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How Healthy is Soy?
For many years now we've all heard and read stories about the health benefits of soy. In fact, soy may not be as healthy as you thought:
- Unless fermented, soy blocks the absorption of important nutrients consumed along with it. Soy protein, soy milk, soy cheese, etc. are not fermented.
- Because soy has natural plant estrogens, it can have unwanted hormonal effects on men and pre-menopausal women.
- Asians, often cited as examples of health (a whole other issue), eat far less tofu and other soy products than is commonly thought in the West.
- Soy is one of the top 8 allergens.
- Soy can impair fertility in both men and women.
There are forms of soy that don't have as many of these problems - miso, natto and tempeh are all forms of fermented soy. Even so, it is best to eat these in moderation.
For an outstanding summary of everything that makes soy a poor dietary choice, see this article:
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