Is SOY healthy?

If you don’t feel like reading the rest of this - the simple answer No… don’t eat it! 

Want to know some of the reasons I don't eat soy- besides the fact that BOTH Ava and Dale react to soy... keep reading and maybe you will stop eating soy too!!

Some harmful properties of soybeans are:

• Soybeans contain phytoestrogens, which mimic the body’s natural estrogen hormones. For men, this can lead to a testosterone imbalance, infertility, low sperm count, and increased risk of cancers. For women, it can cause estrogen dominance, which has been linked to infertility, menstrual troubles and cancer
•  These phytoestrogens are so strong that a baby consuming only soy formula is consuming the equivalent hormones of 4 birth control pills a day!
• The high levels of phytic acid in soy inhibit the body’s ability to absorb important minerals, including zinc, calcium, copper, iron and magnesium (which many people are dangerously deficient in already).
• Soy also contains protease inhibitors, which can block the enzymes that are necessary for the digestion of certain proteins.
• Soy phytoestrogens are potent anti-thyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
• Soy is often promoted as an alternative food for celiac and gluten intolerant people, but its lectins can be harmful to the intestines and prevent healing even when gluten is removed.
• Consumption of soy foods increases the body’s need for Vitamin D, Vitamin B-12, calcium and magnesium. 
• Many studies have found even more harmful properties of soy: This link has a summary of many studies done about the harmful effects of soy.

·         In addition to being harmful to our bodies, soy production is harmful to the planet and to livestock who eat it as well.  90 – 95% of all soybeans grown today are genetically modified (GM) and “Round-up ready.” They contain a gene that allows them to be directly sprayed with pesticides without dying. There is some evidence that this gene can mutate and create a pesticide-like toxin in the body.

This mutation means that soybeans can be (and are) sprayed with large amounts of pesticides and herbicides during their cultivation. Animals who are fed soy can suffer many of the same health consequences as people who consume too much soy, and these harmful properties are then passed on in their meat.  Which is the MAIN reason I try to ONLY eat organic meats – if its not organic you are getting GM soy through the meat.