Why This Type of Soy is Better

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

dorothym01 — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 01:46:15 GMT

Thank you for this message about soy. I will be making the necessary changes in my families diet and when I give Vegetarian cooking classes.

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

wunderful1 — Sun, 10 May 2009 16:25:59 GMT

My question is ...does this rule out the use of lecithin, coQ10, & vitamin E supplements, all made with soy? This is very confusing to me...Dr. Mercola, can you please answer this?

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

ednapoole2007 — Sun, 10 May 2009 11:28:05 GMT

I would like to know where to get natto, miso, tempeh, etc. I would also like to know how to use these daily. Is there a book on this. I live in a rural community and I do not believe the health food store promotes these. I would also like to know the name of a good probiotic.

I have several gastric conditions and consequently I wish to eat as wisely as possible. Obviously I have much to learn.

Edna Poole.

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

samaroo — Sat, 09 May 2009 23:31:21 GMT

I can't say enough bad things about "soy in everything" I had to have a Parathyroid surgery a few years ago, because I bought into soy is really good for middle aged women--not true.

I'm very healthy and ate a lot of soy The doctor discovered I had a diseased Parathyroid Gland and needed surgery. I was talking to a medical friend of mine and mentioned the up coming

surgery and she said "Oh do you eat a lot of soy ?" I did soy nuts, soy milk tofu all of it. She said in a book called "New Menaopausal Years" it tells that can happen. WishedI had read\

it before the surgery.

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

meggi — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:48:27 GMT

wow...for a newcomer to this site it sounds like we basically have a bunch of people saying(a)"yes!fermented soy is ok!"(b)'no!!any soy is toxic!"(c)"what?!raw soy is fine!"(d)"whoa!I'm getting off from soy!"-and compliments from 'the sneeze'(e)"fermented soy is GROSS".....hello,how is anybody supposed to know who is correct.Suggestion!:please refrain from airing your opinion if it is merely that.Make sure you can back up your angle on soy with either valid research or actual experience!And what if your blood type,probiotic profile,unique health issues or even the way you balance your meals could all make a difference on whether soy works for you or not?!I love hearing all the intelligent opinions out there....but for real,it can get totally confusing.

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

triara_203 — Sun, 11 May 2008 07:09:55 GMT

I make my own tempeh and am going to crumble and dry it and then run it through my grain mill to make fermented soy flour. I think it should work. I can put it in the convection oven on low till it is bone dry and then into the food mill.

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

B. Well — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 19:24:08 GMT

Tofu can be de-mineralizing if eaten in large quantities which is why tofu was traditionally cooked first in mineral rich broths containing shoyu (soy sauce) and or sea vegetables. Tofu is very "yin" when eaten uncooked and very cooling to the body. Raw tofu makes a great plaster to pull out fever. Historically, tofu was never consumed in large quantities in most of Asia. Because of the yin quality of tofu it was often served in Buddhist monasteries monks to reduce strong male sexual desire.

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

thefarmersdaughter — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 16:18:17 GMT

Dr.Rik,Thank you! I did not know that msg is derived from soy. That explains why I cannot eat soy products(fermented or otherwise) without getting a migraine! I have found for me,ANY fermented foods plus msg laden foods will produce migraines. I miss vinegars the most,and many "healthy" recipes will use soy or vinegars.So much information..so little time! But Thanks again.

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

Sonagi — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 02:24:20 GMT

Traditionally made natto is very healthy, but most natto found in the frozen foods or refrigerated sections of Asian or health food stores is processed stuff with all kinds of additives. Read the label before you buy.

As for the types and amounts of soy products in Asian diets, I lived in Korea and China for many years and visitied Japan frequently. All three countries consume both fermented and unfermented soy products. A traditional Japanese breakfast includes natto, and the Japanese also enjoy snacking on edamame, fresh young soybeans. Foods flavored with soy sauce or soybean paste are eaten at almost every meal in all three countries. Tofu is eaten but not every day, and most tofu dishes also contain bits of meat or meat broth. Soymilk consumed in Japan and Korea is all processed and sold in cartons. In China, it is possible to buy traditionally made soymilk on the street. A favorite drink of Beijingers is douzhi, a strong fermented soy beverage that is definitely an acquired taste!

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

DougB_203 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 17:28:45 GMT

Don't eat Soy. (period!) And definately dont eat any soybean oil, the most concentrated form of soy. Anyone following a Paleolithic diet will know, soy is a legume, and as such, contains anti-nutrients. Further soy is not a high quality protein, and the estrogenic affects can cause hormone distruption in males, possibly leading to male breast enlargment.

This is a quote from the Soyfoods Council web page (a group that promotes soy!):

"Dr. Messina answer:

There is no clinical evidence whatsoever that soyfoods contribute to gynecomastia (Excessive development of the male breasts). First, extensive clinical research shows that neither soyfoods nor isoflavones affect testosterone levels in men. Unfortunately a few reports in the popular media mistakenly suggest that soy lowers testosterone but this is simply not the case. A critical review of the scientific literature showing soy does not lower testosterone will soon be published. Second, breast enlargement in few prostate cancer patients participating in a soy phytoestrogen supplement trial did occur. However, the amount of phytoestrogens consumed was about 30 times more than typically consumed by Japanese men. (Taking 30% more of many nutrients will result in far more severe consequences). Even more importantly, the authors of this study attribute the breast enlargement to the prostate cancer drugs the men were taking, not to the phytoestrogens."

The majority of his answer is irrelevant, that soy lowers testosterone. No one suggested that. The problems is the estrogenic compounds in the Soy. The 2nd part of his answer is the smoking gun, that men given some amount of soy developed breasts. Soy oil is a concentrated form of soy, and I would venture to say 1 gram of soy oil is equal to 20gm of soy, in estrogenic compounds, If this is correct, eating a teaspoonful of soy oil is equal to eating 100gm of soy!

DONT EAT SOY!

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

MaxPont — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:45:54 GMT

Fermented soy has another problem in that it contains high levels of free GLUTAMATE (MSG). Soy sauce in particular.

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

Musica — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:26:39 GMT

we're trying this tonight: we have a recipe for a casserole that calls for 1 tbsp soy flour. We're going to replace this with 1 tbsp Miso (actually knew about fermented soy a long time ago)

... and one more thing i wanted to share: a few years back i was eating a miso sandwich everyday at work. After not very many months i noticed a small lump on my breast. It went away though, completely dissapeared with pregnancy. Phew!

maybe i should mention here that not all misos are fermented the same length of time. The more fermented, the better.

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

lanadeenlynch — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 03:16:52 GMT

SOY IS TOXIC TO ALL LIFE FORMS IN ANY CONDITION.

Those Chinese and orientals who have allergens to soy all died years ago.

Us good ol' Americans suffering from skin, digestive, muscular, nerve disorders, to only name a few problems brought upon us by the advent of SOY into our mainstream diets 25 years ago, have no voice whatever in what we are forced to eat.

Nearly every item in the grocery stores is contaminated with soy. Natural flavors is soy!!!

Eliminate all soy from our diets. We will be healthy!!!

I am doing just that. Try it!

Lana Deen

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

iolana — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:44:17 GMT

Am I understanding correctly? Children under 18 should not drink any soy milk, not even fermented soy milk. My boys ages 11 and 9 have been drinking silk soy milk for years, of course I am stopping this. However they have been so accustomed to drinking some sort of milk. Is raw milk ok for this age or organic milk?

re: Why This Type of Soy is Better

Mrs. R — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 02:41:10 GMT

Native Japanese here, living in California. Folks, I've heard so many times that soy milk was never invented by Asians. I can't speak for other Asians, but soy milk has existed as long as tofu has. And yes, tofu is eaten a LOT in Japan. Phytic acid in soy is not debatable, but I don't want any misunderstanding that if you eat a typical tranditional Japanese meal that consists of tofu and say seasoned boiled spinach, it's not like you immediately become calcium and iron deficient.

*Commercial* soy milk was invented in the U.S. before the Japanese made it more palatable. Not many Japanese were wild about the typical "green" soy taste in it at all; I remember my mother loving it in the early 80's which I thought tasted like garbage. They have since figured out how to deodrize it and use flavoring and sweetners to make it more palatable. Per capita consumption of soy milk, as a result, is about the same as the U.S. now.

Many seem to understand that Japanese eat more fermented soy beans than non-fermented. Of course I don't have accurate figures, but traditionally (meaning before "vegetable oils" were invented) and to this day, the Japanese have consume tons of unfermented soy beans. The "pulp" part after cooked soy beans are mashed and squeezed is also cooked and eaten (called "Okara") without fermentation. That is also a byproduct of soy--makes pretty tasty dishes--encouraged to be eaten because it contains more "nutrients" than tofu (true) as, whether some of the "nutrients" are harmful or not.

I am not here to debate the risks of a *large* amount of phytic acid. What I'd like to see avoided is to take things out of context. If you happen to love soy milk, an occasional consumption won't make you mineral deficient any more than occasional sodas do. We can't avoid everything that potentially harms us. Just don't make a habit of going after what's potentially "bad" and use common sense. Everything in moderation and in balance!