I'm lucky. Soy foods made me sick early in the process of shifting from meat/fish to vegetarian. It took me a few months to figure out what the problem was, trial and error. It manifested as what felt like my already weak thyroid died. I feel much healthier without soy than with. Some folks just have an allergy to soy and I'm on that list.
Turns out folk like me are canaries in the coal mines.
Monsanto controls 91% of the soy market and holds patents on the genetically modified seeds.
Here’s Monsanto’s page on soy that shows how they are selling us this formerly industrial material crop.
“The best available evidence, accumulated over the last 25 years, indicates soy's ability to lower cholesterol. Studies show that eating as little as 47g (about 1.5 oz.) of soy can lower total cholesterol levels an average of 9% and low density lipoprotein (LDL) 13%. A 1% drop in total cholesterol translates into a 2% drop in the risk of developing heart disease. According to the American Heart Association, recent studies suggest that the isoflavones (also referred to as phytoestrogens) present in soybeans may contribute to cholesterol lowering and other positive cardiovascular effects. For example, incidence of certain chronic heart conditions and diseases are significantly lower in populations, such as the Japanese, that consume large quantities of foods known to contain isoflavones.”
A cute site on the history of soy (soy was promoted around the same time hemp was prohibited):
Here’s some other soy research, though probably not approved of by Monsanto:
"Most people remain unaware that soy is known to contain an array of potent chemical toxins. The modern manufacturing processes of high-profit industries make no effort to remove these potent toxins. High levels of phytic acid, trypsin inhibitors, toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines are all present in soy products.
Phytoestrogens that disrupt endocrine function and are potent antithyroid agents are present in vast quantities in soy, including the potentially devastating isoflavone Genistein. 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. Infant soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
Soy is linked to infertility, breast cancer, hypothyroidism, thyroid cancer, and many other disorders.”
Two other good articles on Monsanto's genetically modified foods:
From Vanity Fair
" Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear
Monsanto already dominates America’s food chain with its genetically modified seeds. Now it has targeted milk production. Just as frightening as the corporation’s tactics–ruthless legal battles against small farmers–is its decades-long history of toxic contamination."
Another good page is on Global Research.ca :
“Monsanto Whistleblower Says Genetically Engineered Crops May Cause Disease
by Jeffrey M. Smith
It turns out that the damage done to DNA due to the process of creating a genetically modified organism is far more extensive than previously thought.[1] GM crops routinely create unintended proteins, alter existing protein levels or even change the components and shape of the protein that is created by the inserted gene. Kirk’s (Azevedo - whistleblower) concerns about a GM crop producing a harmful misfolded protein remain well-founded, and have been echoed by scientists as one of the many possible dangers that are not being evaluated by the biotech industry’s superficial safety assessments.
GM cotton has provided ample reports of unpredicted side-effects. In April 2006, more than 70 Indian shepherds reported that 25% of their herds died within 5-7 days of continuous grazing on Bt cotton plants.[2] Hundreds of Indian agricultural laborers reported allergic reactions from Bt cotton. Some cotton harvesters have been hospitalized and many laborers in cotton gin factories take antihistamines each day before work.[3]”
(Above is a lecture by Jeffrey Smith, in which he summarizes the contents of his book, The Health Dangers of Genetically Modified Foods. It's not only informative, but amusing, because he casts a joke here and there.)
Dr. Mercola’s article on soy is also chilling.
“Newest Research On Why You Should Avoid Soy … by Sally Fallon & Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.
Cinderella's Dark Side
The propaganda that has created the soy sales miracle is all the more remarkable because, only a few decades ago, the soybean was considered unfit to eat - even in Asia. During the Chou Dynasty (1134-246 BC) the soybean was designated one of the five sacred grains, along with barley, wheat, millet and rice.
However, the pictograph for the soybean, which dates from earlier times, indicates that it was not first used as a food; for whereas the pictographs for the other four grains show the seed and stem structure of the plant, the pictograph for the soybean emphasizes the root structure. Agricultural literature of the period speaks frequently of the soybean and its use in crop rotation. Apparently the soy plant was initially used as a method of fixing nitrogen."
Fixing the problem requires an honesty vs. greed based strategy to restore nature, if possible. The FDA should restore the family farm with natural, NON GENETICALLY MODIFIED HEMP SEEDS and use the hemp plant to help us solve our problems now.
For more on hemp please visit the USA Hemp Museum. www.hempmuseum.org Stop by the museum’s Economics, Agriculture and Foods rooms.
If washing out the toxins can help, consider THE WATER CURE
The Water Cure: An interview with Dr. Batmanghelidj
