Did you think Soy is Health Food?

In a recent Reuters article this definition for soy sauce is provided:
"Soy sauce (US) or soya sauce is a fermented sauce made from soybeans (soya beans), roasted grain, water and salt..."

The article follows the surprising results of a study from researchers at the National University of Singapore (NUS) - Dark soy sauce may offer more antioxidant protection than red wine or vitamin C.
Unfortunately, the soy sauce at your local grocery is not the same soy sauce described by NUS researchers.

In a groundbreaking article about soy titled "The Ploy of Soy," Sally Fallon and Mary G Enig, Ph.D., of the Weston A. Price Foundation (a pro-raw dairy group), put the nutritional realities of soy consumption into perspective.

Here are a few of the key points they make:

• Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
• Soybeans are high in phytic acid; an organic acid that impedes the absorption of four key minerals: calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc
• Fermented soy products - such as miso and tempeh - provide nutrients that are easily absorbed
• Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body's requirement for B12.
• Soy foods increase the body's requirement for vitamin D.
• Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.

Soy intake may also increase kidney stone risk.
A 2001 study published in the American Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, showed how soybeans, tofu, and commercially processed soy products - especially textured soy protein - contain extremely high levels of oxalate, a compound that binds with calcium in the kidneys, increasing the risk of kidney stone development.

It can't be said often enough: Soy is not health food.

For more eye-opening details about soy, you can read "The Ploy of Soy" at the Weston A. Price web site: westonaprice.org.