The Soy Controversy
Soy products are very much a staple in my life. I enjoy my cheerios (every morning!) with soymilk, tofu prepared in many, many ways, and every now and then whole soybeans (edamame).
I knew that soybeans contain isoflavones, a type of phytoestrogen, but I hadn’t realized the great controversy surrounding them. Here is one vehement protest. In this article, Jim Rutz claims that soy is feminizing, creates sexual confusion, and is accountable for homosexuality. Moreover, “research in 2000 showed that a soy-based diet at any age can lead to a weak thyroid, which commonly produces heart problems and excess fat,” and uses this to suggest that soy is also possibly behind today’s rising obesity rates.
I admit I laughed at the last bit. That’s almost like saying, “Divorce rates in the U.S. have skyrocketed within the past year; there is a similar trend in soy consumption, so this must imply correlation if not causation!!” I’m interested to see his citations for this article.
Here is a much more objective article from the FDA. While the controversy over phytoestrogen is similarly acknowledged, the FDA affirms that research is far from conclusive.
“…[S]ome studies suggest that high isoflavone levels might increase the risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer… [S]ome studies show just the opposite–that under some conditions, soy may help prevent breast cancer… Unlike the controversy surrounding soy isoflavones, available evidence on soy protein benefits is much clearer.”
I take many statistics with a grain of salt. It seems as though for every statistic that shows one thing, there’s an existing one that shows the opposite. How confusing!
Anyway, until the arrival of more concrete results, I will continue my soy-lifestyle. It’s funny.. most people use soy as a substitute for something else, but for me I can’t think of anything that could adequately replace soy.
The rise of the soybean in America is tied closely to the hyperabundance of corn crops. Soy is a perfect rotational complement crop to corn, which is the source of cheap industrial calories. What corn depletes from the ground, soy replenishes, and vice versa. Though there was a delay in the widespread adoption, expect more and more of our cheap industrial protein to be from soy. We’ll see if increased exposure over the next few years bears out any of these claims.
/me sips his glass of soymilk.
Dang, I had this all queued up to write about, and you beat me to it!
I just wanted to point out to others that James Rutz is not a doctor, nor a nutrition expert, and I would suggest that he’s a fanatical evangelical idiot, who uses the scientifically proven presence of isoflavones in soy as a twisted method of fueling his nonsensical claim that, “Homosexuals often argue that their homosexuality is inborn because “I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t homosexual.” No, homosexuality is always deviant.”
Of course, to the astute reader, his evangelicalism is readily obvious, and most will notice that at the bottom of his article is this footnote:
“James Rutz is chairman of Megashift Ministries and founder-chairman of Open Church Ministries.”
So, yeah, you can see where that’s going. This is just another instance of the evangelical crowd utilizing science when it’s convenient and switching right back to “God” when they are losing control of their masses to logic. This leads nicely into my next post… “dangerous information”.
I have found that I can effectively replace *all* soy products in my diet with a variety of meat products! It’s revolutionary, and I know a bit off the wall, but I think it may really catch on…