Soy Products Are They Really Healthy

Soy Products, Are They Really Healthy? (The Rumors and the Reality)

Soy products have been experiencing record sales since 1995, and now the FDA even recommends soy protein to help prevent heart disease. The dairy industry has answered by propagating negative information to create doubt and misconceptions in the minds of consumers and slow down soy sales. At first it would seem that with the overwhelming factual evidence on the side of soy, consumers would be able to sort through all the propaganda and put it in perspective. However, many people are now concerned about having soy products in their diet to the delight of those that are behind the negative press. Here are some facts to help qualify and answer the questions that are now popping up over soymilk and related products.

First of all; too many phytoestrogens in your diet could impair thyroid function? Yes, that much is true, but is that likely to happen? To illustrate rumor and reality, how much salt at one time will kill you? (About one cup). How much caffeine will kill you at one time? (About a teaspoon). How much Fluoride in toothpaste will kill you, (a few drops) or the Chlorine in your drinking water? (Not much) And yes, if you could, drink 3 or 4 gallons of soymilk each day you may be getting too much of some soy compounds. These are the same compounds that are proven to be so healthy for so many things, in practical amounts. Two or three gallons may be too much for children. This would of course, be conditional on the Isoflavone content and amount of protein in the soy being consumed.

Why don’t the Chinese and Japanese who have been consuming huge amounts of soybeans as a major food staple for centuries have a problem with thyroid function or sterility, or any of the other problems that have been propagated as the result of soy? Why do they have better bone density, less cancer, less heart disease, less thyroid problems than Americans? Perhaps the question should be, why do the five countries that drink the most homogenized cow’s milk have the highest heart disease rates? A lot of research has been compiled on this relationship that does raise serious questions.

Why isn’t the real question on thyroid health being directed at the dairy industry and the powerful growth hormones and other substances found in cow’s milk? There is independent scientific evidence that the denatured fat in homogenized milk is a primary cause of heart disease. After 30 years of research, qualified heart specialists tried to get warning labels placed on milk cartons over 20 years ago. The dairy industry’s response was to spend millions on positive advertising. In addition to the homogenization issue, there are studies that link milk and childhood Diabetes, Crohn’s Disease, Kidney Stones, Depression, Breast Cancer and a long list of mucous related allergies.

The benefits of soy are without question to informed consumers. Unbiased research and documentation dwarfs any negative information from any source. Soy has been a part of millions of people’s diet since 1100 AD. Non-GMO soy is one of the purest most unadulterated and most researched food sources on the planet. Genetically altered soy or Round-Up ready soy is a different subject. We are talking about the original golden and/or green soybeans from the soya-bean plant species grown for centuries and water extracted soy protein from these sources processed without the use of Hexane.

Other efforts to discredit soymilk and mislead consumers center around reports that the soybeans in America are unacceptable to the more traditional Japanese soybean consumer. That is true, to a point, if they are Genetically Modified. The fact is Japan imports more American Identity Preserved Non-GMO soybeans than any country in the World. Much of the Non-GMO soy comes from Africa or Brazil, but American Identity Preserved Non-GMO soybeans have no defects and are not low quality.

Then there is the myth that Chinese people only consume fermented soy like tofu. There are soybean juice extractors everywhere. It is a part of life. Hundreds of millions of people in China make or buy soybean juice and drink it daily, with or without sugar added. Fermented soy is a small part of their total consumption.

The negative information on soy is agenda based and designed to mislead, or it is perpetuated by the ignorant or intentionally uninformed. These rumors lack any credible substance when it comes to the practical or recommended consumption of soymilk or soy protein. Too much protein is hard on the kidneys. Common sense would suggest one would not want to eat excessive protein on a daily basis and soy is the best vegetable source for protein ranking third to whey and eggs in amino acid content.

In conclusion rest assured that drinking a quality; Non-GMO and Hexane Free soymilk, or having soy protein in your families diet is one of the easiest and best ways of staying healthy. The factual evidence supporting reasonable consumption of (Non-GMO) soy products is overwhelming and available to anyone. Processing soybeans with Hexane (a solvent) is questionable, so find soy products that are made without the use of Hexane and not bio-engineered to resist powerful herbicides, like Sammi’s Best.™

There are certainly things in the average American diet that are not healthy, even destructive long term, even things that are sold with a wholesome image and a perception of being healthy, but Sammi’s Best™ Soymilk is not one of them.

A very small fraction of the available references: “Food Labeling; Health Claims; Soy Protein and Coronary Heart Disease; Final Rule” Federal Register (October 26, 1999) AHA Nutrition Committee “Soy Protein and Cardiovascular Disease” Circulation (2000) Somekawa, Y, Chiguchi, J, Tomoko, I et al “Soy Intake Related To Menopausal Symptoms, Serum Lipids, and Bone Mineral Density in Premenopausal Japanese Women” Obstetrics & Gynecology (2001) Aheng, W, Dai, Q, Custer, LJ et al “Urinary Excretion of Isoflavonoids and the risk of breast cancer” Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention (1999) Hai Zhang M.S. Thesis on the Nutritional Applications and History of Soy from 1100 A.D., Cal Poly (2002) Duke and the Doctor Radio talk Show, Dr. Jan McBarron. The Non-GMO Source, Fairfield IA, The European Food Navigator, Don’t Drink Your Milk, Dr. Frank Oski, The XO Factor – Dr. Donald Ross and Dr. Curt Oster, Milk A to Z – Robert Cohen, Townsend Medical Letter, May, 1995, Julie Klotter, MD British Journal of Rheumatology, 36 (1) 1997 The Milk Letter – Dr. Robert Kradijan, Chief of Surgery, Seton Medical Centre. Dr. Kurt Esselbacher, Chairman of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.