My Thoughts on Soy

(Disclaimer: Please remember that I am not yet an R.D., only on the road to become one.  This post is information based on what I have learned thus far in my undergraduate education, as well as from personal experience and believes.)

[Photo from greenharmonyhome.com]

Soy is a complicated subject.  Who would have though that one little bean could bring so much controversy to this country?  For those of you who have never thought twice about soy, you are small in number.  For those in the nutrition world, it’s an ongoing debate …daily…unfortunately; as everyone has their own thoughts and opinions.

Being native to East Asia, who would have thought that it would have been us, the US, that gave this bean so much power?

Because of soy’s cheap cost, it is found in everything.  Don’t believe me? Check around your house, your kitchen, your garage, your make-up bag, your pet’s food, your vitamins, your arts and crafts, your liquid soaps: it’s everywhere.  Not to mention it has several other names as well: most commonly, edamame, miso, tofu (made from soybeans), soy sauce, natto, soya, tamari (wheat free soy sauce) and tempeh (also made from fermented soy beans).

A few names that you might not know that may contain soy: Mono-diglycerides, monosodium glutamate (MSG), vegetable protein, textured vegetable protein (TVP),  hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), flavoring, lecithin,Fermented Soy,  Hydrolyzed Soy Protein, Isoflavone,  Isoflavones, Isolated Soy Protein, Isolated Soybean Protein, Legume, Natto, Phaseolus max, Phytoestrogen, Plant Estrogen, Shoyu, Soja, Soja max, Soy Bean, Soy Isoflavone, Soy Isoflavones, Soy Fiber, Soy Milk, Soy Protein, Soy Protein Isolate, Soya, Soya Bean,  Soybean, Soybean Curd, Soybean Isoflavone, Soybean Isoflavones, and Touchi.

Wow.  Believe me now?  It’s literally hiding everywhere.

Before we go on any further, I need to introduce you to Monsanto, the evil behind the soybean (Am I allowed to say that? Free speech, right?). Monsanto is the world’s leading producer of the chemical spray: “Roundup.”  So what does this have to do with soy? It has everything to do with soy.  In 1995, Monsanto found a way to genetically modify (GMO: Genetically Modified Organism) the soybean creating Roundup Ready soybeans. This made it so that they could plant these beans, spray them with as much Roundup as needed, and everything would die except the soybean, genius right? Not so much…Well for the American population anyways. I don’t care for Roundup in my dinner.  These GMO beans haven’t been around for long enough for us to see the long term effects; I don’t know about you, but I don’t want my life to be used in a trial and error science experiment: they are tampering with something they have yet to fully learn about.  Monsanto is concerned only about the money entering their pockets, not how these GMOs are affecting our health.

Not only that, Monsanto has now patented this soybean and made it nearly impossible for any other farmer to make a living without using their product, which means more money for them and less for the farmers: a bunch of bullies if you ask me (check out Food Inc for more information).  Environmentally, Monsanto’s factory “farming,” aka science, is damaging more than we will ever know in this life time.  Introducing this new gene into our food chain has the potential to bring deadly pathogens in as well, which would be impossible to control… so scary.

Monsanto currently controls around 95% of all of the soybeans produced and roughly 80% of the corn that is grown in this country; that means only 5% of the soybeans left are non-GMO, I’m not willing to take my chances.

Before too long, it will be Monsanto that controls our food industry entirely (they’re getting pretty close already).  It’s sad to imagine the day that this multi-billion dollar company will depict what you and I consume each and every bite (it goes that deep).

Besides the problems with Monsanto, there’s even more to discuss about soy.

While soy is high in protein (along with QUINOA! another plant based food that is a complete protein), I still wouldn’t recommend it in high doses for most people, excluding menopausal women because of its estrogenic effects in our bodies.

Because of these reasons, even as a vegan, I previously haven’t consumed soy.  If it is in a packaged food, I don’t buy it. That is until last night.  Lately, I have been feeling like I over consume carbohydrates and under consume protein.  As an anti-soy vegan, my protein options are pretty limited to beans (which contain CHOs), quinoa (which contain CHOs), nuts (high in fat) and any protein powders that I purchase online (such as hemp, pea, rice, etc.).  As you might assume that this gets a little old.

While Dustin (being male) stays farrrr from soy (I swear I think he thinks that soy alone has the power to turn him into a girl), he finally convienced me that if I (as a female) purchase non-GMO organic soy (in the form of tofu) that it might actually do me a little good.  And so I did…

Last night I “grilled” tofu and let me be honest, it was disgusting. I’m a tofu novice what can I say. Maybe next time I will use a better recipe.

Grilled tofu, squash, snow peas, portabella mushrooms, and a whole grain medley (quinoa, brown rice, barley, orzo).

Today, however, it was actually pretty good.  I used the left overs to make a panini that included sautéed red onion, mushrooms, green pepper, garlic, mustard, balsamic vinegar and tofu.

Not going to lie, I’m still a little afraid of it.  While I will still not consume GMO soy, maybe the non-GMO soy is actually an option. We’ll see.

What are your thoughts on soy? Any good recipes that I should try out? I’d love to hear.

Good health!

Ashley