I know that my readers get their vegan underthings in a tangle whenever we hate on soy over here. I know. I understand. It goes beyond dietary choices, and to animal rights and cries for compassion. The point we continue to try and make however, continues to be missed, or misunderstood. We're not saying you have to up and start chowing on the farm animals if that's just not your thing. Allow this to be another attempt to help you understand why soy does not need to have a conscious place in your diet.
As many argued with past posts, there are claims of health benefits, claims of it being better than that, claims that it's high in protein, that it's easy, convenient, affordable and all that jazz. The thing is, when we buy our tofu, tempeh, soy milk, soy cheese, soygurt, faken bacon, veggie dogs and oddly beloved and well defended (which I will never understand) Tofurkey, we know we're eating soy. We're making the choice to eat soy and everyone is free to make that choice as often as they choose. Though I would warn that making that choice too often could result in man-boobs in our gents, and totally whacked out hormonal imbalances in our women, as well as support GMO crops if we're not ensuring organic goodness- still, the choice is yours.
I, personally, avoid soy on a daily basis. I have great reason for this. It is in absolutely EVERYTHING!
You know what else is a source of hidden and not so hidden soy?
This list is from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Food and products that contain or often contain soy:
Bean sprouts
Bread crumbs, cereals and crackers
Breaded foods
Hydrolyzed plant protein (HPP), hydrolyzed soy protein (HSP) and hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
Imitation dairy food
Infant formula, follow-up formula, nutrition supplements for toddlers and children
Meal replacements
Meat products with fillers, for example, burgers and prepared ground meat products
Mexican foods, for example, chili, taco fillings and tamales
Miso
Nutrition supplements
Sauces, for example, soy, shoyu, tamari, teriyaki, Worcestershire
Simulated fish and meat products, for example, surimi, imitation bacon bits, vegetarian burgers
Stews, for example, in gravies
Tempeh
Vegetarian dishes
Other possible sources of soy:
Baked goods and baking mixes
Beverage mixes, for example, hot chocolate and lemonade
Canned tuna and minced hams, for example, seasoned or mixed with other ingredients for flavour
Chewing gum
Cooking spray, margarine, vegetable shortening and vegetable oil
Dressings, gravies and marinades
Frozen desserts
Lecithin
Milled corn
Meat products with fillers, for example, preprepared hamburger patties, hotdogs and cold cuts
Seafood -based products and fish
Seasoning and spices
Snack foods, for example, soy nuts
Soups, broths, soup mixes and stocks
Soy pasta
Spreads, dips, mayonnaise and peanut butter
Thickening agents
Mono-diglyceride
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) (may contain hydrolyzed protein)
Non-food sources of soy:
Cosmetics and soaps
Craft materials
Glycerine
Milk substitutes for young animals
Pet food
Vitamins
To translate, this includes everything from your margarine, your crayons, your lip balm, your bread crumbs, your Oreo Cookies, your Kind Bars, and your cartoned vegetable stock. There's just no need to add more soy to the soy.
The bottom line -- If you are going to choose to eat soy, do so mindfully, consciously and in serious moderation. Okay?
Follow Meghan Telpner on Twitter: www.twitter.com/@meghantelpner
Also, you may have noticed the entire population of east asia does not have an epidemic of "man boobs".
Now concern over frankensoy or GM soy is something I can get behind.
I started to pay attention to ingredient labels and all the different forms of soy and it was immediately clear that soy is pervasive and avoiding it would be a pain but I wanted to get better. It was during this time that I discovered a small benign cyst in my breast (27 years old, female)... that's when I committed to a soy-free diet.
I've been soy-free for almost a year now. My diet is a bit bare since I rarely eat meat and of course I can't eat most processed food.. it's difficult but I'm still navigating the options (the wide world of cooking). My skin has cleared and stays clear (as long as I rise above the tempting cinnamon rolls at the cafe).
Soy might be a miracle for some people and I know they roll their eyes at soy-avoidance but for me it's not a choice, it's just the right thing to do for my body. Soy is delicious but harmful.
I appreciate this list of items containing soy where one would least expect it. We need more accurate labelling of what is in our food.
Think of that old movie: "Soy"lent Green.
Think "ick".
Recoil.