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The following articles have been
published in the MarketPlace Natural Grocery Newsletter, Santa Fe
New Mexico.
__________________________________________
By Barbara Gerber
“Contains isoflavones”
is a claim that many consumers have come to expect when buying soy
protein powders, bars and other soy-enriched products. Advertisements
from food industry giants such as Archer Daniels Midland and Protein
Technologies International claim that soy isoflavones also known
as phytoestrogens fight certain cancers, reduce the risk of heart
disease and osteoporosis, and lessen the effects of menopause.
But the public has received only
part of the story.
FDA: Claims, petitions, protest
In 1998, Protein Technologies International
(a division of Dupont), submitted a petition to the FDA requesting
a health claim for isoflavones, based on assertions that “only
soy protein that has been processed in a manner in which isoflavones
are retained will result in cholesterol-lowering.” According
to Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, an
organization that promotes traditional foods and is an outspoken
critic of soy foods and the soy industry, the FDA later made the
unprecedented move of rewriting PTI’s petition, removing any
reference to isoflavones and substituting a claim for soy protein,
a move that contradicts FDA regulations.
Many observers assume that the change
in the petition was made because of a protest letter submitted to
the FDA in February 1999 by two of its own scientists. Daniel M.
Sheehan, Ph.D, the director of the FDA’s Estrogen Base Program,
Division of Genetic and Reproductive Toxicology; and Daniel R. Doerge,
Ph.D., a member of the FDA’s Division of Biochemical Toxicology,
submitted the letter in an effort to block PTI’s claim.
Sheehan and Doerge wrote: “We
oppose this health claim because there is abundant evidence that
some of the isoflavones found in soy, including genistein and equol,
a metabolite of daidzen, demonstrate toxicity in estrogen sensitive
tissues and in the thyroid. This is true for a number of species,
including humans. Additionally, the adverse effects in humans occur
in several tissues and, apparently, by several distinct mechanisms.”
The scientists asserted: “Isoflavones
are like other estrogens in that they are two-edged swords, conferring
both benefits and risk. The health labeling of soy protein isolate
for foods needs to considered just as would the addition of any
estrogen or goitrogen to foods, which are bad ideas.”
In 1998 the FDA had also received
the final British government report on phytoestrogens, which failed
to find much evidence of benefit and warned against potential adverse
effects.
Sheehan and Doerge also noted that
soy protein does not have GRAS (Generally Regarded as Safe) status,
and wrote: “It would seem appropriate for FDA to speak with
a single voice regarding soy protein isolate.”
In October 1999, however, the FDA
agreed” to allow certain food products containing soy protein
to carry the following claim: “Diets low in saturated fat
and cholesterol that include 25 grams of soy protein a day may reduce
the risk of heart disease.”
So although soy protein isolate is
not generally regarded as safe, the FDA has approved a health claim
for it.
The cancer gamble
Although the FDA has not approved
the claim that soy isoflavones reduce the risk of cancer, carefully
worded claims are present in much of the industry’s literature
and on the companies’ web sites.
Soy Online Service (SOS), drawing
on an extensive list of studies, frames the issue in these general
terms: “It is not uncommon for hormonally active agents, such
as the soy phytoestrogens, to act as both estrogens and anti-estrogens.
In simple terms this means that they can act to stimulate or inhibit
the growth of certain types of cells, such as those found in the
human breast.... Both natural hormones and hormonally active agents
can work quite differently in people according primarily to dose
and life stage.. . .There can be no blanket approach to cancer prevention
and an agent that may reduce the risk of cancer in one person may
increase the risk of cancer in another.”
SOS cites a 1996 study conducted
by Dr. Nicholas Petrakis, of the University of California, San Francisco,
which concluded that postmenopausal women who consume soy isoflavones
as a natural hormone replacement therapy may place themselves at
greater risk of breast cancer. “Prolonged consumption of soy
protein isolate has a stimulatory effect on the premenopausal female
breast, characterised by increased secretion of breast fluid, the
appearance of hyperplastic epithelial cells and elevated levels
of estradiol. These findings are suggestive of an estrogenic stimulus
from the isoflavones genistein and daidzein contained in soy protein
isolate.”
Similarly, Dr. Bill Helferich, of
the University of Illinois, recently stated: “There is potential
for dietary genistein to stimulate the growth of estrogen-dependent
tumors in humans with low circulating endogenous estrogen levels,
such as those found in postmenopausal women.”
Similar findings abound on the SOS
and Weston A Price Foundation web sites, but the public hears little
about them. Critics charge that this silence is due to the fact
that various media outlets are owned by soy producers, who are able
to control news content. (Remember those television reporters in
Florida who were fired for airing a negative report on the Monsanto
product rBGH? Although they later won a case against the station,
this kind of corporate control in the media goes unchallenged every
day.)
Thus, the soy industry and isoflavone
supplement manufacturers suggest " and even sometimes promote
" that their products are cancer-preventing without mentioning
that soy may increase the risk of cancer, and without including
basic information such as what constitutes a safe dose.
Female and male infertility
That phytoestrogens inhibit fertility
in animals has been long known " studies involving laboratory
mice, birds, cattle, sheep and captive cheetahs have confirmed it
again and again. But the phytoestrogens in soy are now being seen
as powerful endocrine disrupters that can adversely affect human
fertility, along with environmental estrogens such as PCBs, DDT,
hormones in feedlot beef and the chemical bisphenol-A, which migrates
into food from plastic containers and plastic-lined cans.
Many scientists now point to soy
infant formula and a steady diet of modern processed soy foods to
help explain two trends in child development today: Girls are developing
earlier and boys are developing later. Apart from what this means
to the lives of individual children, early sexual maturation in
girls is linked to an increased risk of infertility, breast cancer
and ovarian cancer later in life.
According to studies cited by SOS,
human sperm count has decreased markedly over the past five decades,
which many believe is due to the introduction of soy in the western
diet. SOS asserts that there is strong evidence that genistein can
inhibit an enzyme that is required for the synthesis of testosterone
and the development of the male genital tract. In addition, there
is also evidence that genistein, which has also been described as
a potent immunosuppressant, and daidzein are toxic to human sperm.
Katie Singer, a local author who
teaches fertility awareness, a natural method for preventing and
achieving pregnancy and gauging gynecological health, has made several
observations through the classes she teaches at Women’s Health
Services in Santa Fe.
“A significant percentage of
women under 25 who take my classes are not ovulating, or aren’t
ovulating regularly,” Singer said. ‘Just because you’re
menstruating doesn’t mean you’re ovulating,” she
added.
“Once they remove tofu and
soy milk from their diets and introduce healthy fats, such as organic
butter, nut butters, coconut milk, avocadoes and organic meats,
many of them start ovulating more regularly,” Singer said.
She stresses that this is not an organized study but an observation
made from teaching approximately 200 women over five years. She
also draws on the work of herbalist Susun Weed in steering women
away from unfermented soy products.
“It raises questions that starting
from birth, formula-fed babies are getting high levels of phytoestrogen,”
Singer said. “Then we commonly do soymilk on cereal. Then
we introduce the pill to teenage women for everything from acne
to mild depression to the prevention of pregnancy. They may be introduced
to the pill before they even ovulate.
“Then when (women) want to
get pregnant, they get put, on Clomid (an ovulation enhancing drug).
Then, later in life, they go on hormone replacement therapy. From
where I sit it encourages me to learn as much as I can about food
and medicine " to know how our bodies work and to know how
to feed ourselves well and not to rest on assumptions.”
No cure for menopause
Susan R. Davis, FRACP, Ph.D, echoes
many other researchers when she writes that there is no reason to
believe that the consumption of soy isoflavones reduces the symptoms
of menopause.
“Epidemiological studies, primarily
comparing Asian and Western populations, have been interpreted
to indicate that consumption of a diet rich in phytoestrogens ameliorates
estrogen deficiency symptoms in postmenopausal women,” Davis
writes. “However, there is no evidence to support the belief
that even a very high intake of soy products will alleviate hot
flushes, night sweats, and other symptoms such as vaginal dryness,
mood changes, and musculoskeletal symptoms.. . . Women experiencing
mild menopausal symptoms may gain relief by dietary modification
and lifestyle changes, such as reducing smoking and consumption
of caffeine and alcohol, stress management, and increased exercise.”
Depressed thyroid function
Sheehan and Doerge also cite studies
indicating that genistein reduces thyroid hormone concentrations
by inhibiting thyroid peroxidase activity, the enzyme that catalyzes
thyroid hormone biosynthesis. “The association between soybean
consumption and goiter in animals and humans has a long history,”
they write. “Inhibition can be expected to generate thyroid
abnormalities, including goiter and autoimmune thyroiditis. There
exists a significant body of animal data that demonstrates goitrogenic
and even carcinogenic effects of soy products.”
If this accounting is too bleak,
a more cheerful version of the isoflavone story can be found on
the web site of the soy-producing giant Archer Daniels Midland,
at www.admworld.com. Click on “Health Bulletins” and
settle in for a good read. Although many experts believe these bulletins
are pure fiction, they also agree that the soy industry sure can
spin a good yarn.
__________________________________________
By Barbara Gerber
This story references an article
written by Sally Fallon, M.A., and Mary C. Enig, Ph.D., of the Weston
A. Price Foundation, along with other sources. Fallon’s and
Enig’s article draws from an extensive list of studies and
was first published with footnotes in Health Freedom News.
A tremendous amount of research has
recently come to light that exposes the soybean as a potentially
dangerous food. This damning body of evidence, coupled with the
soy industry’s habit of skewing, minimizing or denying it,
is shocking to many natural foods advocates. For decades soy has
seemed the perfect protein source for vegetarians, dieters, or anyone
in need of an inexpensive and convenient form of protein. But this
trust is now giving way to scrutiny and, in some arenas, outrage.
The soy industry’s schtick
goes like this: Soy is high in protein, low in calories, carbohydrates
and fats, loaded with vitamins, cheap and versatile. It doesn’t
matter that it was virtually unknown to most of the world until
this century, because Asians have been eating it for centuries "
and they’re still alive " so every person on the planet
should be eating it in great quantities, too.
But there is a lot more to the soybean
" and the industry’s marketing campaign " than
meets the eye, or the consumer’s palate. Enzyme inhibitors,
phytates, unavailable proteins and isoflavones present a vast gamut
of difficulties for the human or animal who eats great amounts of
modern-processed soy.
Brief history of the bean
The fact that Asian peoples have
been eating soy for centuries is not a cogent argument for the kinds
of products the soy industry would like us to believe are beneficial
or, at the very least, safe. Traditionally fermented shoyu, for
example, has nothing in common with today’s soy protein isolate.
It is believed that soybeans were
first cultivated in China in approximately 1,500 BCE. Early
pictographs, however, suggest that the soybean was not grown as
a food, but as a soil enhancer grown in rotation with food crops.
Sally Fallon, president of the Weston
A. Price Foundation, an organization that promotes traditional foods
and is an outspoken critic of soy foods and the soy industry, writes
that during the Chou Dynasty (1134 to 246 BCE) the soybean was designated
one of the five sacred grains, along with barley, wheat, millet
and rice. But while the four other grains are shown with the seed
and stem structure of the plant, the pictograph for the soybean
emphasizes only the root structure. (As a legume the soybean fixes
nitrogen in the soil, capturing airborne nitrogen and, with the
help of beneficial bacteria, delivering it to the soil through its
root structure.) Fallon concludes that the pictograph, along with
agricultural literature of the time, indicates that soy did not
have a place at the table until the discovery of fermentation techniques,
sometime later during the Chou Dynasty.
Shoyu and miso were likely the first
fermented soy products, with tempeh and natto following close behind.
These products soon spread to other parts of Asia, most notably
Japan and Indonesia.
Tofu was likely the next soy product
to be developed by the Chinese, although its date of invention varies
widely " while some sources place it in the second century
BCE, others argue that it was not invented until the 10th century
CE. While tofu is not a fermented product, it is “precipitated”
by the addition of certain minerals.
Soymilk, which also originated in
China, was neither fermented nor precipitated, and was sold by street
vendors as a weak tea. Many sources confirm that soymilk was rarely
fed to infants.
Fallon asserts that soy foods have
historically been eaten as a complement to a meal, not as a major
source of protein. A study of the history of soy use in Asia shows
that it was used by the poor during times of extreme food shortage,
and the beans were carefully prepared.
Enzyme inhibitors, mineral blockers,
unavailable proteins
According to Fallon and the extensive
research of the organization Soy Online Service SOS), the soybean
contains large quantities of a number of harmful substances. First
among them are potent enzyme inhibitors large, tightly folded proteins
that block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein
digestion, which can result in organ damage, especially of the pancreas.
These “antinutrients” can create serious gastric distress,
reduced protein digestion and chronic deficiencies in amino acid
uptake.
The soybean, sources claim, also
contains haemagglutinin, a clot-promoting substance that causes
red blood cells to clump together. In addition, soy contains goitrogens,
substances that depress thyroid function and can cause goiter and
autoimmune thyroid disease.
Soybeans are also exceptionally high
in phytic acid, an organic acid that is present in the bran or hulls
of all seeds. These phytates block the uptake of essential minerals,
such as calcium, magnesium, iron and especially zinc. According
to Fallon, scientists are in general agreement that high-phytate
grain- and legume-based diets contribute to widespread mineral deficiencies
in developing countries. She writes that while essential minerals
are present in the plant foods eaten in these countries, a high
consumption of soy prevents their absorption. The phytates in soy
are highly resistant to common phytate reducing techniques, such
as soaking, sprouting or long, slow cooking.
But a long period of fermentation
can significantly reduce many of the soybean’s undesirable
components. Sources maintain that during the process of fermentation,
trypsin inhibitors and haemagglutinin are deactivated, phytate content
is significantly reduced, and the protein is freed up. This means
that fermented products such as tempeh and miso provide nourishment
that is easily assimilated.
In the tofu making process, these
substances concentrate in the soaking liquid rather than in the
curd; thus the anti-nutrients are reduced, but are not completely
eliminated. Tofu, which contains some phytates, still has a mineral-blocking
effect. However, the traditional ways in which tofu is served "
in mineral-rich fish broths or with seaweed " often compensate
for this.
A soy product that is raw, unfermented
and/or unprecipitated, however, is ingested with its protein locked
up, its anti-nutrients intact and the mineral-blocking effects of
its phytates unchecked.
Phytoestrogens/Isoflavones
Then there is the matter of estrogens
contained in soy, called phytoestrogens, or isoflavones. No one
denies that soy contains large amounts of plant estrogens, but the
public has been told for years that this is a good thing, that these
estrogens even fight certain types of cancer.
Putting aside whether soy phytoestrogens
can indeed fight cancer, the question remains: Is it beneficial
for every person, regardless of age or gender, to ingest these estrogens?
Do developing infants need a constant influx of estrogen? Do men
need estrogen? Do young girls and women of child-bearing age need
estrogen? Should menopausal women be taking uncontrolled amounts
of estrogen as their own self-managed hormone replacement therapy?
The upshot of this issue is that
the phytoestrogens in soy are endocrine disrupters. That young girls
are developing breasts and beginning to menstruate at younger and
younger ages is well established. Many researchers now point to
a steady diet of soy products, and particularly soy infant formula,
as factors contributing to this trend. Fallon cites many studies
when she asserts that at dietary levels, soy phytoestrogens can
prevent ovulation, stimulate the growth of cancer cells and cause
hypothyroidism. The FDA has not even granted GRAS status (Generally
Recognized as Safe) to isoflavones arid soy protein isolate.
More processing, more problems
While the anti-nutrient components
of soy are well-recognized, the ways in which the soy industry attempts
to neutralize these substances creates its own problems. In the
production of commercial soy milk, for example, in order to remove
as much of the trypsin inhibitor as possible the beans are soaked
in an alkaline solution and then heated to about 115 degrees C.
This method destroys most of the anti-nutrients, but the phytate
content remains largely intact and the proteins become denatured,
making them difficult to digest and reducing their bioavailability.
The manufacture of soy protein powder
is extremely complex. Since soybeans contain about 20 percent oil,
the first order of processing is to extract that oil (see “Soy
Processing,” this issue). After extraction, the defatted meal
is mixed with an alkaline solution and sugars to remove the fiber.
The solution is then precipitated and separated using an acid wash.
Finally the resultant curds are neutralized in an alkaline solution
and spray-dried at high temperatures.
This soy protein isolate, which,
is the protein isolated from the bean’s carbohydrate and fatty
acid components, is a highly refined product in which both vitamin
and protein quality are compromised. Yet it still contains some
trypsin inhibitors, and that content can vary as much as five-fold.
The producer is not required to state the trypsin-inhibitor content
on the label, nor even to meet minimum standards.
Many soy products, including baby
formulas, protein bars, protein supplements and some brands of soy
milk, are made with soy protein isolate.
Soy protein isolate and texturized
vegetable protein are used extensively in school lunch programs,
commercial baked goods, diet beverages and fast food products. Fallon
writes that they are heavily promoted in developing countries and
form the basis of many food give-away programs.
What cholesterol-lowering effects?
Soy products are often promoted as
having cholesterol-lowering effects, and are therefore purported
to promote heart health.
This claim that soy lowers cholesterol,
Fallon writes, is drawn largely from a 1995 rneta-analysis by Dr.
James Anderson, sponsored by Protein Technologies International
and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. A meta-analysis
is a review and summary of the results of many clinical studies
on the same subject, a method upon which many in the scientific
community frown. Fallon quotes Sir John Scott, President of the
Royal Society of New Zealand: “Researchers substituting meta-analysis
for more rigorous trials risk making faulty assumptions and indulging
in creative accounting…… Like is not being lumped with
like. Little lumps and big lumps of data are being gathered together
by various groups.”
There is also the added temptation
for researchers, particularly those funded by industry, to omit
studies that prevent desired conclusions. Fallon asserts that Anderson
discarded eight studies for various reasons, leaving a remainder
of 29. The published report suggested that individuals with cholesterol
levels over 250 mg/dl would experience a “significant”
reduction of 7 to 20 percent in levels of serum cholesterol if they
substituted soy protein for animal protein. Cholesterol reduction
was insignificant for individual whose cholesterol was lower than
250 mg/dl. The health claim that the FDA approved “after detailed
review of human clinical data” fails to inform the consumer
about these details.
One hundred grams of soy protein,
the maximum suggested cholesterol-lowering dose (and the amount
recommended by PTI), can contain almost 600 mg of isoflavones, an
amount that many consider toxic. In 1992, the Swiss health service
estimated that 100 grams of soy protein provided the estrogenic
equivalent of a birth control pill.
What cancer cure?
The soy industry also touts soy products
for their cancer-preventing properties. Fallon writes that anticarcinogenic
substances known as “isoflavone aglycones” are indeed
found in traditionally fermented soybean products. But in non-fermented
soy products, these isofiavones are present in an altered form,
as “betaglycoside conjugates,” which have no anti-carcinogenic
effect. Some researchers even believe these compounds promote cancer,
and suggest that the rapid increase in liver and pancreatic cancer
in Africa is due to the introduction of soy products there.
And, despite the soy industry’s
claim that isoflavones can reduce the risk of breast and other hormone-related
cancers, recent research indicates that phytoestrogens could actually
increase the risk of cancer.
Rancid fats
The fatty acid profile of the soybean
includes large amounts of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids as compared
to other legumes. However, these omega-3 fatty acids are particularly
susceptible to rancidity when subjected to high pressures and temperatures,
which is exactly what is required to remove oil from the bean, as
soybean oil is particularly difficult to extract.
Marketing might
Large scale cultivation of the soybean
in the US began after World War II, and quickly rose to 140 billion
pounds a year. Although most of the crop is made into animal feed
and soy oil for margarine and shortening, over the past 20 years
the industry has concentrated on finding markets for the by-products
of oil manufacture, including lecithin and soy protein.
With 72 million acres of soy under
cultivation in the US, the soy industry spends millions of dollars
in advertising each year. And although marketing costs money, especially
when it is bolstered with “research,” there are plenty
of funds available: All soybean producers pay a mandatory assessment
of.5 to 1 percent of the net market price. The total, estimated
by Fallon at $80 million annually, supports United Soybean’s
program to “strengthen the position of soybeans in the market
place and maintain and expand domestic and foreign markets for uses
for soybeans and soybean products.” State soybean councils
from Maryland, Nebraska, Delaware, Arkansas, Virginia, North Dakota
and Michigan provide another $2.5 million annually for research
and private companies also contribute their share.
Fallon writes that public relations
firms help convert research projects into newspaper articles and
advertising copy; law firms lobby for favorable government regulations;
IMF monies fund soy processing plants in foreign countries; and,
free trade policies keep the soy flowing to overseas destinations.
Private companies such as Archer Daniels Midland, the world’s
major soy processor, has holdings in leading newspapers, lobbies
heavily in Washington and supports university research programs.
The soy industry is huge, powerful
and well capitalized. But activists and concerned scientists, armed
with information, are beginning to get their message heard. As Fallon
writes, “Consumer beware. There is no joy in soy "it’s
a ploy.”
The Oxford Companion to Food, edited
by Alan Davidson (Oxford University Press, New York, 1999) was also
referenced for this story.
__________________________________________
By Barbara Gerber
For decades, the breast-versus bottle
debate has focused on what a baby does not receive when it is bottle-fed.
We’ve read that the formula-fed baby does not receive colostrum
through its mother’s milk, a nutritional power pack that cannot
be duplicated in any lab; the baby does not receive antibodies from
its mother, which confer immunity to many illnesses; the baby is
deprived of a food source that changes according to its needs; and
the baby misses out on close contact with its mother.
But researchers and activists have
recently begun telling parents what their babies actually do receive
from soy-based infant formulas, and the news is not so good: In
addition to anti-nutrients and phytates, toxic levels of manganese
and aluminum and a host of additives, soy formula delivers a load
of estrogen that can be equivalent to five birth control pills a
day.
Phytoestrogens, development and
fertility
The presence of phytoestrogens, or
isoflavones, is the most serious problem with soy formula, writes
Sally Fallon, president of the Weston A. Price Foundation, a non-profit
organization that advocates a diet based on traditional foods and
is an outspoken critic of soy foods and the soy industry. Fallon
specifically references many studies to back up her claims.
Phytoestrogens are powerful endocrine
disrupters that can alter growth patterns and contribute to infertility,
many researchers conclude. A recent study found that babies fed
soy-based formula had 13,000 to 22,000 times more isoflavones in
their blood than babies fed milk-based formula; almost no phytoestrogens
have been detected in human milk, even when the mother consumes
soy products.
Sally Euclaire Osborne, MS, CCN,
is a local nutritionist and author who teaches nutrition classes
and heads the Santa Fe chapter of the Weston A. Price Foundation.
In her heavily foot-noted book The Whole ~Soy ~Story, which will
be published this fall by New Trends Publishing, Osborne writes:
‘A crucial time for the programming of the human reproduction
system is right after birth. ... Normally during this period the
body surges with natural estrogens, testosterones and other hormones
that Mother Nature intended to occupy receptor sites on cells where
they set oil a series of biochemical reactions. The newborn’s
reproductive system is thus prepared to mature from infancy through
puberty and into adulthood.
“For infants on (soy) formula,
the programming may be interrupted,” Osborne continues. “The
phytoestrogens in soy formula.. .bear a strong family resemblance
to the natural estrogens produced by the human body, as well as
to the synthetic estrogens found in contraceptive pills. Strictly
speaking, these phytoestrogens are not hormones but ‘estrogen
mimickers,’ or ‘xenoestrogens’ (alien estrogens),
but the bottom line is that the human body mistakes them for hormones.
The result is that alien phytoestrogens can easily take over receptor
sites in cells and tissues that nature intended for.. . real hormones.”
This means that these alien estrogens
can restructure the developing infant’s endocrine system "
essentially hijack it " by occupying and deactivating receptor
sites in the brain. Thus, Osborne writes, the alien estrogens block
messages normally transmitted by cell signal transduction pathways.
These soy isoflavones also inhibit the action of certain enzymes
that allow the body to manufacture hormones.
Many researchers are now linking
the early maturation of girls with the endocrine-disrupting effects
of soy phytoestrogens. According to a recent study reported in the
journal Pediatrics, 1 percent of all girls now show signs of puberty,
such as breast development or pubic hair, before the age of 3; by
age 8, 14.7 percent of Caucasian girls and 48.3 percent of African-American
girls had one or both of these characteristics.
Osborne poses the following question
regarding the huge numbers of African-American girls displaying
early maturation: Is it coincidental that bottle-fed African-American
babies receive soy formula more often than Caucasian babies because
of’ lactose intolerance?
Although environmental estrogens
such as PCBs, agricultural chemicals, hormone implants in cattle
and certain chemicals in plastics are also implicated in early sexual
development in girls, many now place soy high on that list of endocrine
disrupters.
Osborne writes that early maturation
in girls is frequently linked to problems with the reproductive
system later in life, including failure to menstruate, menstrual
cycles in which no egg is released, follicles failing to develop
into healthy eggs, hormonal surges and other problems associated
with infertility. Osborne also writes that the presence of soy estrogens
at a susceptible time could predispose girls to breast cancer, another
condition that is on the rise and is linked to early puberty. Soy
Online Service reports that a higher incidence of ovarian cysts
has been found in girls who develop breasts at an early age, and
the early incidence of ovarian cysts is an established risk factor
in the later development of ovarian cancer.
On the flip side of the phytoestrogen
picture is a growing number of boys whose physical maturation is
delayed or does not occur at all, including lack of development
of the sexual organs. Fallon writes that when male infants undergo
a “testosterone surge” during the first few months of
life, the “programming” that takes place is not only
about expressing male traits and sexual development after puberty.
At this time, male hormones also set patterns in the brain that
are characteristic of male behaivour. In monkeys, for example, a
deficiency of male hormones impairs learning, impairs the ability
to perform visual discrimination tasks, and retards the development
of spatial perception. It's not a great leap, then, to suggest that
human males who experience a deficiency of male hormones could experience
a similar impairment, which could contribute to learning disabilities.
The number of children who have learning
disabilities, especially boys, is ever growing. Research now suggests
that soy infant feeding, which floods the bloodstream with female
hormones that inhibit the effects of male hormones, could be a cause
for these trends.
Thyroid problems
Soy-based formula has been associated
with goiter (thyroid enlargement associated with thyroid hormone
deficiency) in infants for over 40 years. One mechanism by which
isoflavones reduce thyroid hormone concentrations is by inhibiting
thyroid peroxidase activity, the enzyme that catalyzes thyroid
hormone biosynthesis.
The cases of goiter that were reported
in soy formula fed infants in the late 1950s were corrected when
manufacturers added more iodine to their products. Many critics
argue, however, that the simple addition of more iodine to soy formulas
is not an appropriate way to counteract the goitrogenic and anti-thyroid
effects of the phytoestrogens. The fact is that soy formula-fed
infants appear to be at risk of long-term thyroid damage.
Other problems
Other problems that have been anecdotally
associated with children of both sexes who were fed soy-based formula
include extreme emotional behavior, asthma, immune system problems,
pituitary insufficiency, thyroid disorders, aggressive behavior,
hyperactivity and irritable bowel syndrome.
The bad news continues:
· Soy protein isolate, a main
ingredient in many soy formulas, has not been given GRAS (Generally
Regarded as Safe) status by the FDA.
· Soybeans, which contain
high levels of phytates, reduce the uptake of zinc. As early as
1967, researchers testing soy formula found that it caused negative
zinc balance in every infant to whom it was given.
· The soybean plant has the
ability to absorb manganese from the soil and concentrate it to
an extent that soy infant formulas can contain as much as 200 times
the level of manganese found in breast milk. In babies, excess manganese
is stored in body organs. Approximately 8 percent of the excess
manganese is stored in the brain in close proximity to the dopamine-bearing
neurons responsible, in part, for adolescent neurological development.
According to Fallon, there are implications that one in eight infants
raised on soy formula during the first six months of life may be
at risk of brain and behavioral disorders that do not become evident
until adolescence.
· The aluminum content of
soy formula is 10 times greater than milk-based formula, and 100
times greater than unprocessed milk. (Aluminum has a toxic effect
on the kidneys of infants, and has been implicated as a cause of
dementia in adults.)
· Soy formula can cause vitamin
deficiencies. According to Fallon, soy increases the body’s
requirements for vitamin B12; some studies have indicated that soy
blocks the uptake of fats, which might explain why soy seems to
increase the body’s requirements for fat-soluble vitamin D.
· Soy formula lacks cholesterol,
which is essential for the development of the brain and nervous
system.
· Soy formula lacks lactose
and galactose, which play an important role in the development of
the nervous system.
· Many soy formulas include
additives such as carrageenan, guar gum, corn syrup, sucrose, soybean
oil, soy lecithin, synthetic vitamins, potassium citrate monohydrate,
tricalcium phosphate, dibasic magnesium phosphate trihydrate, sodium
hydroxide (caustic soda), BHA and BHT. Formulas can also contain
free glutamic acid (MSG) and aspartic acid, which are neurotoxins
that can form during the processing of soy (and milk) protein powders.
· The soy industry often claims
that soy formula is less allergenic than milk-based formula, but
studies indicate that allergies to soy are almost as common as those
to milk.
· Approximately 25 percent
of babies in the U.S. are fed soy formula. (For parents who cannot
or choose not to breastfeed, there are recipes available for home-made,
milk-based infant formulas that do not present the host of dangers
that soy presents. For this and other further information see the
box labeled “For More Information” in this issue.)
The core issue behind the formula
industry is that no one makes money when women breastfeed their
babies. For corporations to profitably insert themselves between
mother and infant, they must mislead the public, and that is precisely
what they have been doing for decades.
Naomi Baumslag, a clinical professor
of pediatrics at Georgetown University Medical School and president
of the Women’s International Public Health Network in Bethesda,
MD, writes in the magazine Wise Traditions that infant food companies
are guilty of all manner of shameful acts rising out of concern
for profit, not public health.
According to Baumslag, infant food
companies have: given money to doctors, nurses, medical students
and departments of pediatrics for research, equipment, gifts, payments,
conferences, travel and publications with the goal of enlisting
their endorsement and promotion of their products; lobbied to weaken
laws intended to protect women from misinformation; interfered with
the production of breastfeeding educational materials; bribed public
health officials; worked against labor laws that allow for breastfeeding
breaks at work; given free samples of formula to hospital workers
and uneducated women even when this was against the law; infiltrated
breastfeeding groups; threatened governments that if they were not
allowed to freely promote their products they would take their business
out of the country
. And so on.
Baumslag writes, “We have to
take action to protect public health and end inferior feeding practices
that interfere with breastfeeding and only benefit corporate profit....
Society has to recognize the value of mothers and support them.
But most of all, women need to recognize the unique importance of
their ability to breastfeed and stand up for their rights.”
__________________________________________
Miso
Also known as “bean paste,”
miso is a fermented paste of soybeans and, often, rice or barley.
Miso is fermented in two stages. First, an Aspergillus mold is grown
‘on steamed grain. This forms the koji (starter) for the eventual
mixture. The soybeans are soaked, steamed and chopped, then mixed
with the koji (including the grain), salt and water. The water contains
yeasts arid lactic bacteria, which are responsible for the final
flavor. The mixture is left to ripen for as long as required, usually
one to two years. When the fermentation is complete the mixture
in ground to a paste and used as a condiment or soup base.
Some modem manufacturers produce
miso much faster, by keeping temperatures high to speed fermentation.
Shoyu, Tamari and Soy Sauce
Traditional shoyu contains only cracked
wheat, soybeans, salt and koje (starter). First the wheat is toasted
and the soybeans are steamed, These are mixed together in equal
parts and inoculated with spores of an Aspergillus mold. After athreeday
incubation period the wheat and soybeans are covered with a fragrant,
fluffy mycelium, or kingus, and are then added to a brine solution.
This is fermented for one to two years in large wooden vats, sometimes
with the addition of more bacteria and yeasts. This thick mixture,
called moromi, is occasionally agitated with long wooden rakes.
The moromi is then placed in cotton sacks and pressed under great
force to extract its dark liquid, a mixture of shoyu and soy oil.
The oil, which rises to the surface, is removed and the shoyu is
ready for pasteunzing and bottling.
Tamari is similarly made, but contains
no wheat. Traditionally, however, tamari was the by-product of miso-making.
A purposefully wet soybean rniso was made, and after fermentation
its liquid was pressed out and decanted.
Today, many manufacturers use defatted
soybeans and ferment the moroml at high temperatures, reducing
the fermentation period to three to six months.
Synthetic “soy sauce,”
however is a different product altogether. Made from hydrolyzed
vegetable protein, hydrochloric acid, corn syrup, caramel color,
salt and water, it bears little resemblance to natural shoyu or
tamari.
Natto
Natto is unusual in that the soybeans
are fermented with a bacteria (Bacillus sub-tills) instead of a
mold. The bacteria give the beans a whitish coating with a strong
musty aroma, and develop a stringy “slime” that stretches
like melted cheese, Although natto was traditionally made by wrapping
soybeans in rice straw and relying on naturally occurring microorganisms
to start fermentation, today, soybeans are inoculated and placed
in small containers or bags and incubated for 14 to 18 hours. Nato
is usually sold frozen, and is traditionally served over rice with
a dash of mustard and shoyu.
Tempeh
Tempeh (or tempe) is a thin cake
traditionally made by fermenting soybeans, although modern tempeh
also incorporates grains, seeds and other legumes. Tempeh is especially
irnportant.:in the cuisine of Java and other parts of Indonesia.
To make tempëh, soybeans are
washed, soaked until soft, partially dehulled and boiled for a short
time. The beans are then cooled to lukewarm and inoculated with
a starter culture of the F~.hizopus oryzae mold, (A, small amount
of tempeh from a previous batch may also be used as a starter) The
tempeh is traditionally wrapped in banana leaves and left to ripen
for 6 to 48 hours, although 24 is most common.
Soy Milk
To make soy milk, soybeans are commonly
soaked in an alkaline solution, drained, ground with more water,
heated above the boiling point and filtered.
Tofu
Also known as “bean curd,”
tofu is made by soaking, draining and grinding whole soybeans. The
ground beans are boiled and the bean pulp is strained and pressed
dry, yielding a soy “milk.” The pulp is discarded and
a coagulant such as calcium sulfate is added to the milk .to curdle,
or “precipitate” it, which separates the curds from
the whey. The curds are then poured or ladled into boxes or cotton-lined
molds that are perforated for drainage. The curds are pressed until
they take on a ‘cake’ form and become firm.
Soybean Oil
Most soybean oil is solvent-extracted,
not expeller-pressed. The beans are ground and heated at high temperatures
with a solvent such as hexane; the solvent is then evaporated and
recovered for reuse, leaving the oil. (Oftentimes, traces of solvents
remain in the finished product.)
Soybean oil is particularly vulnerable
to oxidation, which means it is easily made rancid. Because it has
a high “smoke point,” it can withstand temperatures
of up to 492 degrees F. Soybean oil is the world’s most commonly
used cooking oil.
Soy Lecithin
Lecithin is a by-product of soybean
oil production. It is used as an emulsifier and also as a dietary
supplement.
Soy Protein Isolate
Soy protein isolate is the protein
isolated from the carbohydrate and fatty acid components that naturally
occur in the bean. After the beans are ground and the oil removed,
the defatted meal is mixed with an alkaline solution and sugars
in a separation process to remove fiber This is then precipitated
and separated using an acid wash. (Acid washing in aluminum tanks
can leach aluminum into the final product.) The resultant curds
are neutralized in an alkaline solution and spray-dried at high
temperatures to produce high protein powder (Critics charge that
carcinogens called nitrosamines are formed during spray drying,
and a toxin called lysinoalanine is formed during alkaline processing.)
Texturized Vegetable Protein
(TVP)
With high temperature and high pressure,
soy protein isolate is extruded to produce textured vegetable protein,
which is used primarily as a meat extender and meat substitute.
Numerous additives, particularly MSG, are often included in TVP
products to mask their strong “beany” taste and impart
the flavor of meat. In addition, free glutamic acid, or MSG, is
often formed during processing.
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