Soy:

 Good, Bad, or Ugly?    

At first you thought you were a healthy badass ordering that soy latte at Starbucks. 
Then you started worrying about horrible shit like breast cancer, fibroids and your hormones getting messed up – all thanks to conflicting information about soy.
When it comes to definitive, long-term research, we still don’t have a lot of conclusions about the safety of soy. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be concerned.
According to Soy Info Center, soy milk dates back to China around AD 25-220. Tofu is even more ancient. From China, it spread to Korea and Japan. Tofu is low-calorie, low-fat and boasts a relatively high protein content – about 20 grams per half-cup, so we totally get why they thought it rocked.
Asian cultures that traditionally ate soy products soaked, rinsed and fermented the beans for extended periods. In some parts of Japan, natto, or fermented soy beans, is still given to children and as a must-eat. Fermented foods pack a powerful nutritional punch – ever heard of sauerkraut or kombucha?
These days, though? Not so much.

Modern Soy

You might have heard of a little company called Monsanto – the one that basically owns the DNA of all kinds of fruits and veggies that you eat. You may have also seen a certain documentary (ahem, “Food Inc.”) about how this very company puts small farms out of business and sprays its crops with pesticides known to cause gnarly birth defects, human cell death, cancer and miscarriages.
Well, this very same company is the one that is responsible for growing 90 percent of North America’s soybeans.
So, you already know why that’s fucked. GMO soy could not be any more different than the soy the Chinese enjoyed in earlier centuries. For one thing, GMO soybeans contain chemicals called phytoestrogens and goitrogens, famous for disrupting hormone and thyroid function.

Man Boobs

Ever seen a dude with man-boobs? Classic case of estrogen dominance in the body, caused by phytoestrogens in food, especially soy. Why is this a problem? Well, besides the fact that our boyfriends don’t need tits, goitrogens and phytoestrogens are known to cause hypothyroidism, cancer, and male and female reproductive disorders. When you remember that GMO soy is in everything, that kinda freaks us out.
Why is soy in everything? Because it’s cheap, and that’s the bottom line. Shitty processed food companies can use soy to thicken, preserve, flavor or add cheap protein to food. Soaking and fermenting soy chills out the harmful shit in the beans. Traditional tofu and miso are totally good for you. But all this commercially made stuff just isn’t.

The Dirty Dozen(ish)

Here’s a short list of products that contain soy (and if you don’t believe us, take a fun trip to the center aisles of a supermarket near you for some awesome label-reading):
Cookies and cakes (and baking mixes)
Ketchup
Peanut butter
Vitamin E supplements or creams
Pasta sauce
Chocolate (even dark – the only soy-free chocolate we could find are the Whole Foods 365 brand and a brand called Theo)
Protein powders
Salad dressings
Infant formulas
Non-dairy creamer
Energy bars
Breads (even organic, whole-grain versions)
Powdered mashed potatoes
Margarine
Soups
Cough syrup
Gum and candies

What Do I Do?

Soy is good for you in small doses, but if you’re eating a handful of the foods above, you’re likely getting enough. There’s no need to eat soy deli meats (if you wanted to taste meat-like things, why’d you go vegan?), soy proteins (try hemp or pea instead), tofu, soy milk and soy sauce drizzled all over everything. Skip processed food as much as possible. Shop on the perimeters of your market. Add herbs and spices to your meals instead of getting them packaged, and you’ll be well on your way to avoiding those unpleasant estrogenic effects.

Go Organic

When in doubt, go organic. And look on the labels for “Non-GMO soy” (all of Newman’s Own Organics products contain non-GMO soy). It’s shitty to have to be so careful about what you put in your mouth. But when it comes to giving your dude a flabby belly and man-tits, difficulty conceiving and a less-than-svelte body for you – isn’t it worth a little extra effort?
Yeah, we think so too.
What’s your stance on soy? Share in the comments.

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Jennifer St. Germain, Contributing Writer
A long-time health and fitness writer, Jennifer recently moved back to Los Angeles after spending two years writing and teaching English in Japan.  She now writes for several publications on a variety of topics, but veganism and animal rights are her favorite subjects.  When she isn’t writing, you can find her drinking a little too much organic coffee, playing with her dogs or photographing her third favorite subject – jellyfish.