The Dangers of Soy

Soy has been the craze for the last few years with the media and Soy industry heralding it as a health food. Many people have made the switch to soy products, soy milk, and have even put their babies and children on soy milk.

SOY IS NOT A HEALTH FOOD, it does not cure or prevent disease and has not even been proven safe yet... In fact many governements including the french government have issued health warnings against Soy (the US government has not yet followed suit succumbing to pressure from the Soy industry).

There are a few things that we do know for sure:

Soy is THE most processed food out there and devoid of most nutrients found in the original soy bean; Soy contains phyto-estrogens that are not real hormones per say, but most certainly act like hormones and can cause significant endocrine disruption in the body. They interfere with the normal production of Estrogen, Testosterone and other hormones in the body. We know for sure through several studies that Soy estrogens are NOT weak, despite what the media claims. They are potent and can affect your whole endocrine system, your thyroid and children's normal development. It is very important that soy products are avoided during child bearing years (there are many studies that indicate they contribute to infertility), during pregnancy (as they affect the normal development of the Fetus), infancy and puberty (they affect the normal growth of a child by dirsupting the hormone levels in the body) and finally around menopause.

My recommendation is that you eat soy foods occasionally in the form of Miso soup and tempeh for example which are the tradional forms. Do not make it part of your staple diet in the form of milk and other heavily processed forms...and please do not give it to your children! There are just too many well-documented risks and they far outway any potential benefits.