Taoist Life

Soy 101

You might be surprised to hear that soy is not as healthy as pop culture, and the soy industry, would like you to think. And, you might be even more surprised to know that Soy has NEVER been given the FDA's GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status as a food product. Contrary to the many health benefits being advertised today, soy contains many naturally occurring compounds that are toxic to our bodies. These compounds are carcinogenic, DNA damaging, chromosome damaging, teratogenic (can cause birth defects), harmful to the bodies glands, and harmful to our immune systems.

Many proponents of soy would like you to believe that soy has a long history of use as a food source in Asia, but quite simply, they are wrong. Prior to the 1930s, soy was used ONLY by the very poorest in Asia, and ONLY in times of extreme famine. When those hard times did come, the Asian people would only consume soy after a very long fermentation process. The fermentation time ranged from days to weeks, or longer, depending on the desired final product. Soy has never been a main source of dietary protein for the Asian people, and when used in traditional meals, is added in small portions just as a compliment to the rest of the dish. Also contrary to popular belief, the Asian people rarely used soy to feed infants before the 1930s. However, a weak form of soy milk was sold to elders as a substitute for tea. But again, only after it had gone through a very long fermentation process to remove all the toxins inherent in the soy bean. It is this long fermentation process that is missing in the modern soy products we use today that leads to the serious health problems linked to our use of soy in just about every product you can buy off the grocery store shelf. Soy manufacturers today do not want to spend the time and money to process the soy properly to remove all it's harmful toxins. The long fermentation time means longer product turn around time, which means longer for the money to show up in their bank account. Another disheartening fact is that the soy industry is poorly regulated, leaving the consumer no protection against the toxins, and no mandatory quality control to protect against the soaring toxic levels in soy food products.

Over the last 50 years, study after study has come out identifying the damaging effects of soy. The information is overwhelming, and hard to sort through to say the least. But, because taoist life feels so strongly about making this information available to the consumers who may not be aware, we have done a thorough "study" of the studies to give you some easy to understand information on what soy may be doing to YOUR body. To make the information as easy to follow as possible, and the least time consuming to read, we are presenting it in outline form. However, we encourage you to go to our "Soy Studies" page to read the full abstracts of the scientific articles used to glean the information we are presenting to you. We hope you find this page useful and that you will find ways to decrease soy in your diet, as well as pass along the information to other's you care.

Soy and It's Effects on Thyroid Function

As little as 30mg of soy isoflavones (a 5-8 oz. glass of soy milk) has been shown to supress thryoid function
Phytoestrogens in soy are goitrogens that can lead to endocrine disruptions, thyroid disease, and can cause permanent thyroid disease in babies
The genistein in soy inhibits thyroid peroxidase (TPO) in the body and is more powerful than many commonly prescribed anti-thyroid medications (i.e. PTO & MMI)
There is a link between soy baby formula and later development of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
Long term consumption of soy can cause an enlarged thyroid (goiter) due to supressed thyroid function.
Thyroid "malfunction" leads to constipation, fatigue, and lethargy, which is often misdiagnosed as "too much stress" or other minor health conditions
There is a positive correlation between infants given soy baby formula and later development of thyroid carcinomas

Soy and It's Effects on Reproduction

Studies have shown that soy protein poses a risk to sexual maturation, and sexual diferentiation (in utero)
Soy consumption can lead to a decreased fertility in men
Studies have shown that mother's who consumed soy during pregnancy and nursing have increased chances of miscarriages, premature births, and death among infants
Mother's who consume soy during pregnancy have a higher percentage of children with congenital abnormalies of the reproduction system and genital tract. The daugthers have later abnormal pregnancies because of cervico-vaginal abnormalities and are 3x as likely to miscarry or have a difficulty conceiving. Son's have decreased fertility due to genit-urinary abnormalities, and decreased sperm counts and testosterone levels
DES (Diethylstilbestrol), a toxin in soy, is linked to increased cancers in females who's mother's consumed soy while pregnant
Soy baby formula has been linked to early thelarche (breasts in girls 8yrs. or younger), early menarche (puberty), and ovarian cysts in girls fed soy formula as infants
Soy has been linked to decreased prostate weight, and testicular cell death and necrosis
Soy has been used for centuries as an abortifacient (promotes the body to naturally abort), a mentral cycle disruptor, and an ecbolic agent (hastens labor/miscarriage). In fact it is so efficient that the World Health Organization researched it as a form of natural birth control!
Compounds in soy are known to stimulate uterine tissue & have hormonal influences on the reproductive tract

Soy and Developmental Delays & Behavioral Problems

Soy proteins have been shown to decrease fetal & neonatal brain development
Genistein, a compound in soy, inhibits development of the hippocampus, the part of the brain responsible for learning and short term memory
The phytates in soy and soy baby formula bind to the iron and zinc in an infants body, making them less available for the body to use. Iron & zinc are critical to infant cognitive development
The manganese found in soy and soy baby formula is 200x the safe level for human consumption. 8% of excess manganese that gets stored in the body is stored in the dopamine-bearing neurons responsible for neurological development in an infant's brain. The result is that 1-in-8 infants fed soy formula in the first 6 months of life are at risk of brain and behavioral disorders not evident until adolescence
Soy contains high levels of aluminum. 30%-60% is excreated in the urine, but the rest gets stored in the tissues of the body, and most importantly the brain. Aluminum has been linked to many cognitive disorders.
There is a link between a soy diet during pregnancy and nursing and later developmental disorders
There is a positive correlation between infants given soy baby formula and later development of thyroid carcinomas

Soy is an Immune Suppressant

The use of infant soy formula is linked to later development of Autoimmune Thyroid Disease
Children with Type I Diabetes, an autoimmune disease, are twice as likely to have been fed soy formula as an infant
DES, a compound in soy, has been linked to changes in immune responses
The high phytoestrogens in soy have been linked to the suppression of the immune system
There is a positive correlation between soy baby formula use and later alopecia, an autoimmune skin disease resulting in the loss of hair on the scalp and elsewhere on the body

Soy and Cancer

Phytoestrogens, like the ones in soy, promote cancer, especially breast cancer
There is a positive correlation between the soy estrogens in baby formula and infant leukemia
There is a high incidence of DES (a compound in soy) related cancer in the offspring of mother's who consumed soy while pregnant and/or nursing
Soy has been linked to thyroid carcinomas in young adults fed soy formula while infants

Soy and Birth Defects

There is an increased incidence of birth defects in the male offspring of vegitarian, soy-consuming mothers
Soy use during pregnancy is linked to Hypospadius in male children. This is a condition where the urethra is at the base of the penis, instead of the tip
Soy use during pregnancy is linked to Cryptorchidism in male children. This is a condition where the testis are undescended, or mal-decended.
There is a link between a mother's consumption of soy while pregnant or nursing and abnormalities of the reproductive tract in both female and male infants.

Soy and Other Detremental Effects

Soy is one of the most allergic foods in mainstream consumption today, with 30 proteins. In addition, there is a positive link between soy formula use as a baby and later development of peanut allergies
The phytates in soy make minerals less available for the body, leading to bone weakness and osteoporosis
The Asian Aging study showed and association between increased tofu consumption (2x a week or more) in midlife with low cognitive scores, & (independently) with 2.4 times greater risk of alzheimer's disease
Soy has protease inhibitors that stimulate pancreatic hyperplasia and pancreatic hypertrophy
Long-term use of soy leads to B12 and B1 (Thiamine) deficiency

Dangerous Doses

In men, 22mg or less of soy isoflavones leads to fertility problems. 2 glasses of soy milk has 80-100mg of soy isoflavones
In women, 45mg per day for just 30 days can lead to menstral cycle disruption. This puts you at higher risk for breast cancer
In adults, a 5-8oz. glass of soy milk (~30-40mg soy isoflavones) supresses thyroid function
In babies, 100mg of soy is equivalent to 1 birth control pill. Calculated out, in one day the average soy formula fed infant gets the dose-equivalent of an adult female taking up to 10 birth control pills each day