Savvy Vegetarian Blog

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Thu, 23 Jul 2009

Soy: Widely Accepted As A Healthy Food, But Not By All Of The People All Of The Time

Message For Savvy Vegetarian: Thank you so much for your input on beans and gas formation. I found that very helpful. I appreciate all the points you have made. I have been found to have bacteria overgrowth in the small intestine, and lactose intolerance. (Pretty common.) I also had allergy testing and found that soy beans are high on my "most allergic" list.

Soy in any form doubles me over. I was trying different forms of it when learning about the lactose issue on a breath test, given over several hours. Finding out it was a true allergy for me was not surprising. Food combining is very helpful for people with Crohn's disease, IBS, etc. Almond Breeze is a good alternative to soy for a non-dairy beverage, for example. I am going to try the bean ideas starting today! L.O.

Savvy Veg Goes On About Soy vs Ordinary Beans

Hi L.O. - thanks so much for writing!

I like Almond Breeze too, and also hemp milk - it's high in protein and Omega 3, and has Vitamin B12 added. The downside to non-dairy milk for me is finding some without sugar!

Speaking of soy and beans - I'm amazed by the hold that soy has over people. The food industry has done a great job of convincing vegetarians that they must eat soy! And of sneaking soy by products (and high fructose corn syrup) into every conceivable processed food!

However, I did just publish a balanced, positive article on soy, by Mark Messina, PhD & Virginia Messina, MPH, RD - whom I greatly respect. Their soy article cleared up a lot of soy & health issues for me. While I'm not against soy like I was, I have to confess that personally, I'm still not a fan. Even though I'm not allergic to soy, I only eat tofu 2 or 3 times a week and avoid processed foods with soy added.

Many dietitians recommend regular soy consumption because soy foods are a good plant based source of high quality protein (and calcium). Fortunately, there are lots of other ways for vegetarians and vegans to get good calcium and protein in their diets. For example, from legumes that aren't soybeans.

There are many good reasons why beans and legumes have been a staple food for much of the human race for thousands of years! Tasty, filling, high protein, lots of vitamins and minerals, high fiber, low carb, low fat. Soybeans are only one variety of bean among thousands, and not low fat! Soy protein isolate, used in many processed soy foods, and other foods, is low fat, because it's a by-product of soy oil production. But it's also highly processed, and not a whole food.

The biggest problem I have with soy is that most soy beans grown are gmos - the work of the devil as far as I'm concerned. Cross-contamination with non-gmo and organically grown soy beans is almost unavoidable. Certified organic soybeans are tested for gmo contamination but it's impossible to set zero tolerance. For conventionally grown non-gmo soybeans (used for most tofu), there aren't such strict controls, and of course there are the pesticides and herbicides. I suspect, and some scientists do too, that gmos are a big factor in soy allergies. The Organic Non-GMO Report has plenty of well-documented info on these issues.

Ordinary beans and lentils, on the other hand, are too sturdy and lowly to be messed with much. Often you can grow and dry your own beans, if you're able and so inclined - that includes soybeans, of course. I think that, as with anything else homegrown, there would be a big difference between those soy beans, and anything you can buy at a store. And it's possible, even relatively easy, to make your own soy milk and tofu at home, if you want to.

If you're a soy lover, God bless soy and God bless you! My point is that, as a vegetarian or vegan, if you can't eat soy, you won't go hungry. And if you don't want to eat soy, you don't have to. There are lots of other beans to eat, plus whole grains, nuts & seeds - thousands of varieties, and countless ways to eat them.

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