permaculture

[Ben Martin Horst <ben.martinhorst@gmail.com>]

If people are going to be sharing recipes on this list (as several have done
for miso in the past several days) and someone knows of reasons that the
primary ingredient in those recipes is problematic or damaging from a health
or ethics perspective, I'd argue that they have an permacultural obligation
to post on those reasons (cf. "People Care"), as SArjuna did. The authors of
article he posted -- Sally Fallon and Mary Enig -- have a somewhat grating,
combative style at times, but their work is highly researched and very well
footnoted, and while it would be great if every cross-posted article on the
internet and email lists came complete with footnotes and supporting
documentation, we all know that's never happened and likely never will.
Search engines are a handy tool for finding original articles and their
supporting research.

Part of why I like Fallon and Enig is that they don't exclusively cite a
couple of whiz-bang, highly polished studies that were funded by big
agribusiness. They look at the literature going back many decades, study the
actual data (not just the sometimes-counterfactual conclusions), and
determine the trajectory of the scientific research as a whole.

Based on what I've read (in Fallon and elsewhere), a lengthy fermentation
process is the only thing that can cause the nutrients in soy to become
readily bioavailable. Traditionally-made miso, natto, tempeh, and soy sauce
are the only forms of soy that are cultured enough to neutralize the phytic
acid. Even then soy shouldn't be used by most people as a cornerstone of the
diet, but as a complement to other sources of protein -- nuts (sprouted to
neutralize the phytic acid), meats, and fish in particular -- and always
with an adequate quantity of fat.

There are, of course, multiple (and contentious) perspectives on nutrition,
all with their passionate promoters and detractors, which was why some
people suggested creating a separate list for nutrition-related topics. As
we're seeing here, nutrition is complicated enough that it can bog down
other lists not exclusively dedicated to the topic.

-Ben

On Wed, Nov 11, 2009 at 3:41 AM, <lbsaltzman@aol.com> wrote:

>
> I think articles like this are getting far from the purpose of this list.
>  I might also mention that this article fails to cite a single source of
> scientific research to back up its' claims. The article also contains some
> whopping strawman arguments such as claiming that soy is used so that we can
> reduce fats.  Soy is being recommended for far different reasons than fat
> reduction in the scientific literature I have read.  More appropriate to
> Permaculture is how the soy was grown, processed and got to market, and what
> its' resultant carbon footprint is.
>
> Larry
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: SArjuna@aol.com
> To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Sent: Tue, Nov 10, 2009 6:37 pm
> Subject: [permaculture] Not soy good for you
>
>
>
> Not Soy Good For You
> nformation from Sally Fallon, Mary Enig and Susan Weed:
>
>    -The justification for more soy is based on the spurious notion that
> e should reduce fat. Fats contain many nutrients that are vital for normal
> rowth and development, and that contribute to the proper function of the
> rain and nervous system. (The right fats, of course.)
>    -High levels of phytic acid in soy block the absorption of calcium,
> agnesium, copper, iron and and especially zinc and contributes to
> widespread
> ineral deficiencies.   (Soy is the legume with the most phytates.)
>    - Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation
> ethods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate
> diets
> ave
> aused growth problems in children.
>    - Trypsin inhibitors in soy block the action of enzymes needed for
> rotein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals, soy
> rypsin inhibitors cause stunted growth.
>    - Soybeans contain hemagglutinin, which causes red blood cells to lump
> ogether.
>    -Phytoestrogens in soy can inhibit normal development and can cause
> eproductive and fertility problems later in life. Recent research
> implicates
> hese phytoestrogens in the development of Alzheimer's and dementia.   They
> re "brain aging" substances.
>    - Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential
> o cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
>    - Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that inhibit
> hyroid function, leading to fatigue and mental problem.   They cause
> ypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy
> ormula has
> een linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.   Soy isoflavones are the most
> otent thyroid inhibitor, followed by daidzein and genistein.
>    - Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase
> he body's requirement for B12.
>    - Soy foods increase the body's requirement for vitamin D.   Vitamin D
> nd B12-both essential for normal growth and development.
>    - Modern soy products contain carcinogens and toxins formed during
> rocessing.   Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature
> processing
> o make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein. Processing of
> oy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly
> arcinogenic nitrosamines.
>    -   Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during
> oy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods. MSG
> auses neurological problems, including violent behavior.
>    - Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum, which is toxic to the
> ervous system and the kidneys.
>    - Soy foods do not provide complete protein, as thought by many.
> ike all legumes, soy beans are deficient in sulfur-containing amino acids
> ethionine and cystine. In addition, modern processing denatures fragile
> lysine.
>    - Fermented soy foods cannot provide vitamin B12 in vegetarian diets,
> s some believe. The compound that resembles vitamin B12 in soy cannot be
> sed by the human body; in fact, soy foods cause the body to require more
> B12
>    - In some people, consumption of soy foods will lower cholesterol, but
> here is no evidence that lowering cholesterol decreases the risk of having
> eart disease.
>    - Children receiving soy formula as their only food take in over 10
> ime the levels of isoflavones on a body weight basis than the amount shown
> to
> ause thyroid suppression in adults after three months and about eight
> imes the levels of isoflavones on a body weight basis as the amount shown
> to
> ause hormonal changes in adults after just one month.
>    - Babies on soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent of at least
>  birth control pills per day.   Pediatricians are noticing greater numbers
> f boys whose physical maturation is delayed, or does not occur at all,
> ncluding lack of development of the sexual organs. Learning disabilities,
> specially in male children, have reached epidemic proportions. Soy infant
> eeding, which floods the bloodstream with female hormones that could
> inhibit
> he
> ffects of male hormones, cannot be ignored as a possible cause for these
> ragic developments.
> n alarming number of girls are entering puberty much earlier than normal,
> ccording to a recent study reported in the Journal of Pediatrics. One
> ercent of girls now show signs of puberty, such as breast development or
> pubic
> air, before the age of three; by age eight, 14.7 percent of white girls and
>  whopping 48.3 percent of African-American girls had one or both of these
> haracteristics.   Use of soy formula in the WIC program, supplying free
> ormula to welfare mothers, may explain the astronomical rates of early
> menarche
> in African-American girls.
>    - Aluminum content of soy formula is 10 times greater than that of
> ilk-based formula, and 100 times greater than in unprocessed milk.
>  Soy formulas lack cholesterol, another nutrient that is absolutely
> ssential for the development of the brain and nervous system; they also
> lack
> actose and galactose, which play an equally important role in the
> development
> f the nervous system.
>    No other dietary staple has as many antinutrient drawbacks as soy.
> or so many public relation firms and lobbyists working for it.
>     From Susan Weed:
>    Soybeans were one of the five sacred grains in the Orient. [Ancient]
> gricultural reports speak frequently of using soybeans in crop rotation (to
> ix nitrogen and thus improve soil fertility) but there is no indication
> hat soybeans were eaten until fermentation processes were discovered,
> sometime
> round 440 BCE. The first soy products eaten by people were tempeh, natto,
> iso, and shoyu tamari.   It was not until some centuries later (2nd century
> CE) that the process of making tofu was discovered.
>    While it is true that the people of the Orient have [used] tofu as a
> ource of protein for about a thousand years, this is not necessarily by
> hoice nor beneficial. The early Chinese did not eat soybeans, although they
> did
> eat other pulses, because they recognized the large quantities of a number
> f harmful substances....
>    There are more phytates in soybeans than in any other grain, bean, or
> lant studied and these phytates are remarkably resistant to reduction
> echniques. Only a long period of fermentation will significantly reduce the
> hytate content of soybeans....
>    Vegetarians - especially vegetarian children - who eat tofu and drink
> oy milk as substitutes for meat and dairy products are at very high risk of
> oss of bone mass and severe mineral deficiencies. Oriental children who
> at soy but no meat, eggs, or dairy often suffer from rickets, stunted
> growth,
> nd lowered intelligence. Unfermented soy virtually destroys all zinc in
> he body, and zinc is critical for optimal development and functioning of
> the
> rain, nervous system and immune system.
>    The soy industry has concentrated for 20 years on creating markets for
> he byproducts of soy oil manufacture: lecithin and soy protein, [which]
> ere generally (and rightly) considered "poverty foods" and rejected by most
> onsumers.
>    The soy industry recognized that, according to a spokesman: "The
> uickest way to gain product acceptability in a less affluent market is to
> have
> he product consumed on its own merit by those who are more affluent."
> Thus
> hese soy byproducts have been cleverly marketed to resemble traditional
> oods: soy milk malteds, soy baby formula, soy yogurt, soy ice cream, coy
> heese, soy hot dogs, and so on. These are fake products, not health foods.
>    The production of soy milk does remove trypsin inhibitors, but at the
> xpense of denaturing the proteins, making them indigestible, of creating a
> arcinogen, lysinealine, and of reducing the cystine content, an essential
> mino acid which is already very low in soybeans. The phytate content
> emains, further deranging the diet.
>    Soy formula and soy milk is often made with soy protein isolate, an
> xtremely refined product lacking virtually all minerals and vitamins. Many
> oy formulas sold for infants are rich in trypsin-inhibitors which can stunt
> rowth. And all contain staggering amounts of mineral-depleting phytates.
> The
> luminum content of soy formula is 100 times greater than unprocessed milk.
> luminum has a toxic effects on infants kidneys and may be a cause of
> lzheimer's in adults. Soy formula lacks three important nutrients found in
> all
> ilk: cholesterol, which is essential for brain development, and lactose and
> alactose, which play vital roles in the development and functioning of the
> erves.
>    Allergies to soy are at least as common as allergies to milk.
> itrosamines, potent carcinogens often associated with meat, are found in
> high
> oncentrations in all commercial soy protein foods. Isoflavones,
> nticarcinogenic
> ubstances present in soybeans may have a pro-cancer effect when consumed
> nfermented. Although soybeans contain large amounts of omega-3 fatty acids,
> hese acids are particularly susceptible to rancidity when subjected to the
> igh heat and pressure require to remove the oil from the bean; such
> ancidity promotes cancer and heart disease. Additionally, all soy oil is
> xtracted
> ith a solvent, traces of which remain in the oil.
> Shivani's own experience:
>    I relied heavily on tofu for years until routine blood work showed
> hyroid insufficiency.   No wonder I was always chilly when others felt warm
> nd comfortable.   I had to undertake thyroid hormone replacement in order
> to
> e functional, but looked for the reason for my problem in order to be able
> o remove it and get my thyroid working well again.   Soy consumption soon
> oomed as a likely culprit.   (Abetted, IMHO, by electrical pollution, which
> ad considerably increased my stress load.)   I stopped eating all
> nfermented soy products in June of 2002.   My thyroid hormone dosage began
> at
> 5
> cg. a day.   By October 2003 I was taking just 1.5 mcg. in the early
> evening,
> he time when I consistently had the most trouble.   A few months later, I
> as able to ease off altogether.
>    As the change in diet was undertaken concurrently with reduction of
> lectrical pollution in my home environment, it is not possible to say if my
> hyroid would have healed with just one change or the other.   However,
> those
> tressed by electrical pollution seem to “break” at their weakest link, so
> o speak.   So what had weakened my thyroid?   I believe it was regular
> onsumption of tofu.
>    Others have had similar experiences.   If your thyroid gland activity
> s down due to soy consumption, though, recovery is certainly possible, so
> o for it.
>    You can very effectively self-test for thyroid insufficiency by doing
> he Basal Metabolism Test.   This will accurately show problems that many
> lood tests do not.
>     Shivani in WI
>
>
>
>
>
>
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