Soy is one product we Americans do not need to seek out. We are getting soy just about everytime we reach for packaged food. Soy is in many breads, crackers, power bars, pancake and stuffing mixes, cereals, gravy mixes, cookies, salad dressings, soups, protein shake mixes, baby formula and more. Do you see what I mean? We are getting soy without trying.

Although it is difficult to avoid, there are many reasons to try to stay away from soy, especially if it is not fermented. Ninety percent of the soy we eat has been genetically modified. It also has one of the highest pesticide contamination levels of any food. Soy is a phytoestrogen, which means, like the plastics we talked about last week, it too is causing our bodies to produce estrogen. An experiment at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania noted that rats on a soy diet had early onset of puberty and many new studies raise the question of a relationship between soy and breast cancer in some women. Soy contains digestive inhibitors and has been linked to thyroid problems, especially in babies (like one of mine) who received soy infant formula. It also may block the absorbtion of certain minerals like: magnesium, calcium, iron and zinc. People who live in countries where soy intake is high tend to have lower levels of these minerals.

Soy has been advertised by its manufacturers as a healthy food. Some even call it a super food. At the least, we are getting plenty of it in the American diet and do not need to seek out more in the forms of soy milk and tofu. At best, we may want to start reading labels and avoiding foods with high levels of soy.