The Whole Soy Story

📖 The Scoop

Over the past decade, interest in soy foods has increased dramatically. Soy foods have been promoted as a panacea for radiant health, maximum longevity, and disease prevention and reversal. Sales of soy beverages, energy bars and other health foods are experiencing double digit growth and soy ingredients now appear in more than 60 percent of the processed foods in the marketplace. Thus the safety issues surrounding soy food are of particular importance to human health. Scores of studies dating back to the turn of the century have linked soy foods to malnutrition, digestive distress, thyroid dysfunction, immune system breakdown, reproductive disorders and the development of cancer and heart disease. the Whole Soy Story considers these safety issues based upon a thorough review of epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies pertaining to soybeans and soy foods, and an examination of government documents and reports obtained, in part, through "freedom of information" acts from the United States, British, Swiss and New Zealand governments. the Whole Soy Story is comprised of a two-part contextual essay followed by a PDE in six sections, divided into 23 chapters. the first part of the Contextual Essay reviews choice of topic, methodology and motivation, while the second part looks at the ways that soy foods were perceived and prepared historically, popular perceptions of soy foods today and the hyping of soy foods. Section One of the PDE considers the different forms of soy foods, old-fashioned versus modern processing techniques and the health problems that arise from the use of modern processing methods. Section Two looks at the nutritional quality of soy macronutrients (protein, fat and carbohydrates). Section Three considers the antinutrients and toxins in soybeans, specifically the protease inhibitors, phytates, lectins, saponins and oxalates, in relationship to malnutrition, digestive distress, and disease causation. Section Four evaluates damage from the metals, manganese, fluoride and aluminum. Section Five considers soybean allergens. Section Six examines the endocrine disruption caused by the soy estrogens known as isoflavones and their roles in causing thyroid dysfunction and reproductive disorders.

Genre: No Category (fancy, right?)