10 Reasons Not to Ever Eat Soy Again

By now, you should feel pretty informed about commodity corn and how its ruining our environment and polluting our food supply. Well, guess what? Soy is essentially the same culprit. Many farms across the US are turning to monoculture to grow the soy bean. Its also a commodity and used in just as many processed foods as corn. Its grown with fertilizer just like corn and is processed into oils, fats, emulsifiers and preservatives just like corn. However, the American public has been taught to believe that soy is healthy for us. When we think of soy, at least traditionally, we think of the far east; tofu, edamame and healthy lifestyle. Many vegetarians and vegans turn to soy for their protein requirements. It has been given a positive association with health and diet over the years but nothing could be further from the truth. Soy is not good for you no matter how you look at it. Here are the reasons why:

1. High levels of phytic acid in 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.

2. Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.

3. Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.

4. Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.

5.Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body's requirement for B12.

6. Soy foods increase the body's requirement for vitamin D.

7. Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.

8. Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.

9. Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods.

10. Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.

When I was a baby (back in 1974) my mother said I was not tolerant to cow's milk so she put me on soy formula. She didn't nurse so that wasn't an option. I drank the soy formula for over a year of my life. As an adult, I am now very short in stature. I realize that I do not come from a tall family, but even amongst the shorties, I am the shortest. I suffer from a hormone imbalance called PCOS which can cause infertility (thankfully in my case I was able to conceive). I believe in my heart that these issues were caused by my early intake of soy.

In my house there is as little soy as possible. I do realize that in some processed foods, even organic, soy is present. I don't think that the organic community realizes how dangerous soy is to the human body so they still use the ingredient abundantly. In fact, soy milk was considered for a long time to be much healthier than regular cows milk. But now you can know better.

There are so many diseases burdening our population these days. Autoimmune disease has become so much more prevalent even in the past 20 years or so. It seems I know almost 10 people with either Chrone's or Colitis or Rheumatoid Arthritis. I know there is a link to our diets and I think soy and corn are a big part of it. The good news is that we can begin to heal ourselves. To start, just remove the soy from your diet. You will see the results because your immune system will begin to get stronger. You may even get your thyroid to work better and find it easier to lose weight. Your thyroid is a very important gland in your body that controls your metabolism. When not working properly, the body can either become obese or extremely emaciated. Soy can cause the thyroid to slow down and make it extremely hard to lose weight. Sometimes I wonder why certain vegetarians I know look overweight and seem sickly (skin tone and overall appearance). I think its partly due to over consumption of soy. Just because you decide to not eat meat doesn't mean you will become skinny. In fact, grass fed animal fat has the opposite effect on your body because the animal does not contain any grain that was processed with corn or soy. Think about what you put into your body, think about soy and what I am saying. Do some research on your own but don't fall prey to the myth that soy is a healthy alternative to milk or meat (traditional proteins). There is nothing healthy about it!