1. The Cancer Bean?
Soy beans are sometimes touted as a great substitute protein for vegetarians, but there are compounds called "phytoestrogens" in soy beans that can have estrogen like effects on the body's systems. An increase in estrogen has been linked to such things as breast and gynecological cancers. Although the cancer link is still not fully understood, the American diet is chock full of processed foods including many products made from soy beans. Until more is learned about the dangers of phytoestrogens, it may wise to limit the amount we ingest.
2. Soy: A Sacred Grain
The soy bean has been grown for a long time in certain parts of the world. Some sources indicate the beans may have been used, not as a food source, but as a part of crop rotation. The soy would be grown in soil in order to "fix" the nitrogen in the soil so as to create a richer soil for the next crop to be planted in that same area. That might be why it was designated as one of the five sacred grains.
3. Fermentation Makes Soy Beans Edible
During the Chou Dynasty, the soybean began to serve as a food source only after the discovery of the fermentation process. Foods like tempeh, natto, miso and soy sauce were then used in cooking, food seasoning and preparation. Eventually, someone discovered that the cooked beans could be ground into a paste and fermented which led to the development of foods such as tofu, otherwise known as bean curd.
4. Soy Beans Halt Enzyme Action
The Chinese did not eat unfermented soybeans because of the "natural toxins" found in them. This now touted health food contains potent enzyme inhibitors which block the action of trypsin, which is an enzyme needed for protein digestion. Soy beans also have other "antinutrients" that make them a less than ideal food source, such as haemagglutinin. This is a substance that causes red blood cells to clump together, which promotes blood clotting.
5. Soy Beans: 99% Frankenfood
Even though soy is found in all sorts of forms, like soy milk, and it abounds in health food and natural food stores, it is one of the most genetically modified foods in our diet. A whopping 99% of soy beans are genetically modified, leaving only a 1% chance that you are not eating frankenfood. To add one more drawback to the mix, soy beans are also one of the most pesticide contaminated food sources.
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