Q & A Thursday: soy
Posted by kathryn in Legumes
I’ve had a couple of questions about soy. Firstly how much soy is too much and, secondly, do soy foods, contribute to hormonal cancers in any way?
Soy often appears in the media. One week it’s a wonder-cure and the next week it’s the root of all evil. I’ve blogged about soy before and this post will answer many of your questions about the health affects of soy, particularly in relation to cancer.
How much soy
It’s hard to answer the how much is too much question, as we all have slightly different physiologies and reactions to food. Quite a number of people have a soy intolerance and for them, it’s a food to be avoided. For the rest of us though, 1 – 2 servings per day are fine and of benefit. Over that and I would suggest you’re possibly limiting your diet and missing out on other important foods.
Which soy foods to choose
The quality of the soy foods you’re eating are as important as the frequency of your soy consumption. Tofu, tempeh, miso soup, mochi, soy sauce – all have a long history of use, are made from the whole soy bean and contain a variety of nutrients. I would recommend using small and regular amounts of these. Try to buy either organic, or non-GM soy products.
Soy has been an integral and regular part of the diet in a number of countries. These communities do not eat highly processed, flavoured, coloured and extracted soy products . Instead, the long history of use, is eating the soy foods mentioned above.
If you are trying to increase your soy intake because of a cancer scare, I would recommend avoiding all the not-bacon, soy sausage, not-chicken products. These are highly, highly processed foods and there is no evidence for their benefit.
If you’re not a regular soy eater, then you can increase your intake by:
- making rice paper rolls with slivers of tofu inside
- using miso in pastry
- sauteeing the tofu with sesame seeds and serving with lots of green vegies
- adding miso to pesto
- add miso to a salad dressing
- use edamame beans and small nuggets of tofu in a noodle soup
- make some burgers or patties
21 June, 2007
Comments
Thanks, that clears some concerns up. I can enjoy soy daily without worrying now.
O, that’s fine – I have soy in some form or another almost every day myself. For vegetarians it’s excellent protein and for everyone else, it’s a great source of antioxidants and fibre.
A while ago I found this article and think its a very reasonable and well considered approach to Soy
http://www.foodrevolution.org/what_about_soy.htm
This John Robbins guy seems to be an interesting character if you read his Bio…Ignore the cheesy American publicity shot though!
I wonder if his book is worth reading?
Tofu, tempeh and all those ‘good’ sorts are great and I’m glad that they can still be part of my diet. ‘Not Bacon’. How funny…
Andrew, it is worth reading, quite unsettling too. And you’re right – that is a reasonable approach to soy.
Thanks Kathryn – you must be quite exhausted!
Thanks for the article link Andrew, it’s an interesting read and a well argued and reasonable approach to soy. I’ve seen a lot of the tofu is evil stuff out there, especially on the internet – most of it quoting obscure or one-off studies.
That approach simply doesn’t match up with the experience in countries like Japan, where soy foods, in small quantities, are a normal part of the diet.
I read Diet for a New America years and year ago, but I’m going to look out for his new book.
Lucy, I regularly eat tofu and tempeh, certainly every other day and a good bowl of miso is one of my favourite “snacks” on a busy day.
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