Soy

I ran out of my normal coffee creamer last week, so I asked Jason to pick some up when he was at the grocery store. He happened to be shopping at Henry's, which is a natural and organic food store that we frequent, so it was no surprise that he came home with a carton of french vanilla flavored Silk (for those of you not familiar, Silk is a dairy-free soy product).

I knew Jason was probably unaware that he bought me soy creamer, so I gently told him that I probably won't use it. Why? For starters, I don't like the taste of soy milk. Secondly, I've read from various sources that soy products can adversely affect thyroid function, and since I have hypothyroidism I figured it's best not to consume anything that could pose any further risk!

After our conversation, I started thinking about soy.... specifically, why does soy seem to be so trendy lately? Every time I'm in line at the Coffee Bean or Starbucks, it seems like 50 percent of the customers in front of me order a soy latte or other beverage with soy instead of milk.

I certainly understand why vegetarians and people who are lactose intolerant drink soy milk - it's a great, non-dairy / non-animal based alternative to cow's milk. But for people who do not fall in either category, why the recent soy craze? A lot of soy users tout the health benefits of soy, but I have a hard time swallowing (pun intended) the idea that soy is so much more nutritious than milk. A cup of skim is only 90 calories with zero grams of fat, and provides 9 grams of protein and 30 percent of your daily calcium requirement. I also have to laugh when people order their "healthy" soy coffee drink, then add sugary flavored syrups and whipped cream.

I remembered glancing through an article about soy by Terry Walters, a food educator and author of the vegan cookbook "Clean Food." She uses soy in some of her recipes, so I thought I'd see what her position is. The following information is an exerpt from Clean Food:

Soy falls into the legume family, but because there is so much confusion about whether soy is healthy or not, it warrants its own section. The United States produces and exports a vast amount of soy. Unfortunately, much of the soy grown in the U.S. is genetically engineered, riddled with herbicides and pesticides, unlabeled as such, and widely used in processed foods. Unless the package reads "USDA Organic," there is no way to be sure you are getting quality soy.

...The protein makeup of soy is particularly hard to digest and assimilate. It is high in phytic acid, which prevents our bodies from absorbing essential minerals such as calcium and iron. Soybeans also contain goitrogens (found in foods such as cabbage and cauliflower), which interfere with thyroid function by suppressing the body's use of iodine.

It is widely believed, however, that slow cooking and fermenting soy neutralizes its high acid levels, allowing us to access its health benefits with less concern over its health risks. Therefore, when it comes to managing soy intake, you can eliminate many of these concerns by sticking with organic, fermented or slowly cooked soy products [like miso, tofu, and tempeh].

Of concern is the fact that non-nutritive soy in the form of highly processed isolated soy protein is used extensively in processed and packaged foods. At its core, isolated soy protein is the waste by-product of processed soy. And, like many processed preservatives, sweeteners, and emulsifiers, these additives have little nutritional value and pose significant health risks.

Soy is so overused in processed foods that it is nearly impossible to avoid unless you adhere to a strictly whole-food-based diet. It seems that every other label I read lists soy in one form or another. There are soy substitutes for many of the products we've elected to reduce or eliminate from our diets: soy milk, soy cheese, soy yogurt, soy nuts, soy hotdogs, soy butter, soy everything! The result? Excessive amounts of overprocessed soy in the American diet, causing a great deal of imbalance and disease. This is a good reason to stick with quality organic soy and reduce or even eliminate processed foods.

I understand that her perspective is just one side of the coin, so to speak. But it was interesting to start going through my pantry and reading nutritional labels. While I'm happy to say that we don't have a LOT of processed foods in the house, it was still surprising to look at the labels on our ice cream, Pepperidge Farm crackers, granola bars and frozen waffles and see that they all contained soy lecithin, soy protein, and/or soybean oil. I compared a jar of name brand peanut butter to our organic peanut butter, and while the organic brand didn't contain any soy products, the Jif did. And the second item in the list of ingredients on the Coffeemate creamer I've been using for years? Partially hydrogenated soybean oil. Hmmm.... it may be time to reconsider what I put in my coffee!

(In all fairness to the Silk people, their carton of coffee creamer states that its made with soybeans that were not genetically engineered).

When it comes to my diet, I'm not perfect and I don't think anyone can be. I love chocolate and pizza. I eat meat. I probably ate my weight in ice cream while on vacation in Michigan. However, over the years I've become more careful about making sure that most of the foods I eat have some sort of nutritional value - if it's going into my body, it should offer some sort of benefit. I'm even more concerned now that I'm a mom raising a child in a country where it's cheaper and easier to buy fast food than fresh produce (I'm shocked at how many restaurants offer french fries, cookies, and a soft drink as the main components of their kids menus!).

Anyway, I think I'll skip the soy and stick to my [organic, hormone-free] cow's milk!