Fermented Soy is Only Soy Food Fit for Human Consumption

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http://www.naturalnews.com/025513.html

 

Writings about the soybean date back to 3000 B.C., when the Emperor of China

listed the virtues of soybean plants for regenerating the soil for future crops.

His praises centered on the root of the plant, not the bean. These ancient

writing suggested that the Chinese recognized the unfitness of soybeans for

human consumption in their natural form. Now 5000 years later, we are once again

catching on to the anti-nutritive qualities of the soybean, and realizing that

the only soybean worth eating is one that has been fermented.

The key to releasing the nutrients of the soybean has been known for thousands

of years

About 1000 B.C. some smart person in China discovered that a mold, when allowed

to grow on soybeans, destroyed the toxins present and made the nutrients in the

beans available to the body. This process became known as fermentation and led

to the creation of the still popular foods tempeh, miso, and natto.

A few centuries later, a simpler process was developed to prepare soybeans for

consumption. After lengthy soaking and cooking, the beans were treated with

nigari, a substance found in seawater. The end product was tofu. During the Ming

dynasty, fermented soy appeared in the Chinese Materia Medica as a nutritionally

important food and an effective remedy for diseases.

Unfermented soybeans contain potent anti-nutrients

In their natural form, soybeans contain phytochemicals with toxic effects on the

human body. The three major anti-nutrients are phytates, enzyme inhibitors and

goitrogens.

These anti-nutrients are the way nature protects the soybean plant so that it

can live long enough to effectively reproduce. They function as the immune

system of the plant, offering protection from the radiation of the sun, and from

invasion by bacteria, viruses, or fungi. They make the soybean plant

unappetizing to foraging animals. All plants have some anti-nutrient properties,

but the soybean plant is especially rich in these chemicals. If they are not

removed by extensive preparation such as fermentation or soaking, soybeans are

one of the worst foods a person can eat.

Unfermented soy has been linked to digestive distress, immune system breakdown,

PMS, endometriosis, reproductive problems for men and women, allergies, ADD and

ADHD, higher risk of heart disease and cancer, malnutrition, and loss of libido.

Groups most at risk of experiencing negative effects from the anti-nutrient

properties of soy are infants taking soy baby formula, vegetarians eating a high

soy diet, and mid-life women going heavy on the soy foods thinking they will

help with symptoms of menopause.

Soybeans contain high levels of phytates

All legumes contain phytate (also known as phytic acid) to some extent, but the

soybean is particularly rich in this anti-nutrient. Phytate works in the

gastrointestinal tract to tightly bind minerals such as zinc, copper, iron,

magnesium and calcium. It has a particularly strong affinity for zinc, a mineral

that supports wound healing, protein synthesis, reproductive health, nerve

function, and brain development. It is believed that people living in developing

countries are shorter than those in developed countries because of zinc

deficiency caused by eating too many legumes. There is also evidence that mental

development can be negatively impacted by a diet high in phytate.

In most legumes such as other varieties of beans, soaking is enough to break

down most of the phytate content. However the soybean requires that the enzymes

be released in the fermentation process to reduce its phytate content to the

point where it becomes fit for consumption. This means that fermented soy foods

like miso and tempeh have the lowest levels of phytate and are the best choices

for anyone wishing to eat soybean products. Tofu is also a good choice, as long

as care is taken to replenish loss nutrients.

Whole soybeans, soy milk, soy chips, soy protein isolates, soy flour and all the

other myriad of products made from processed soybeans and advertised as health

foods have much higher levels of phytate and are not worth eating.

Unfermented soy products are rich in enzyme inhibitors

When food is eaten, digestive enzymes such as amylase lipase and protease are

secreted into the digestive tract to help break it down and free nutrients for

assimilation into the body. The high content of enzyme inhibitors in unfermented

soybeans interferes with this process and makes carbohydrates and proteins from

soybeans impossible to completely digest. When foods are not completely digested

because of enzyme inhibitors, bacteria in the large intestine try to do the job,

and this can cause discomfort, bloating, and embarrassment. Anyone with

naturally low levels of digestive enzymes such as elderly people would suffer

the most from the enzyme inhibiting action of soy.

Soybeans can block production of thyroid hormone

Soybeans have a high content of goitrogens, substances that can block the

production of thyroid hormone as well as cause goiter formation. Low thyroid

activity plagues women in America, particularly middle-aged women. Thyroid

hormone stokes the cellular furnaces, known as mitochrondia. When thyroid

production is low, energy levels as well as body heat are also low. Low thyroid

level is what makes old people move so slowly and seem like every action is a

huge chore. Low thyroid means the action of the heart is reduced, resulting in

lack of oxygen to the cells, a prime condition for cancer.

Genistein, an isoflavone found in soybeans, can also block thyroid production.

Phytate can accentuate these effects because it binds up zinc and copper,

leaving little of these important minerals available to make thyroid hormone.

A transport protein called GLUT1 is shut down by genistein. This protein sends

glucose into the cells where it is used to generate energy. Slowing the

transport of glucose means less energy production not only of thyroid hormone,

but of every other action in the body.

Another way in which soy isoflavones reduce energy in the body is by inhibiting

tyrosine kinases, enzymes involved in the transfer of energy from one molecule

to another. These enzymes drive cell division, memory consolidation, tissue

repair, and blood vessel maintenance and regeneration.

It is this action of regulating cell division that made genistein a popular

substance for fighting cancer. When research on this anti-cancer effect of

genistein became know, the soy industry feverishly developed products that would

appeal to Western women looking for genistein. In the middle of all this

excitement, little attention was paid to how the energy reducing effects of

genistein lowered cellular energy in normal cells.

The benefits of genistein come at a high cost

Women have been encouraged to use high genistein soy products to alleviate

symptoms of menopause and as a guard against bone loss and breast cancer. But

given the full range of effects of genistein in the body, high consumption could

result in age-related memory loss. Commercial soybean products offer genistein

levels as high as 20 to 60 mg per serving. Asians are presented as an example of

the benefits of eating soybean products because their incidence of breast cancer

and osteoporosis is low. However, the Asian diet of fermented soybean products

such as miso and tempeh includes only around 5 mg of genistein a day.

Genistein slows the growth of blood vessels to tumors, another action that makes

it popular as a cancer fighter. However, it has the same effect on blood vessels

serving normal cells. Eating a regular diet high in genistein could result in

the starvation of healthy blood vessels, resulting in a reduced supply of oxygen

to cells, setting up a cancer promoting situation.

In a graphic example of how genistein slows cellular energy, a study found that

eating high levels of it slowed hair growth by 60 to 80 percent

A decade ago a study of 8,000 Asian men showed that those consuming the highest

amounts of tofu had smaller brain size and nearly three times the rate of senile

dementia as those who ate the lowest amounts. These results suggest that eating

foods high in isoflavones such as soy protein isolates may accelerate the aging

of the brain.

Fermentation releases nutrients and transforms soybeans into nutritious food

People filling up their shopping carts with raw or cooked soybeans, soy milk,

and other non-fermented soybean products do not realize that the isoflavones

they contain will not be available to their bodies. Most of the isoflavones in

soy products are bound to carbohydrate molecules called glucosides. In this form

genistein is actually called genistin. It is fermentation that transforms

genistin into genistein. Many products in the U.S. do not distinguish between

genistin and genistein on their labels.

Even with fermented soy foods, a little goes a long way. The nutrients found in

miso, tempeh, and natto can be beneficial in the moderate amounts found in the

typical Asian diet, but have the potential to do harm in higher amounts. In

China and Japan, about an ounce of fermented soy food is eaten on a daily basis.

When fermented soy foods are used in small amounts they help build the inner

ecosystem, providing a wealth of friendly microflora to the intestinal tract

that can help with digestion and assimilation of nutrients, and boost immunity.

Dr. Lee, author of several books on the health of women, recommended that

women wishing to consume soy production eat only miso, tempeh, natto. Tofu can

also be eaten provided it is accompanied by fish or some other protein source

and some seaweed or kelp to replenish bound minerals. Eating small amounts of

these foods will provide the cancer protective effects of genistein without

causing the other potential problems of genistein. Dr. Lee recommended avoiding

genistein and isoflavone supplements, and soy protein isolates.

Sources:

Dr. Lee, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Breast Cancer, Warner

Books.

How Fermenting Takes the Allergy Out of Soy and Other Foods, bodyecology.com.

About the author

Barbara is a school psychologist, a published author in the area of personal

finance, a breast cancer survivor using " alternative " treatments, a born

existentialist, and a student of nature and all things natural.

Love, Gabby. :0)

http://stemcellforautism.blogspot.com/

 

" I know of nobody who is purely Autistic or purely neurotypical. Even God had

some Autistic moments, which is why the planets all spin. " ~ Jerry Newport