Over the past two decades, soy has been widely promoted as a 'miracle' food
that can prevent heart disease, fight cancer, fan away hot flashes and build
strong bones and bodies in far more than 12 ways.
Sales of soy foods topped $4 billion in the USA for the first time in 2004,
with most segments of the industry reporting double-digit growth.
1
Although such growth has mostly slowed, sales aren't reducing and the soy
industry has been stepping up its marketing of products all over the world.
The marketing of soy as a 'health food' has been so successful that few
people realize that respected scientists have warned that possible benefits
should be weighed against proven risks. Even researchers working for the soy
industry have admitted to each other at soy symposia that the 'marketing is
way ahead of the science'.
Fortunately, the 'whole soy story' is starting to emerge. In July, 2005, the
first major warning came from the Israeli Health Ministry, which warned that
babies should not receive soy formula, that children under 18 years of age
should eat soy foods no more than once per day to a maximum of three times a
week and that adults should exercise caution because of adverse effects on
fertility and increased breast cancer risk
2 The Ministry took its
advice from a 13-member committee of nutritionists, oncologists,
pediatricians and other experts who spent a year examining the evidence. The
committee was most concerned by the possibility of hormonal disruption
caused by the estrogen-like plant hormones in soy.
3
Also in July, 2005, researchers at Cornell University's Program of Breast
Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors warned that excessive soy food
consumption can increase breast cell multiplication, putting women at
greater risk for breast cancer.
4
In September, 2005, the US Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
released a report in which it concluded that much of the research carried
out on soy is 'inconclusive'.
5 The review prepared by a team of
researchers at Tufts in Boston, concluded that soy products appear to exert
'a small benefit on LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, but the effects may
be of small clinical effect in individuals'. Furthermore, the researchers
couldn't determine from the many studies how much soy protein might be
needed for lipid reduction. The authors found that studies show that soy
products may reduce menopausal symptoms but noted they were of poor quality
or their duration was too short to lead to definite conclusions.
The researchers failed to find clear evidence that soy causes thyroid damage
- but that's not surprising in that they excluded foreign studies from
consideration. Most of the key studies showing thyroid damage from soy have
been carried out at leading thyroid clinics in Japan.
6
Then the
Journal of the American Dietetic Association reported that
the studies on soy and cancer are inconsistent and that high intake of soy
may increase breast cancer risk. The journal indicated this lack of 'clear,
consistent message' confuses many women and that 'health professionals
should take an active role in communicating and clarifying such
information'.
7
The French Government also takes the soy risk seriously and is implementing
new regulations that will require manufacturers to remove soy isoflavones
from infant formula and soy foods targeted to children under 3 years old.
8
In 2007 the German Institute of Risk Assessment warned parents and
pediatricians that babies should not be given soy infant formula without
clear, concrete medical reasons and then only under strict medical
supervision.
9 Soon after, the Germans issued a second warning to
adult consumers, saying that soy isoflavones offer no proven health benefits
and may pose health risks.
These and other warnings follow a lengthy report issued in 2002 by the
British Committee on Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and
the Environment, which found no merit to most of the health claims made for
soy. The Committee identified infants on soy formula, vegetarians who use
soy as a primary source of protein and adults trying to prevent disease with
soy foods and soy supplements as being at risk for thyroid damage.
10
Confusing consumers
For consumers, such news can be confusing. After all, 'everyone knows' that
Asians eat large quantities of soy and consequently remain free of most
western diseases. In fact, the people of China, Japan and other countries in
Asia eat small quantities of soy and as condiments, not as staple foods.
11
While it is true that Asians show lower rates of breast, prostate and colon
cancers, they suffer higher rates of thyroid, pancreatic, liver, stomach and
esophageal cancers.
12 Thyroid disease is also prevalent in Asia,
with an epidemic of cretinism in some parts of China, and with 'Hashimoto's
thyroiditis' and other thyroid problems common in Japan.
13
Asians also eat different soy foods from the ones now appearing on the
western table. Think small amounts of traditional, whole soy foods such as
miso, natto, tempeh, tofu, tamari and shoyu, not veggie burgers, 'energy
bars', shakes, TVP chili, soy milk or other meat or dairy substitutes.
Contrary to popular belief, soy milk was rarely drunk in Asia prior to the
20
th century and soy formula was first invented by a Baltimore
pediatrician in 1909.
14
Ingredients such as soy protein isolate, soy protein concentrate, textured
soy protein and hydrolyzed plant protein were unheard of until after World
War II. These quintessentially western products are manufactured using
high-tech, industrialized processes that compromise protein quality, reduce
vitamin levels and leave toxic residues and carcinogens. Although the latest
refining techniques yield blander, purer soy proteins than the 'beany',
hard-to-disguise flavours of the past, the main reason the new soy foods
taste and look better is the lavish use of sugar and other sweeteners, salt,
artificial flavorings, colors and MSG.
15
GM soybean linked to allergy rise
Soy is now an ingredient in more than 60 percent of the foods sold in
supermarkets and natural food stores, with much of it 'hidden' in products
where it wouldn't ordinarily be expected, such as in fast-food burgers,
breads and canned tuna. This is a becoming a nightmare for the growing
number of people who are allergic to, or sensitive, to soy - which is a lot
of people given that soy is now one of the top eight allergens, with many
experts predicting it will soon be in the top four.
16
The likeliest reason for this rise in soy allergies is the genetically
modified (GM) soybean. The York Nutritional Laboratories in England - one of
Europe's leading laboratories specializing in food sensitivity - found a 50
percent increase in soy allergies in 1998, the same year in which GM beans
were introduced to the world market. York's researchers noted that one of
the 16 proteins in soybeans most likely to cause allergic reactions was
found in concentrations higher by 30 percent or more in Monsanto's GM
soybeans.
17
GM beans carry higher levels of anti-nutrients, which decrease digestion and
absorption and increase vitamin and mineral needs, as well as more toxins
than regular soybeans, jeopardizing human and animal health. They have also
caused vast damage to the environment. Indeed, more of the Amazon Rainforest
has been lost to GM soybean farming than to beef grown for fast-food
franchises.
Other health problems
Unfortunately, the health problems caused by soy are not completely solved
by eating whole bean products and buying organic. All soybeans naturally
contain anti-nutrients, toxins and plant hormones. The best-known of these
are:
- protease inhibitors (which interfere with protein digestion and have
caused malnutrition, poor growth, digestive distress and pancreatitis);
- phytates (which block mineral absorption, causing zinc, iron and
calcium deficiencies);
- lectins and saponins (linked to 'leaky gut' and other gastrointestinal
and immune problems);
- oxalates (which can promote kidney stones and vulvodynia); and,
- oligosaccharides (which cause gas, giving soy its reputation as the
'King of Musical Fruits').
Apologists for soy dismiss such claims, saying that food processing and home
cooking remove most of these anti-nutrients. In fact, modern processing
removes some of them, sometimes a lot of them, but never all. The levels of
heat and pressure needed to remove all protease inhibitors, for example,
severely damage soy protein and make it harder to digest. The trick is to
eliminate the most anti-nutrients while doing the least damage to the soy
protein. Success varies widely from batch to batch.
For years, the US Department of Agriculture and the soy industry tried to
improve the quality of animal feeds by researching ways to get rid of these
undesirable anti-nutrients. Although they succeeded to a certain extent,
producers routinely supplement animal feeds heavily with vitamins, minerals
and methionine, a sulfur-containing amino acid that is low in soy. Even so,
makers of animal chows are still limited in the amount of soy they can add
without causing growth and fertility problems.
Food processors making soy-protein products for people may add these
supplements, but in most cases do not. Generally, calcium and vitamin D are
added to soy milk so it can compete with dairy products. B12 often goes in
because vegans are well-known to be at high risk for this deficiency, but
that's about it.
In the past two decades, the soy industry has switched tactics - from trying
to remove unwanted anti-nutrients to trying to convince people that they are
good for them. Protease inhibitors, saponins and lectins are being touted as
curers of cancer or lowerers of cholesterol, while phytates are being
recommended for their ability to remove potentially toxic minerals such as
calcium and excess iron from the body.
18
Although some of these uses look promising, it is important to note that
researchers are not achieving these successes using regular soy foods. Most
take carefully extracted components and administer them in carefully
measured and monitored doses. News headlines to the contrary, there's no
reason to think that willy-nilly eating of a lot of soy foods will do the
trick.
Riskiest of all are the high levels of phytoestrogens (plant estrogens) in
soybeans. Although these are said to be 'weak estrogens' and are promoted as
'safe and natural' hormone replacement therapy, they are strong enough in
numbers to cause significant endocrine disruption, leading most often to
hypothyroidism with its symptoms of weight gain, fatigue, brain fog and
depression.
More than 70 years of human, animal and laboratory studies show that
soybeans put the thyroid at risk.
19 Although individuals who are
deficient in iodine are especially prone to soy-induced thyroid damage, this
can also occur even when iodine levels are replete.
Soy phytoestrogens also have a 'contraceptive effect'. Fertility problems in
cows, sheep, rabbits, cheetahs, guinea pigs, birds and mice have been
regularly reported since the 1940s.
20
In women, soy can impair the ovarian development of babies and alter
menstrual cycles and cause hormonal changes indicative of infertility for
adults.
21 In men it lowers testosterone levels, the quantity and
quality of sperm and the libido.
22 Although scientists
discovered only recently that soy lowers testosterone levels, tofu has
traditionally been used in Buddhist monasteries to help the monks maintain
their vows of celibacy. Thus couples who desire to become pregnant are wise
to cut out soy.
Humans and animals appear to be the most vulnerable to the effects of soy
estrogens pre-natally, during infancy and puberty, during pregnancy and
lactation, and during the hormonal shifts of menopause.
23 Of all
these groups, infants on soy formula are at the highest risk because of
their small size and developmental phase, and because formula is their main
source of nutrient. Soy formula now represents about 25 percent of the
bottle-fed market and has been linked to premature puberty in girls, delayed
or arrested puberty in boys, thyroid damage and other disorders.
24
Soy formula also contains 50 to 80 times the amount of manganese found in
dairy formula or breast milk, toxic levels that can harm the infant's
developing brain, causing ADD/ADHD and other learning and behavioral
disorders.
25 Because ADD/ADHD has been linked to violent
tendencies and crime, the California Public Safety Committee is considering
making soy infant formula illegal except by prescription.
These and other known hazards of soy formula have led the Israeli Health
Ministry, the Swiss Federal Health Service, the British Dietetic Association
and others to warn parents and pediatricians that soy infant formula should
never be used except as a last resort. Although children and teenagers are
less vulnerable than infants, their young bodies are still developing and
are highly vulnerable to endocrine system disruption by soy.
Despite these and many other potential dangers, soy is still widely promoted
as a health food - even as a 'miracle food' that can prevent and cure
cancer. While a few studies suggest that soy protein - or its phytoestrogens
might help prevent cancer, far more studies show it to be ineffective or
inconsistent. Some studies even show that soy can contribute to, promote or
even cause cancer.
In February, 2004, the Solae Company submitted a petition to the FDA
requesting permission for a cancer health claim for soy protein and claimed
that 'there is scientific agreement among experts'.
26 In fact,
no such consensus existed then or now, and numerous experts, including
scientists from the FDA's own National Laboratory for Toxicological
Research, warned of soy protein's carcinogenic potential and the other
health dangers that ensue from excess soy-food consumption.
27
The idea that scientists could even consider soy for a cancer claim is
ludicrous on the face of it. Soy isoflavones, the plant estrogens in soy
most often credited with cancer prevention, are listed as 'carcinogens' in
many toxicology and chemistry textbooks. Over the years, soy isoflavones
have been proven to be mutagenic, clastogenic [causing breakage of
chromosomes] and teratogenic.
28 In addition, the modern
industrial soy processing techniques used to make soy protein isolate,
textured vegetable protein and other modern soy products popular with people
on low-carb diets create toxic and carcinogenic residues.
In 2004 and 2005 the Weston Price Foundation and I submitted three detailed
documents to the FDA that refuted Solae's claims that soy prevents cancer.
29
We showed the FDA that Solae was highly selective in its choice of evidence
and biased in its interpretations. We reported on the fact that they had
omitted many studies proving soy to be ineffective in preventing cancer,
emphasized favorable outcomes in studies with mixed results and excused the
results of the few unfavorable studies that they included to give the
illusion of balance. Most importantly, we drew the FDA's attention to the
fact that Solae excluded many studies showing that soy protein can cause and
accelerate the growth of cancer, particularly breast cancer.
30
In October 2005, Solae withdrew its petition. The FDA made a big mistake in
1999 when it sided with the soy industry and allowed a positive
soy-and-heart-disease health claim in the US.
Today the FDA is required by law to consider a petition from the Weston A
Price Foundation asking it to retract that health claim based on the fact
that studies on soy and cholesterol are inconsistent and contradictory, and
soy may contribute to or even cause heart arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy and
blood vessel damage in women.
31 The chance of retraction was
significant bolstered last August when the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)
issued a negative opinion to a health claim submission linking soy protein
and reduced LDL cholesterol.
32 This turn down was
"disconcerting" to the soy industry, which continues to trot out
new studies in hopes of bolstering their case and, in the meantime, to keep
good news in the headines. Meanwhile, the marketing of soy for cancer
prevention took a big hit last fall with a study in Clinical and
Experimental Metastisis that announced the "good news/fad news"
story that soy isoflavones don't worsen primary tumors but do cause cancer
metastases.
33 Risk is not certainty, of course, but should
certainly be sobering for all who would make health claims for soy.
The bottom line is that the safety of soy foods and formula has yet to be
proven and that people eating large quantities of soy are unwittingly
participating in a large, uncontrolled and basically unmonitored, human
experiment.
Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD, CCN, is The Naughty Nutritionist™ because of her
ability to outrageously and humorously debunks nutritional myths. Her book
The
Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food
thoroughly debunks the myth that soy is a health food. She has appeared on
The Dr Oz Show, NPR's People's Pharmacy and numerous other television and
radio shows, is a regular speaker at Wise Traditions and other conferences,
and is Vice President of the Weston A. Price Foundation. To contact Dr
Daniel, visit her websites
www.naughtynutritionist.com
and
www.wholesoystory.com.
She lives in Albuquerque, NM.
References:
1. Daniel, Kaayla T. The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's
Favorite Health Food (New Trends, 2005) . 30-32. For the most up to date
data on soybean production, consumption, product sales and other industry
news, visit
www.soyatech.com .
2.
http://blog.wholesoystory.com/2005/07/24/israeli-health-ministry-issues-soy-warning/
3 Ibid.
4
http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/July05/herbs.breast.cancer.ssl.html
5.
http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/tp/soytp.htm
6. TWSS 311-330
7. Fang CY, Tseng M, Dally MB. Correlates of soy food consumption in women
at increased risk for breast cancer. J Am Diet Assn, 2006 Mar: 106 (3):
363-4.
8.
http://blog.wholesoystory.com/2006/11/05/french-government-to-require-warning-labels-on-soy-foods/
9.
http://blog.wholesoystory.com/2007/12/06/german-consumer-watchdog-organization-
warns-citizens-about-the-dangers-of-soy-infant-formula-and-soy-isoflavone-supplements/
10.
http://cot.food.gov.uk/pdfs/phytoreport0503
11. TWSS 28-32
12. TWSS 3811 and
http://www.westonaprice.org/action-alerts/2004-alerts/1060-2004jul11.html
13. TWSS 314
14. TWSS 63-64 and 133-139
15. TWSS 85-96 and 121-132
16. TWSS 271-292
17 TWSS 284, Townsend, Mark. Why soya is a hidden destroyer. Daily Express
(London), March 2001, 12.
18 TWSS 195-248
19. TWSS 311-330
20. TWSS 357-378
21. TWSS 357-362
22. TWSS 365-370
23 TWSS 302-305
24 TWSS 331-355
25 TWSS 251-258
26
http://www.westonaprice.org/action-alerts/2004-alerts/1060-2004jul11.html
]
27. 379-394 and
http://www.westonaprice.org/action-alerts/2004-alerts/1060-2004jul11.html
28. TWSS 381
29.
http://www.westonaprice.org/action-alerts/2004-alerts/1060-2004jul11.html
]
30
http://www.westonaprice.org/action-alerts/2004-alerts/1060-2004jul11.html
]
31.
http://www.westonaprice.org/~westonap/images/pdfs/2008feb18-fdasoyheart-letter.pdf
32
http://www.westonaprice.org/action-alerts/2004-alerts/1060-2004jul11.html
and http://www.nutraingredients.com/Regulation/EFSA-explains-soy-protein-claim-rejection]
33. Martinez-Montemayor MM, Otero-Franqui E et al. Individual and combined
soy isoflavones exert differential effects on metastatic cancer progression
Clin Exp
Metastasis. 2010 Oct;27(7):465-80.
Comment: For a more in depth look at the connection between GMO foods such as soy and corn, and sterility in animals and possibly even humans read the following article Children of the Corn: GMOs Don't Qualify As Food