meat/non-vegan diet.
Just log on to nutritiondata.com its a non-vegan website.
It just lists nutrient content of all food.
I was shocked(actually elated but shocked at the fact that mainstream media, nutritionists and medical academia are always telling us vegetables have not complete protein) that many legumes are complete protein especially chickpeas, black eyed peas, green and yellow peas.
You just don’t need to include soy to get complete protien(if you believe in it) as a matter of fact any protein.
You can get it from hummus or plain old mashed potatoes with a lot of peas thrown in.
Then it struck me why “pea protein” supplements exist(might not be popular but they do exist) its because its complete protein, think about it if it wasnt it would not have stood a chance cause the bodybuilding community are very particular about complete protien.
NOooooooo! Not my Ezekial 4:9 bread! It was my one last convenience food. Why does the truth always hurt so dang bad? 🙁
Jamie, I am right there with you. 🙁 We love our Ezekiel Bread. Wonder what we should replace it with.
Jamie,
Fear not! I used to feed my girls Ezekiel 4:9 bread until I discovered the soy, but I simply switched to the 7 Sprouted Grains bread, also by Food for Life. Here are the ingredients copied exactly from the bag: “ORG SPROUTED WHEAT, FILTERED WATER, ORG MALTED BARLEY, ORG SPROUTED RYE, ORG SPROUTED BARLEY, ORG SPROUTED OATS, ORG SPROUTED MILLET, ORG SPROUTED CORN, ORG SPROUTED BROWN RICE, FRESH YEAST, ORG WHEAT GLUTEN, SEA SALT.” You can still have your convenience food. Cheers!
Yay! Thank you for the recommendation, Renee. I will check it out.
Oh my gosh, I forgot about it being sprouted in Ezekiel bread! Glad I stopped paying so much for dry bland Ezekiel bread and went with cheaper (but genuine) fresh-baked sourdough!
I’m curious as to WHY sprouting or soaking “doesn’t” reduce the phytic acid in soy? I don’t like soy at all but just curious why it doesn’t work?
there is no healthy soy in my book
Soy is a plant Estrogen. It’s very simple. We already have plastics in the water (and water bottles) that mimic estrogen in the body. Any extra estrogen and you are just asking for hormonal trouble.
UHG. The Ezekiel 4:9 bread has sprouted soy….guess it’s back to the drawing board for an affordable bread option. 🙁
Erin,
See my above comment to Jamie. If you switch to the 7 Sprouted Grains bread, also by Food for Life, you can still have your bread and avoid the soy!
But what about the wheat gluten listed on the Seven Sprouted Grains bread for those trying to avoid that? Any thoughts?
Melisa
Yep, soy is soy. The last thing this hypo-thryroid nation needs!!
The only good soy is as the Asians do it. Fermented in the ground, make it humanly bio-digestible, called Miso.
I have a bottle of organic fermented soy sauce that we use very rarely. That’s the only soy we do.
Katie is so right. I am post menopause and I had estrogen overload until I starting studying nutrition 12 years ago. I am fine now. It is the young girls whose parents pump them full of soy products that will suffer I am afraid. Boys too. I don’t think they need estrogen do you?
Other than a very occasional snack of Organic edemame, I stay far away from soy
I just want to clarify this in my mind. So you are saying that eating home grown edamame as a snack or side dish is unhealthy? If I read you right, and edamame are unhealthy, why are they so different than other legumes? Thanks.
I totally agree with how bad soy is. I tried a dry soup mix that was supposed to be healthy, it had soy in it and from what happened to me probably quite a bit. I only ate 2 bowls of soup, 3 days after eating the soup I started my period! I hadn’t had a period in 6 years because I had gone through menopause! I haven’t eaten soy since and it has never happened again.
sounds like soy is a fountain of youth in your case. You should be eating gallons of that soup every day.
What about if it’s fermented?
What about Almond Milk instead of soy milk, is almond milk safe?
Read the ingredients on the package and make it yourself.
Erin – I was dismayed when I discovered that Ezekiel bread has sprouted soy in it too. I sent them a message about it and discovered that their 7 Sprouted Grains line does not have any soy. So that’s another option.