Tuesday, February 07, 2006

Is Soy Healthy?

I became interested in the soy issue because not all raw foodists are 100% raw. Some are, but there are those who do not maintain 100% raw at all times, or who consider themselves some percentage of raw, with mostly-raw referred to as "high raw" (I don't label myself). Some of these raw foodists will eat tofu and other soy products. And many raw foodists consume nama shoyu, which is unpasteurized soy sauce. I consume nama shoyu but have decided to stay away from other highly processed soy products. However, I may decide to try edamame some day.

I get emails from Dr. Mercola's website and I've noticed that lately he's been on a rampage about soy. I decided to look at a few other websites that talk about soy to see what they are saying. There is a lot of information (I'm tempted to say "information" with quotation marks) about soy; what is listed below is just the tip of the iceberg. It's hard to know who to trust sometimes, but I believe in reading as much as possible and proceding with caution. Personally, I don't jump on any bandwagons until I feel very comfortable with what I've learned.

SOY IS NOT WHAT IT'S CRACKED UP TO BE
Dr. Mercola's site
Article from 2000 at The7thfire.com
talksoy.com in January 2005 said there may be risks for certain women.
WebMd says the jury's still out.

SOY CAN BE SAFE AND GOOD FOR YOU
Better Nutrition's very pro-soy article from April, 2005.
Clinicians-choice.com believes soy is safe in this 2006 article.
Vegetarianorganiclife.com says that soy's safety depends on what kind you are consuming.

1 comments:

sibyl3 said...

Studies I've read have shown soy (like pretty much any highly-processed food) is carcinagenic. I've also read that it can cause hormone issues. I would imagine eating the whole beans, raw and plain, would not be a problem.

At the same time, I still use soy milk in some of my smoothies as a transitional aid. As I continue on in my journey back to a highly raw diet, I will phase it out. In the meantime, I'm still working on cutting out the soda and chocolate! It's a journey. I think the important thing is making informed choices and I respect your efforts to become more knowlegable on the subject for yourself. THank you also for sharing your findings with us!

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