The Truth About Soy

It’s rare these days for anything pertaining to health and diet to be simple, and here is yet another complicated topic: soy. Is it good for us or is it disastrous for our health? Some of the most intelligent health professionals in Australia still advocate soy as being hugely beneficial to us, yet on the Internet soy is attributed to multiple health disasters, usually involving dangerous estrogen levels. Recently, one of the most popular and respected soy milk manufacturers, Spiral foods, who prepares their soy milk in a traditional Japanese method and use the addition of the seaweed kombu to increase the minerals in the milk and allow for better absorption, have been sued in a class action suit for the amount of $25 million Australian dollars. This happened after around 500 people joined together, raising concerns about the health implications of the seaweed, not the soy. So if we look purely at soy, what is the truth about its health implacations? The upside of soy is: Organic soy is completely different to non-organic soy, and is good for you in small amounts. Yes, soy contains estrogenic compounds (compounds which mimic estrogen) that are great for health in small doses. Soy is super high in fibre and some potent antioxidants. Soy is high in protein, and a great alternative to the over consumption of meat and fish we ingest- that are pumped full of chemicals, hormones, inflammatory molecules and toxins. The down side: Non- organic soy is heavily sprayed with pesticides and has been genetically modified, so I would suggest avoiding it altogether. We ingest too many estrogenic compounds, but they usually come from foods or drinks which are contained in plastic, such as from bottles, food containers, cling wrap, etc.. If you eat too much soy, as with anything, it may be bad for you. Non-organic soy is used as a filler in many processed foods- such as baby formula, biscuits, protein powders, which I would suggest avoiding due to the pesticide residue remaining on the soy, in addition to the GMO nature of the soy.   For more truths on foods, grab Honor’s new soon to be released book: ‘A Diet in Paradise’ or find her on Facebook and Twitter.