The Myth About Soy – Is Soy Making You Fat?

Did you know that you could be poisoning your body with high levels of toxins produced by too much soy in your diet? Research has shown that a soy-based diet at any age can lead to a weakened thyroid, which commonly produces heart problems and excess fat. Could this explain the dramatic increase in obesity today?

Are you suffering from obesity or excess weight? If you are eating a diet rich in soy, you could be seriously affecting your health, not to mention sabotaging your weight loss goals.

Most people are unaware of the many potent chemical toxins contained in soy. One among them is phytic acid, also called phytates. These acids keep the body from absorbing essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and especially zinc. Unfortunately, soybeans are very resistant to phytate reducing techniques, such as long slow cooking, so removing this toxin is nothing short from impossible.

Soybeans also contain potent enzyme inhibitors. These inhibitors block uptake of trypsin and other enzymes that the body needs for protein digestion, causing serious gastric distress, reduced protein digestion and can lead to chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake.

Because of the way today’s soybeans are manufactured and processed (quick and cheap), it does not matter what kind of products you buy, organic or not. They all carry high levels of toxins, and should not be eaten, or only very sparingly, like they do in the Asian cultures. Contrary to popular belief, soy products have never been a food staple in Asian countries. Historically, soy was used by the poor in times of extreme food shortage, and only then the soybeans were carefully prepared by lengthy fermentation to destroy the soy toxins.

The average U.S. vegetarian diet today includes soy in extreme excess of what Asians typically consume; they generally use small portions of soy to complement their meals. The standard Asian diet consists of more natural products, far less fatty meat, greater amounts of vegetables and more fish. Their diets are also lower in chemicals and toxins, as they eat far fewer processed (canned, jarred, pickled, frozen) foods.

So, if you think soy will keep you and your kids from getting fat, think again. These claims come directly from the soy industry who has led us all to believe in its “health food” qualities. It really doesn’t make sense, especially when we know farmers give animals soy feed to fatten them for slaughter as fast as possible.

Soy also contains an abundant amount of isoflavones (phytoestrogens), which actually interfere with the thyroid gland’s ability to manufacture thyroid hormones, and that means weight gain, tiredness and depression. A diet rich in soy is also rich in isoflavones, and it doesn’t take much. Just one glass of soy milk a day, said to contain between 30-45 milligrams, is enough to suppress thyroid function. And with a weakened thyroid, you’ll find it harder and harder to lose any weight at all.

It is the isoflavones in soy that are supposed to protect us from heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and the discomforts of menopause. Not so.

But the most alarming and extremely sad effect comes from feeding soy to our infants. While everyone knows, breastfeeding is best; mothers today think they are doing their newborns a service by giving them soy-based formula instead of the traditional milk-based. In fact, it is causing devastating harm to our children.

Infants exclusively fed soy-based formula have 13,000 to 22,000 times more estrogen compounds in their blood than babies fed milk-based formula, the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day. Premature development of girls has been linked to the use of soy formula, as has the underdevelopment of males.

Moms eating soy during pregnancy are also putting their babies at risk because isoflavones swim right through the placenta. This can upset the hormonal balance, especially during the first three months, when male fetuses are in a crucial developmental stage and absolutely must have adequate testosterone. Other problems associated with both sexes fed infant soy formula include extreme emotional behavior, depression, asthma, immune system problems, pituitary insufficiency, thyroid disorders and irritable bowel syndrome.

In general, there is an overwhelming number of other health problems that may be associated with soy foods, including: bladder, prostate, colorectal, thyroid and breast cancer; precancerous lesions; heart disease; type 2 diabetes; malnutrition; stunted growth; flatulence; pancreatic problems; low libido: early puberty; anemia; zinc deficiency; osteoporosis; intestinal damage; mal-absorption and leaky gut syndrome; kidney stones; allergies; infant death; immune system disruption; thyroid disease – and the list goes on.

The soy industry is a powerful multi-billion dollar industry. And the PR and funding for its advertising as a “health food” is really causing a “health crisis.” Soy is dangerous — for you, and especially your children. Don’t get sucked into their marketing gimmicks.

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