This "health food" makes you fat and unhealthy

This "Health Food" Makes You Fat and Unhealthy

It's kind of crazy to think that soy products have really only been around in the U.S. food industry since the early 1990's, unlike many of the Asian countries where it's been a food staple for thousands of years.

So what made soy become so popular so fast here in the U.S.?

Well it certainly wasn't coincidence. Like in most industries, ifyou follow the money...it's a pretty good bet that you'll end up at the truth. And soy is no different. Soy is cheap to cultivate and when consumed in whole "fermented" forms it has real health benefits.

Notice the terms "whole" food and "fermented"...see that's key.

It's bad enough that whole foods have become foreign in vast majority of North American diets, but throw infermentation...and you're looking at a population smaller than people living on Easter Island that would even take a second look at consuming soy in this form.

Fear not however, if there's profit to be had, we can make anything palatable...or at least edible...sort of.

Which is why almost all soy produced in US is processed and converted into two prosperous commodities - soybean oil and soy protein.See...now we can get the benefits of whole fermented soybeans without having to inflict our palates with foul smelly fermented foods. We all win..right?

Uhhh...NO

Here's the problem:

Processing anything is bad and it's no different for soy. Soybean oil is heavily refined and most have trans fats in them, making them one of the unhealthiest oils around. And unfortunately, it's inpretty much all processed foods.

Soy protein is the other culprit and it's also processed, although not as heavily as soybean oil. All possible health benefits of soy are completely taken out in the course of processing, making it a pretty poor source of protein.

But this is where the confusion and conflict begins. The FDA claims that soy protein is very healthy and they recommend consuming25 g of soy protein a day to help reduce the risk of heart disease.

I know...once again more conflicting information...I don't blame you for wanting to tear your hair out with frustration.

Okay...before you take FDA's recommendation, let's take a little closer look at the relationship it has with the soy industry

According to Soy Food Association of North America, the sales of soy foodproducts exploded from 300 million dollars in 1992 to 4 billion dollars in 2006. It only took just over a decade to make soy one of the world's most cultivated crop. In fact, the soy industry is growing so fast that in order to keep up with the demands, it's clear cutting forests (yep...deforestation) to make more room for soy farms.

But that's not enough...there's too much at stake here...toomuch money to be made. The soy industry wants it all and nothing's going to stop them...not even mother nature. Enter...GMO - genetically modified organism. Soybeans that are genetically modified to grow faster, bigger and be resistant to pretty much anything you throw at it.

In the U.S. about 90 % of all soy used is genetically modified (GM). GM soy is resistance to toxic herbicides andpesticides, which is great because they can keep pumping out soybeans without worrying about crops being destroyed by insects. Sounds dandy, except these toxic chemicals are being passed down the food chain into to animal feeds and you guessed it...you and I, the consumers.

I won't get into the tyranny of the Big Agra (ie. Monsanto) in the farming industry as a whole, but getting non-GM foodshave become alarmingly difficult and our right to get natural whole foods is diminishing quickly.

So what does any of this have to do with the FDA?

Well, it just so happens that the executives that run Big Agra, which produce both the GM seeds for soy as well as the toxic chemicals that they spray the crops with, coincidentally happened to serve on the board of execs on the FDA as well....