Tofu, perhaps the quintessential "health food" may not be so healthy after all.
The Weston A. Price Foundation claims that eating soy for breakfast, lunch and dinner may bring on health issues down the road. Even if you'd never consider eating a veggie burger, when up to 70 percent of all supermarket foods contain soy, it becomes clear that soy saturates the food supply. Tofu and other soy products, while generally high in complete protein and low in fat, are far from perfect.
Minerals
Soy products contain high amounts of phytic acid, the Foundation claims. Phytic acid competes with necessary minerals like copper, zinc and calcium for absorption in the intestine and can create a deficiency. Mineral deficiencies lead to a number of health issues including bone loss, brittle nails and anemia. Unlike grains, which also contain phytic acid, cooking and processing soy doesn't destroy phytic acid. If you eat soy, it's wise to take a multivitamin containing minerals at a different time than you eat soy to avoid a possible deficiency.
Breast Cancer
Soy contains lots of isoflavones. Isoflavone's structure closely resembles estrogen. When isoflavones enter the body, they bind to estrogen receptors, simulating estrogen's affects. While the Linus Pauling institute reports that a high intake of soy isoflavones may reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, they go on to report that the long-term safety of consuming a soy-rich diet has yet to be determined. Breast cancer is largely influenced by estrogen levels in the body. The Linus Pauling institute claims that a isoflavone rich diet does not protect against breast cancer. Physician Marisa Weiss of the website BreastCancer warns that excessive consumption of soy isoflavones may promote the process that leads to breast cancer.
Trypsin
Trypsin is an enzyme necessary for digesting protein. Without trypsin, protein absorption is impaired. Over time, this can lead to intestinal discomfort and issues with your pancreas, the Weston A Price Foundation reports. Soy contains high levels of trypsin inhibitors that decrease the activity of trypsin in the body, Consumer Health reports. However, fermented soy products like tempeh and miso are significantly lower in trypsin inhibitors and don't inhibit trypsin as much as unfermented soy products such as tofu and raw soybeans.
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