The KInd Life Community Forum

That doesn't make sense, as many asian countries eat tofu and tempeh. Where have you read that?

I am just starting to explore the vegan lifestyle (2 weeks new) and I have read a million articles and books and can't remember where I read that soy is only given to animals in other countries but Optimum Choices and Weston Price Foundation is where I read that in the Asian countries they only eat it in the fermented state not like we do in the United States and it is only used as a condiment as it is toxic in large doses. They also said the soybean industry has depleted more of the Amazon Rain forest than cattle....just wondering what to believe

Robyne - generally fermented soy is the best for your health, but others are fine in moderation. Just make sure it's always organic, and don't go crazy with soy milk and soy 'replacement' products - those are really the things you should watch consumption of, but even those as occasional treats are fine. The best are tempeh, good soy sauce - not the cheap stuff, miso, and then tofu in moderation.

Research Weston A Price Foundation. They lack any true scientific basis, and their goal is basically to promote meat and cholesterol (!!) as healthy, and vegan/vegetarian diets as unhealthy. My understanding is that while they also base their claims on the work of Price, they took his work out of context. That's why I say, look to the source of your information. The Price Foundation is juat notorious for trying to debunk veg*nism.

And keep in mind that most of the U.S. is eating processed soy even though they don't know it - it's in a lot of processed foods. Start reading packages, you will probably be surprised. So if people say stuff to you about it, you might want to suggest they read the labels of the food they eat. Read The Kind Diet, Alicia talks about soy. And as Rebecca suggested, do a site search, Alicia posted on soy, but there are other threads on which members have posted good links as well.

And really, the focus of any healthy diet should be fresh vegetables - that should be at least half your plate, the other half grains, protein, a little good fat. So if you're eating healthfully, you shouldn't need to worry about consuming too much of anything. Now, if the focus of your meal every day is soy, then that is a problem simply from a health perspective, just as the focus of the meal being a giant slab of meat is a problem from a health perspective.

Personally, I avoid soy because there are superior options. It is a tasteless and cheap bean that is often commercially prepared with MSG, flavor enhancers, sugar, or artificial sweeteners. It is commonly grown as a genetically modified mutant that may cause allergies to various degrees. We have so many other beans and options that are flavorful and interesting in their sprouted or cooked form.

Manufacturers of 'food like products' (that are overly processed) like to tout one particular aspect of a food to promote it. This is a game. Soy, as a whole, has a lot more going against it that for it. The dangerous hormone effects far outweigh any small beneficial factor of one particular component of soy.

Eat a balanced diet that includes a variety of legumes. Soy is unnecessary and potentially harmful. You don't need more processed foods in your diet, do you?

It's CRAP PURE AND SIMPLE....used to fatten animals and it has done that here except we're the animals....about ten years ago the soy manufacturers started to push it as the wonder food...it's now in everything processed and touted as good for us...have you noticed that everyone has gotten fatter in the last ten years..It interferes with metabolism (slowing it down)..look at the studies...despite what some people think, this also goes for tofu (although very small amounts of the pure form and not very often may be OK) ....If we won't/don't buy soy, or any products containing it in any form (disguised or otherwise), we'll stop being force fed it by the food manufacturers who use it in all kinds of packaged foods at our expense....literally and figuratively...

Audrey Biloon, the Free Dogs (Dairy, Oil, Gluten, Soy and Sugar) Vegan

audreybiloon@yahoo.com