Dangers of Excess Soy Consumption! Re: Food for Thought

[Guest guest]

>

>

> [For those who might be

interested. Also, see

Fibromyalgia halfway down

> page. Carlene]

>

>

>

> AN OPEN LETTER TO

PRESIDENT-ELECT BARACK OBAMA

>

> From Sally Fallon Morell,

President, the Weston A.

Price Foundation

>

> November 16, 2008

>

>

>

> Dear Mr. Obama,

>

> Congratulations on your

recent victory in the

American presidential

> elections. As the

president-elect, you have

many issues to consider as

> you prepare to take

office.

>

> One issue I would urge

you to focus on concerns a

grave injustice taking

> place in the prisons of

your home state, namely, a

prison diet that is

> slowly killing the

inmates assigned to the

Illinois Department of

> Corrections. This is a

diet based largely on soy

protein powder and soy

> flour. As you stated on

last night's 60 Minutes

Program, America

> does not condone torture.

>

> I think you would agree

that what is happening in

the Illinois prisons

> is a form of torture. Soy

protein and soy flour are

toxic, especially in

> large amounts. The US

Food and Drug

Administration lists 288

studies on

> its database showing the

toxicity of soy. Numerous

studies show that soy

> consumption leads to

nutrient deficiencies,

digestive disorders,

> endocrine disruption and

thyroid problems.

>

> Even the most ardent

supporters of soy, such as

Dr. Mark Messina, warn

> against consuming more

than about 20 grams of soy

protein per day. But

> the inmates in Illinois

are getting upwards of 100

grams per

> day—beef and chicken by-

product mixtures containing

60-70 percent

> soy, fake soy meats and

cheese, even soy added to

baked goods. The soy

> products are produced by

Archer Midlands,

which contributed

> heavily to the campaign

of Rod Blagojevich. The

change from a diet based

> largely on beef to one

based on soy happened in

2003, when Mr.

> Blagojevich began his

first term as governor.

>

> The national office of

the Weston A. Price

Foundation has heard from

> dozens of inmates begging

for help. Almost all suffer

from serious

> digestive disorders, such

as diarrhea or painful

constipation, vomiting,

> irritable bowel syndrome

and sharp pains in the

digestive tract.

>

> One reason for these

problems is the high oxalic

acid content of

> soy—no food is higher in

oxalic acid than soy

protein isolate, which

> can contain up to 630

milligrams per serving, at

least six times higher

> than the amount found in

typical diets.

>

> Oxalic acid is associated

with kidney stones, but the

sharp crystal

> deposits can form in

almost every tissue in the

body--in the heart where

> they can stop electrical

signals; in the bones where

they can displace

> bone marrow cells,

leading to anemia or immune

deficiency; in the brain

> where they can impair the

transmission of signals;

and in the skin where

> they can cause

fibromyalgia.

>

> Other problems reported

by the inmates include

acne, hair loss,

> depression, lethargy,

allergies, heart

arrhythmias, passing out

after

> soy consumption, frequent

infections and constant

feeling of cold. Many

> of these are symptoms of

low thyroid function. The

estrogen-like

> compounds in soy are

known to depress thyroid

function.

>

> When the prisoners seek

medical treatment, they are

told that soy does

> not cause the problems

they are experiencing. Even

those who vomit or

> pass out immediately

after eating soy cannot get

an order for a soy-free

> diet. They are told: " If

the soy disagrees with you,

don't eat

> it. Buy food from the

commissary. " And since most

of the inmates

> cannot afford to purchase

food from the commissary,

they are faced with

> a choice of serious

health problems or

starvation.

>

> Several have had sections

of their colons removed

when a simple return

> to a nutritious, soy-free

diet would have solved the

problem. One inmate

> who passes out whenever

he consumes soy was given a

pacemaker.

>

> Several inmates have

filed lawsuits. One inmate

has been subjected to

> illegal and life-

threatening retaliatory

actions as a result of his

> filing two lawsuits

claiming inadequate medical

care. Pro bono legal

> help is urgently needed

for these cases.

>

> According to law,

prisoners are entitled

to " nutritionally adequate

> food " (Ramos v Lamm,

639.2d 559, 1980).

According to Illinois law,

> " Infliction of

unnecessary suffering on

prisoner by failure to treat

> his medical needs is

inconsistent with

contemporary standards of

decency

> and violates the Eighth

Amendment " (Key Note 7.

Criminal Law 1213).

>

> The justification for the

switch from beef to soy is

to save money. But

> according to one court

case, " A lack of financing

is not a defense

> to a failure to satisfy

minimum constitutional

standards in prisons "

> (Duran v. Anaya, 642,

Supp. 510 (DNM 1986), page

525, paragraph 6).

>

> And it is not clear that

the soy diet is saving the

state of Illinois

> any money, not when you

consider the greatly

increased medical costs

> that have ensued, and the

risk to the state of costly

lawsuits. The

> state of Virginia

provides grass-fed beef to

inmates at no cost to the

> state. Lowrisk prisoners

raise the beef at Sky

Meadows State Park. The

> surplus is sold to the

Pennsylvania Department of

Corrections, resulting

> in a net gain for the

prison budget. All over the

country prisons are

> instituting creative ways

to save money while

teaching inmates new

> skills, including

gardening, animal

husbandry, beekeeping, food

> processing, composting

and recycling. Only the

state of Illinois has

> chosen to poison its

prisoners instead.

>

> It is said that a nation

is judged on the way it

treats its prisoners.

> The American prison

system is predicated on the

premise that criminals

> can be rehabilitated. To

feed prisoners a diet that

can permanently ruin

> their health robs them of

any opportunity for

rehabilitation, renders

> them unfit for normal

life when they are

released, and will impose an

> unnecessary burden on the

state's medical services.

It constitutes a

> medical experiment and

amounts cruel and unusual

punishment, which must

> be stopped.

>

> Mr. Obama, you can stop

this cruel soy-feeding

experiment with one phone

> call. I urge you to be

that champion of fairness

and justice that you

> promised during your

campaign by making that

call.

>

> Sincerely yours,

>

> Sally Fallon Morell,

President

>

> The Weston A. Price

Foundation

>

> The Weston A. Price

Foundation is a non-profit

nutrition education

> foundation dedicated to

restoring nutrient-dense

foods to the human diet

> through education,

research and activism. The

Foundation is spearheading

> a national campaign to

warn consumers about the

dangers of modern soy

> foods. Please visit their

website

www.westonaprice.org to

learn more

> about the

>

> Foundation's Soy Alert!

campaign.

I use tofu and soy

protein powder, not alot

like in the prison. Is

it ok to use some soy

products? Is soo

confusing to me, maybe

not others ? on what

to eat , what to use or

not use as meds, etc.

Sometimes, I have to

be honest, I just

delete the posts for

the day. Is too

confusing to even read ,

fibo fog??, and scarey

all the symptoms. I

can't sort fibro things

from other medical

problems.