the devil made me eat soy!

[brightbluegirl]

What is it with the backlash against soy nowadays?

It seems like everywhere I look on lj, someone is saying how soy is so bad because of the estrogen or whatever other reason.

I know that soy protein, in large quantities, can be a problem. However, pretty much EVERYTHING in large quantities is a problem. Even water is toxic if you drink enough (not that it's actually possible to do that, as far as I understand).

But that's soy PROTEIN. Not the soy beans themselves. And that's LARGE quantities.

Dammit.

It just feels like soy is getting vilified just to make veganism and vegetarianism get a bad rap, or to push up the meat industry again.

And that's damn tiring.

My diet, personally, contains a lot of legumes. Chickpeas, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, almonds, cashews, soy beans, black beans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, etc.

It also contains seitan.

It ALSO contains tvp, tofu, and soy milk.

And it's going to stay that way.

Comments

[blowtorch-betty.livejournal.com]

I'll leave the soy bit alone, I think we've covered that enough between us.

The water thing, however, is true. People do die from too much water, usually amateur marathon runners and the like. It's more common than you'd think.

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

really??? wow.

[cronkey.livejournal.com]

Ecstasy users, heeding the recommendation that they keep themselves hydrated, have also been known to die from water intoxication (http://www.urban75.com/Drugs/drugxtc1.html).

[fairyfort.livejournal.com]

so that means....
that the next time you are in central texas you have to show me how to cook some of that stuff so it isn't gross.

I really could use more soy in my diet.
:)

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

;) you bet. I'd love to cook for you! :D

Although, I usually hate cooking in other people's places, because I don't know where they keep their spoons, or whatever, and it's not quite as comfortable.

Or, if they're like my brother, they have 2 frying pans from Goodwill, 3 bowls, and a spatula, and it's a real bitch trying to make ANYTHING.

[fairyfort.livejournal.com]

my kitchen is simple to navigate.
Everything is in one of two places and none of my overhead cabinets have doors on them so the place is all open.

I really want to learn to how to cook tofu. I don't much like the texture of the big blocks and am not a fan of bell peppers so I haven't really found anything that sounds yummy.
I want to substitute it for some things like the meat in spaghetti sauce.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

Ok. I have a great recipe for rice pudding, that I can give you for a starter. It just uses soy milk. I ate it every day for months, once I found it. It's yummy for breakfast OR for a treat, because it uses honey as a sweetener instead of sugar.

I'll give you lots of stuff, but you gotta tell me first - what stuff do you dislike? Flavours you detest, textures you don't like, vegetables you won't eat... and tell me what you DO like, too, favourite dishes, that sort of thing.

This is fun!

[fairyfort.livejournal.com]

won't eat:
bell peppers
cabbage
brussle sprouts
gourds (eggplant, squash etc)
cilantro

I am not a big fish fan but am willing to experiment.
Bitter is my least favorite flavor.

I like beef better than chicken but like chicken lots
I love pasta and meat sauces (i could eat baked ziti every day)
I love cheese - yep.... yummmm cheese
I like sweets but prefer to keep my chocolate and fruit flavors separate.
I love edamame but have no idea how to make it
Fruit is great but mangos and papayas make my lips swell up.
Big cheesecake fan
Not big on kiwi or peach but could get over it in the right recipe.
Love carrots, potatoes, corn, lettuce, celery, radishes, snap peas, and bean sprouts
There is a ton more I am sure but that is a huge list.

This is pretty fun!

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

I have 4 or 5 recipes to send you. I'll send them to you livejournal email, unless you have a better one you'd like me to send them to.

I was going to send them today, but I'm so tired from the 10k run we did today, I'm just going to have a bath and chill before bed. Sorry! :(

TVP

[cronkey.livejournal.com]

When I was vegan, I stopped eating TVP almost as quickly as I started. That stuff ruined everything it touched, most notably my superbe chili in which it always soaked up all the water from the vegatables. Really, if I'd wanted to eat something which was supposed to simulate meat, I would have eaten meat. The only exceptions are burgers and hot dogs, which are really experiences and not necessarily about the meat flavour.

Re: TVP

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess it depends on your reasons for not eating meat. I LIKE the taste, texture and experience of eating meat - well, some meats, anyway, and so I enjoy supplementing my diet with things that are similar to meat. My reasons for not eating meat have to do with animal cruelty, world hunger, and finding ways to stop the over-use of our environment.

We have a great recipe for sloppy joes, for example, which we use tvp for. And sometimes, pasta sauce is accented by having tvp in it for texture.

One thing I have always preferred (even as a child) is veggie hot dogs, though. I HATE hot dogs. Hate them hate them hate them hate them. Veggie dogs are yummy.

Re: TVP

[bitterlawngnome.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine makes great pasta sauce with TVP - the secret is that he simmers it at barely bubbling for a long time, like an hour or more.

[panaceamatt.livejournal.com]

there are two main problems with soy. one is that it is incredibly difficult to find organic and non GMO soy. the other is that soy proteins are extremely susceptible to ultraviolet radiation. In fact it is predicted that soy will be one of the first staples to become completely useless as a nutrient as the ozone layer depletes.
And many people have huge trouble digesting soy.
In my opinion people's digestive systems have been ruined by two generations of ultrarefined foods and eating in front of the tv.
nobody chews anymore.

[estrojenn.livejournal.com]

it is actually very easy to find non-GMO organic soy. thats all i buy and its everywhere.

[zaftigvegan.livejournal.com]

i agree with everything you said. it's a bean, dammit. how evil can a bean be?

the one thing all these anti-soy claims fail to address is exactly how harmful all the hormones in animal protein are to human bodies. even non-bgh dairy products are loaded with naturally occuring cow hormones designed to make calves grow up big and strong and fast.

soy may have a downside, i am prepared to accept that. but in moderation it simply cannot be as bad for overall health as eating polluted animal proteins.

[fanlain.livejournal.com]

hmm and i don't think eating meat is necessarily bad?

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

No, neither do I - to a point. (In that I do believe that eating free range is a 'better' moral choice than eating animals who were mistreated for life. - I could go on but again, I'm not the preachy kind)

But I don't tell meat-eaters they're doing the wrong thing, even when they are being blatantly unhealthy (like the atkins woman here at work who is overloading on sodium and unhealthy fats by her poor choices), and I don't like it when people try to do the same to me, when I KNOW I'm a healthy, conscientious, careful eater. This post was just about that. Not about meat vs non-meat. :D

[pfloide.livejournal.com]

While it's fine to point out potential problems with soy protein - or anything else - it seems as if people don't sufficiently understand that every food has down-sides and up-sides, and more to the point, nutritional requirements that people have are for a whole range of different substances, often in fairly definite ratios to one another, and in specific concentrations.

Criticizing one food in isolation makes much less sense than evaluating the health-effects of an entire diet. What's more, not everyone is trying to acheive the same effect from their food. Probably nobody wants "This Diet Will Make You Fat And Give You Heart Disease", but maybe "This Will Make You Lose Weight Quickly But Cause Some Health Problems While You're On It" is okay (or maybe not). Likewise eating meat/soy/whatever.

Many criticisms are true, but some people seem to make them in the belief that one fact will make all the difference: "Don't Eat Meat - It's High Fat" or "Soy Causes Head-Explosions" or "Broccoli Is The Vanguard Of An Invading Army From The Planet Mars".

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

Thank you for saying what I've been thinking, only in a much clearer and better defined way. That's exactly it!

Speaking of the vanguard - I'm re-reading The Day of the Triffids right now.

[sinndar.livejournal.com]

I'm assuming you saw some comments in my journal about this subject and it prompted your post. I had never heard that soy had hormones until then. I'm weary of all the hormones they pump into cows, I didn't think I'd have to worry about a bean!! Is there any truth to that? I'll have to research, because I'm doing it not for myself, but my daughter and she has different needs as a growing baby. I can see a benefit to having both soy and dairy in her diet, I guess if I pay extra for the organic hormone-free stuff I can rest a little easier. Not much, but a little. :/ It's quite a delimma really.

[freakykitten.livejournal.com]

Well, it's my understanding that you need to worry about the actual bean as much as you need to worry about other beans. In that some people have legume allergies, and such.

What DOES occur, is that people can eat too MUCH soy. And then the estrogen becomes a problem. But for adults, we are talking about great quantities. Eating a serving or two of soy a day is not a problem. For itty bitty folk like your daughter, I'm not sure of the amounts that are safe.

Unfortunately, I can't quote sources to you right now because I'm at work. But I'm going to take a look when I get home, and I'll let you know what links I find!

[sinndar.livejournal.com]

Okay cool!

And you're right. Common sense would say that eating too much of any one thing probably isn't good.

[estrojenn.livejournal.com]

yeah, i dunno about soy being bad. i do know how good it is for you though. The FDA has recently concluded that daily diets containing 25 grams of soy protein and low saturated fat can decrease cholesterol, which helps in preventing heart disease. Other benefits believed to be found in soy foods are: the prevention of breast, colon, lung, and prostate cancer, osteoporosis, and kidney disease. Soy foods also contain antioxidant compounds, amino acids which can boost the immune system, and phytoestrogen, which provides relief from the effects of menopause.

so yeah. i eat soy and i love it.

[bethie8888.livejournal.com]

I hear what you're saying. I'm quite confused on the soy issue too and, like you, I think I've narrowed it down to *anything* out of moderation is going to be bad for you.