Hompes MethodPractitioner Training Level I

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LESSON FOUR

Part Four

Soy

Soy – The Fake Health Food

• Soy is regarded by many as a health food. I’m not too sure where this came from! Well, I am actually – the “soy doctrine” came about as a result of corporate interest, billions of marketing pounds and dollars, and consumer gullibility.

Soy – Careful Research

• Several authors have gone to great lengths to research soy properly, exploring its history, how it came to be included in the human diet, and how it ended up with it’s “health food” label.

Soy – Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel

• The following quotes are taken from a great book called “The Whole Soy Story” by Dr. KaaylaT. Daniel. You may like to grab a copy and read it because it’s fascinating.

Soy - Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel

“Many health-conscious Americans, in an effort to improve their eating habits, have switched to eating tofu in place of meat or eggs. The soy industry would

have you believe that this is a smart move for your heart health, but in reality processed soy, which

includes tofu, is not a health food.”

Soy - Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel

"Unlike in Asia where people eat small amounts of whole soybean products, western food processors

separate the soybean into two golden commodities--protein and oil.

There's nothing safe or natural about this.”

Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel

“Today's high-tech processing methods not only fail to remove the anti-nutrients and toxins that are naturally

present in soybeans but leave toxic and carcinogenic residues created by the high temperatures, high

pressure, alkali and acid baths and petroleum solvents."

Soy – The Problems

• I can’t do justice to the arguments against soy in this presentation, but I’ll highlight the main problems. I’ll also give you a couple of excellent resources to “absorb.”

Soy – The FDA

• 4,450 results from a search in the FDA’s “Poisonous Plant Database.” I find it odd that soy isn’t banned, never mind promoted as a “health food”!

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/plantox/

Soy and I

• Many years ago, when my first business was really struggling, I joined a company called Herbalife that you may have heard of. Essentially, it’s a weight loss company. It’s based on drinking a soy protein shake at breakfast and one at lunch, then having a “proper” dinner.

Soy and I

• Any time I used these products, my digestion became really screwed up (horrible-smelling, loose stools, as, abdominal pain, etc.)

• Note: I am not criticising the Herbalife company.

Soy and I

• Of course, I stopped recommending these products to people and got rid of all my inventory (throwing away a lot of money in the process). I went into the literature with the aim of learning about soy and why it might be causing digestive problems.

Soy and I

• Since then, I’ve recommended my clients avoid – or at least minimize – soy as much as possible. In some people, I’ve seen greater symptom improvement upon the discontinuation of soy consumption than on the cessation of gluten and cow’s milk consumption!

Soy – What’s It In?

• I’ve provided an expansive list of foods that contain soy in your resources tools section. You’ll see that in addition to obvious sources like soybeans, tofu and soy sauce and soy milk, it is present in tons of processed foods.

Soy - Textured Vegetable Protein

“Textured or texturized vegetable protein, also known as textured soy protein, soy meat, or soya chunks is a defatted soy flour product, a by-product of extracting

soybean oil. It is often used as a meat analogue or meat

extender.”

• Wikipedia

Soy – Vegetable Oil

• Any time you and your clients see “vegetable oil” on a food label, it’s prudent to suspect that soy may be the unknown vegetable!

Soy – What’s It In?

• Even inedible products such as cosmetics, shampoo, pet food, candles, hand sanitizer, soap and artificial fire logs often contain soy. Books printed with soy-based inks may trigger an allergic reaction in soy-allergic children.

Soy - Problems

• The first problem is a big one. Most of the soy – up to 80% or even more - in the US and Canada, is genetically modified. We simply don’t know the consequences of GM food at the moment and I’ll be teaching you all about GM foods in a separate session.

Soy - Problems

• Immune dysfunction

• Hormone disruption

• Infertility

• Birth defects / still born

• Problems with offspring

• Safety studies were never done prior to the GM seeds being used.

Soy - Problems

• Many people simply can’t digest soy properly (one of the likely reasons I had problems when I was drinking those shakes!)

• Looking at the history of soy consumption, as Dr. Kaayla T. Daniel does in her book, it’s clear that the Chinese discovered soybeans weren’t easily digestible a couple of thousand years ago!

Soy - Problems

• “Trypsin inhibitors” in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. Lack of digestibility led our Eastern friends to create fermented soy products, which are easier to digest. These include tempeh, miso, natto and soy sauce.

Soy - Problems

• High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc.

• The phytic acid is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking.

• High phytate diets can cause growth problems in children.

• Soy may increase the body’s requirement for vitamins D and B12.

Soy - Problems

• Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and promote breast cancer in adult women. They are potent anti-thyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.

Soy - Problems

• It’s very important to know that children and babies, who are still developing, are particularly vulnerable to soy’s hormone-mimicking effects. A Lancet study showed that the daily exposure to estrogen-imitating chemicals for infants who consume soy formulas was 6-11 times higher than adults consuming soy foods.

Soy - Problems

• An infant exclusively fed soy formula receives the estrogenic equivalent (based on body weight) of up to five birth control pills per day.

Soy - Problems

• Excess oestrogen in the diet and in the environment causes important hormone imbalances – soy is only a part of this sad story. PMS, infertility, weight gain in men and women, headaches, low thyroid, painful lumpy breasts, blood clotting, endometriosis, hormone-sensitive cancers, inflammatory and autoimmune disorders are all associated with excess oestrogen.

Soy - Fermentation

• Soy may be healthful, for some people, in certain quantities, but only if it is organic, non-GMO and properly fermented. After a long fermentation process, the phytic acid and "anti-nutrient" levels of soybeans are reduced, and their beneficial properties become more readily available to your body.

Soy - Consider

• Tempeh

– a fermented soybean cake with a firm texture and nutty, mushroom-like flavor.

• Miso

– a fermented soybean paste with a salty, buttery texture (commonly used in miso soup).

Soy - Consider

• Natto

– fermented soybeans with a sticky texture and strong, cheese-like flavor (good source of vitamin K).

• Soy sauce

– which is traditionally made by fermenting soybeans, salt and enzymes; be wary because many varieties on the market today are made artificially using a chemical process and may contain gluten and MSG.

Soy in “Gluten Free” Products

• As I said in the gluten lessons, gluten-free products often contain soybean flour AND higher amounts of soybean oil (often labeled vegetable oil). This is one main reason I don’t recommend “gluten-free” products.

Soy – Avoiding It

• Real food doesn’t need a label. To be sure you’re not consuming a big dose of soy, aim for foods that don’t need labels. When eating out, be insistent about understanding what’s in the dishes you’re ordering.

Soy Summary

• Soy is not a health food in my opinion.

• Clients often do very well when they opt not to consume it, even if they don’t have trouble with gluten and milk.

• Soy is present in many processed foods.

• The Chinese knew long ago that soy is hard to digest

• As well as being allergenic, soy may interfere with digestion, nutrient absorption and hormone function

• Small quantities of fermented soy may be ok for some people.

Thank You!

• As always, thanks very much for tuning in - I hope you’ve found this session helpful. Gluten, cow’s milk, soy and PUFAs really are four major contributors to ill health. Let’s look at PUFA again, next!