Soy you should eat, soy you shouldn't eat

The ONLY Soy You Should Ever Eat
You can get remarkable benefits from this little bean —
But only if you avoid this catastrophic mistake...

It is no secret that soy has become the best-loved 'health food' of the past 20 years.

What is a secret — by all evidence — is which soy products you should use to obtain these health benefits. After all, there's a world of difference between the beneficial ones — and the ones that will seriously throw a wrecking ball at your health.

It's often hailed as a wonder food, but soy is actually a Pandora's box of benefits and dangers.

Continued below...

Japanese women have held the record for the world's longest life expectancy for 25 years now (as of 2010), according to Reuters News. Women in Japan have a life expectancy of 86.44 years, while Japanese men can expect to live 79.59 years.

It's been said, "It's all in the food." And it is true that the Japanese consume a diet rich in fish, soy and tea. What's more, there's less overeating because of their custom of small serving sizes.

However, there is a soy secret the Japanese know — which Americans seem totally clueless about.

The soy secrets not one American out of ten knows...

You see, there are two kinds of soy — the kind the Japanese eat, and the kind Americans eat. And a great chasm separates the two.

Hence, the great debate about whether soy is truly a 'health food' or not.

What if everything you've heard about soy is industry hype and multi-million dollar marketing campaigns based on half-truths or lies?

The U.S. soy industry was born decades ago, back when coconut and palm oils were in nearly every kitchen. But since these two tropical oils were primarily grown outside the U.S., a plan was devised to replace them with a domestic 'healthy' oil — soybean.

The explosive growth of the soy industry was virtually guaranteed thanks to government subsidies, which kept prices artificially low, and the American Soybean Association, which united the industry into a powerful lobby. For the most part, the industry has succeeded in convincing Americans that its soybeans are indeed a health food.

But regular unfermented soy has been linked to all sorts of health issues — digestive distress, immune system breakdown, PMS, endometriosis, reproductive problems (men and women), allergies, ADD and ADHD, increased heart disease and cancer risk, malnutrition, and loss of libido.

Were it eaten as it usually is in Japan, soy could be considered a health food. In Japan, soy is nearly always consumed in fermented form, while in the U.S. it's almost always highly processed and non-fermented.

And there's a world of difference...

Here's a quick look at the difference
between fermented and non-fermented soy...

5 reasons to avoid non-fermented soy

Numerous studies have been performed on soy dating back to 1925. These are the highlights:

1. Soy blocks vitamin and mineral absorption, denying your body the health building tools it needs.

Soy has extremely high phytate levels, and they're highly resistant to normal phytate-reduction tactics like long, slow cooking. Long periods of fermentation will greatly reduce those levels, though it won't eliminate them.

Every plant has anti-nutrient properties, but the soybean plant is especially rich in these chemicals. If they're not removed by fermentation, soybeans are one of the worst foods you can eat.

Soy creates an increased bodily demand for vitamins E, K, D and B12. The phytic acid in soy blocks absorption of essential minerals, creating mineral deficiencies of calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, and more.

2. Soy contains its very own natural toxins, known as anti-nutrients.

These are potent enzyme inhibitors that block trypsin and other enzymes from being released to help you digest protein and carbohydrates.

The enzyme inhibitors can produce gastric distress and cause amino acid deficiencies. Diets high in trypsin inhibitors caused enlargement and pathological conditions including cancer in test animals.

3. Soy contains endocrine-disrupting isoflavones, especially one called genistein.

Problems relating to dietary intake of isoflavones include infertility, reproductive problems, thyroid and liver disease.

One hundred grams of soy protein (less than four ounces) can contain nearly 500 mg of isoflavones — a very high dose. In 1992 the Swiss Health Service estimated that 100 grams of soy protein provide the same amount of estrogen as one birth control pill. This is a controversial subject — I would say the jury is still out on whether eating a large amount of genistein is literally the same as supplementing with human estrogen. But if I were you, I wouldn't take the chance.

What's even more paradoxical is that genistein has been shown to KILL cancer cells under some circumstances. From what I can learn, we don't have definitive answers on the good and the bad when it comes to this plant chemical.

4. Unfortunately, matters get worse when soy is processed.

It is often acid-washed in aluminum tanks, leaching aluminum into the finished product. Spray drying produces nitrites, which are potent carcinogens. The toxin lysinoalanine forms during alkaline processing. Artificial flavorings, especially MSG, are added to soy protein isolate (SPI) and textured vegetable protein (TVP) products to cover their 'beany' taste and make it more 'meat-like'.

5. DNA damage and cancer.

Are you now consuming soy in the belief that it protects you from breast cancer?

Genistein was found to stimulate breast cells to enter into a breast cancer cycle.¹ Furthermore, scientists have known since 1993 that soy causes DNA damage and chromosome fragmentation.²

And there's more damaging evidence which is beyond the scope of this article.

It should be noted that America's FDA even ignored two of its own expert research scientists (Daniel Sheehan, PhD and Daniel Doerge, PhD) — when these two Daniels expressed concerns about the widely-accepted 'safe' use of soy.

Why fermented soy is a MUCH different story…

Fermentation is the oldest known form of food biotechnology, dating back more than 5,000 years. Our distant ancestors found it was a way of preserving foods safely.

Traditional fermentation processes enrich foods biologically with protein, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, numerous antioxidants and phytosterols... and increase the quantity, availability, digestibility and assimilation of nutrients

In soy, fermentation removes the trypsin inhibitors — those nasty anti-nutrient factors — from the bean's coating.

Fermented soy products become nutritionally enhanced, more bioavailable, and reduce certain cancer risks… while promoting heart and bone health and relieving menopausal symptoms. During the fermentation process, the enzymes produced by the bacteria and yeast break down and become easier to digest. This makes the protein content of unfermented soy protein easier to digest also.

A study of cultured miso concluded that this fermented soy produces its own unique anti-carcinogenic activity by strongly inhibiting the formation of cellular mutations. I was glad to hear that, since I like miso soup.

In addition to reducing the risk of certain kinds of cancer, fermented soy gets credit for lowering cholesterol, reducing chronic pain, lowering blood pressure, and alkalinizing blood.

How to enjoy the benefits of fermented soy...

You may not be familiar with fermented soy products, so here's a quick rundown about a few options you may want to experiment with.

Natto — Fermented soybeans with a sticky texture and a strong, cheese-like flavor. Loaded with nattokinase — a very powerful blood thinner — it's the world's best source of vitamin K2, as well as a quality source of the beneficial bacteria called bacillus subtilis. You can find it in most Asian grocery stores.

Tempeh — A fermented soybean cake with firm texture and a nutty, mushroom-like flavor.

Miso — A fermented soybean paste with a salty, buttery texture… often used in miso soup.

Soy Sauce — Caution! Traditionally soy sauce was made with fermented soybeans, salt and enzymes. But many varieties on the market today are made artificially using a chemical process, not the traditional fermented process.

Haelan — Discussed in the following section…

It's often said that natto takes a little getting used to for most Americans, because of its strong taste. In fact, I know a Japanese-American who thinks the stuff is pretty foul. There are nattokinase food supplements available for people who don't want to eat natto. If you want to check out a nattokinase supplement, click here. Please take note: the supplements probably don't contain other nutrients (such as beneficial bacteria) that are found in whole natto. They just contain one enzyme extracted from natto.

Compared to natto, the word on the street is slightly different for tempeh and miso.

A quick online search revealed numerous tempeh recipes to try, such as barbeque tempeh sandwiches, tempeh ratatouille, vegetarian sloppy joes, and more. One piece of advice… use the freshest tempeh available for best and tastiest results.

Likewise, you can find numerous miso recipes online, as well as entire print cookbooks. Recipe ideas range from miso soup(s) to salad dressings, and miso-glazed salmon to BBQ miso chicken… and more.

Bear in mind that with fermented soy foods, a little goes a long way. The Chinese and Japanese eat only about one ounce of fermented soy food on a daily basis. It's a condiment or flavoring, not something you stuff yourself with.

For this reason (and this is just my conjecture) Asians aren't getting the massive doses of estrogens that Americans ingest by eating hundreds of grams of unfermented soy. In health food stores and Chinese restaurants I've often encountered chunks of unfermented tofu as big as children's blocks. The Asians, I'm told, don't eat it that way.

When fermented soy foods are used in small amounts they help build the inner ecosystem — the "good" bacteria and yeast in your colon. Fermented soy provides your colon with a wealth of friendly microflora that aid digestion, boost immunity, and help with the assimilation of nutrients.

Fermented soy as a cancer treatment…

Haelan is a fermented soy anti-cancer product. Walter Wainright, PhD, is an expert on this subject, and is with the Haelan Research Foundation (http://www.haelan951.com).

Wainright points out that the chemo drug Avastin costs $100,000 — and perhaps extends life for two to six months, with extreme side effects.

Haelan, on the other hand, costs approximately $900 for an effective course — with NO side effects. Wainright declared, "Fermented soy is for the ugly cancers."

As noted in our last issue, Dr. Ursula Jacob uses Haelan at her clinic in the Black Forest.

Haelan Products, Inc. began in 1989 — when Lesly Todesco learned of a fermented soy product manufactured and sold in China that had worked wonders for a friend of hers.

She and her husband Joe decided the product should be made available in the U.S. They began selling it, and incorporated their company in the Pacific Northwest. Since then, Haelan Products has built a good reputation in the field of nutrition.

They select beans based on the maximum available nutrition. They take geographical area and soil quality into account, with beans harvested at the peak of nutritional value. The soybeans used to manufacture their Haelan 951 drink are processed through a patented fermentation process under carefully controlled conditions.

This sets Haelan 951 apart from other soy beverages. The differences are noticeable in both the protein and phyto-nutrients provided. They are proven to be readily digested.

The ingredients in Haelan 951 include mineral water, cultured soy powder, potassium phosphate, yeast, calcium carbonate, sodium chloride, and sodium selenate — and absolutely no artificial colorings or flavoring.

Fermented, yes — unfermented, no

Overall, the evidence seems to point to fermented soy as a product to safely include in your diet in moderation — but not so with 'regular' soy.

Unfermented soy should be banished from your diet… hands down. Read labels, because it's in nearly everything even remotely processed (including dark chocolate, which contains soy protein isolate). Skip it — it's not worth the health risks. Be sure you're consuming the ONLY soy your body can benefit from.

By all means, feel free to include one ounce per day of fermented soy, if you enjoy consuming it. In moderation only!

When it comes to Haelan, I'd like to see more clarification of the genistein/estrogen issue before making it my first choice as a cancer treatment. As a male, I'm not looking for added estrogen. Since I've just encountered this treatment, I need to learn more.

Haelan's website says that one-fourth to one-half an eight ounce bottle each day is a "maintenance" dose (for someone not seriously ill). As you have to expect in the case of any nutritional supplement, the website makes no claims as to whether Haelan is useful in treating cancer or other diseases. The site recommends very large doses of Haelan for patients with an acute condition.

More information about Haelan was included with our newsletter last Wednesday. If you missed that issue, please scroll down to have a look at it now.

Best regards,

Lee Euler,
Publisher

References:

¹ Estrogen found in soy stimulates human breast-cancer cells in mice . Three studies from the University of Illinois, Nov 1, 2001, www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-11 uoia-efi110101.php Abstract EurekAlert Medical Archives.

² www.soyonlineservice.co.nz and www.mercola.com