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Correction, New Food Labeling Law
and an Interview with Dr. Kaayla Daniel
on her book, The Whole Soy Story:
The Dark Side of America's Favorite
Health Food
March 23, 2005
1. Correction to March 23, 2005 Action Alert on TN Raw Milk: Mark
McAfee actually spoke in Akron, Ohio Monday and was sponsored by Chapter
Leader Danna Seevers. My aplogoizes to Danna for incorrectly saying
that Mark spoke in Toledo, OH, sponsored by Kris Johnson, rather than
Akron, OH. My apologizes also to Kris for this mistake on my part.
2. New Food Label Law Eagerly Awaited
But those with food allergies may find even more dietary restrictions
with 'plain language' labels
HealthDay News -- New "plain language" food labeling requirements
in the United States, which take effect less than a year from now, will
reduce allergic reactions in people who have potentially life-threatening
food allergies. But there may be another, unintentional result for those
who suffer from food allergies.
If food manufacturers follow the labeling law to the letter, trace
amounts of some heretofore unlisted food allergens will be posted, causing
more diet restriction than ever before.
The impending label changes will also probably reduce consumers' need
to contact food manufacturers and generally make life simpler for the
11 million Americans who suffer from food allergies.
"The labeling law will give us more information, so even a 7-year-old
can read labels," said Anne Munoz-Furlong, co-author of a study
being presented Tuesday at the annual meeting of the American Academy
of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology in San Antonio.
The study was funded by the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN),
the organization that Munoz-Furlong founded.
The new law will require manufacturers to use plain, common language
on the presence of any of the eight major food allergens (milk, egg,
peanut, tree nut, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy). Companies will also
be required to indicate any major food allergens used in spices, flavorings,
additives and colorings, categories which had previously been exempt.
The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act ( FALCPA), passed
by Congress, will take effect in January 2006. The regulation is intended
to make life easier and simpler for people who suffer food allergies,
some of which can be fatal. For these individuals, accurately reading
a label can be a matter of life and death.
One peanut-allergic boy ended up in the emergency room simply because
he came into contact with peanut shells from a man sitting next to him
at Yankee Stadium in New York City. Another man had to have a tracheotomy
after unwittingly eating peanut-butter-laced chili in a Brooklyn restaurant.
"You can be allergic to any food with a protein," said Dr.
Clifford
Basset, clinical assistant professor of medicine at the State University
of New York. "99.9 percent of the time you can't fix it. You have
to avoid the food. You need to be label detectives."
Currently, consumers are often confused by complicated language masking
simple ideas, for example "casein" instead of "milk."
The study authors surveyed 489 individuals who had participated in
conferences sponsored by the FAAN about their experiences with food
labels.
Almost all (99 percent) of respondents said that they
"always/frequently" read food labels before purchasing. The
majority (86 percent) said their brand choice was "very much influenced"
by the labeling. The same percentage said they had contacted manufacturers
for more information about ingredients.
Of those surveyed, 16 percent reported having an allergic reaction
because they misunderstood label terms, while 22 percent said they had
had a reaction because allergens were not included on the label.
One likely downside to the new law will be further narrowing of already
restricted diets for some people. Most studies have indicate that people
with soy allergies run little risk by ingesting soy oil or soy lecithin,
but 40 percent of those surveyed avoid these ingredients anyway.
"If the company follows the law exactly, we may have ingredients
in trace amounts that may unnecessarily limit the diet," Munoz-Furlong
said.
"We need more studies on the threshold levels as science has not
caught up with labeling at this point."
"But this is one minor problem compared to a huge benefit,"
she added.
Also, the law won't change the situation in restaurants. One-third
of survey respondents said they had had a reaction to food served in
or provided by a restaurant. Of those, almost two-thirds (63 percent)
had had a reaction to restaurant food on more than one occasion.
A compound to increase an allergic person's tolerance to peanuts showed
success in clinical trials but has stalled in getting to market. In
the meantime, Munoz-Furlong said, studies are underway with Xolair,
an asthma treatment, to see if it would protect peanut-allergic people
enough so they won't react to trace amounts of the food.
More information
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology
(http://www.aaaai.org/)
For more on food allergies, visit FAAN
(http://www.foodallergy.org/)
Story from REDNOVA NEWS:
http://www.rednova.com/news/display/?id=137557
Published: 2005/03/22 07:05:00 CST(c) Rednova 2004
3. The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food Revealed: Soy
Link to article:
http://www.mercola.com/2005/mar/23/soy.htm
It's ironic that soy has become so accepted as a health food when,
as Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of the groundbreaking book The Whole
Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food (http://www.thewholesoystory.com/index.php),
states, thousands of studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive
distress, immune-system breakdown, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline,
reproductive disorders and infertility--even cancer and heart disease.
This important issue is the premise behind her book, which is really
a powerful exposé that reveals the truth about the soy myths
that have infiltrated our culture.
Comments by Dr. Joe Mercola.
Below Dr. Daniel shares some important soy insights with us in an exclusive
interview.
________________________________________
1. In terms of their effects on people's health, which of the soy food
products on the market would you say are the worst?
The worst by far is soy formula because it's usually the only food
nourishing the developing baby. Soy formula contains phytoestrogens
that can disrupt the baby's thyroid, reproductive development and toxic
levels of manganese that can cause neurological and brain damage associated
with ADD/ADHD and violent tendencies. Babies on soy formula are also
at higher risk for gastrointestinal damage, allergies, asthma, poor
mineral
absorption and lower intelligence. Although most patrons of health food
stores know that it is important to breast feed, those who cannot often
pick soy formula thinking it is the healthy choice. This choice is a
formula for disaster. Contrary to popular belief, soy formula was never
used traditionally in Asia.
For children and adults, the two worst product categories are soy
protein products and soy oil. Unlike in Asia where people eat small
amounts of whole soybean products, western food processors separate
the soybean into two golden commodities--protein and oil. There's nothing
safe or natural about this. Today's high-tech processing methods not
only fail to remove the antinutrients and toxins that are naturally
present in soybeans but leave toxic and carcinogenic residues created
by the high
temperatures, high pressure, alkali and acid baths and petroleum solvents.
The worst of today's soy protein products are soy protein isolate,
soy protein concentrate, texturized vegetable protein and hydrolyzed
vegetable protein. We find these ingredients in everything from shake
powders, energy bars and veggie burgers to canned tuna. The worst soy
oil products are margarines and shortenings made from partially hydrogenated
soybean oil containing dangerous trans fatty acids. Most of the liquid
vegetable oils sold in supermarkets also come from the soybean. To make
these bland enough for public acceptance, the oils are subjected to
heavy refining, deodorizing and light hydrogenation.
The fact that soy protein enjoys an excellent reputation but soy oil
has been disgraced has led to an interesting marketing split among class
lines. Upscale "health conscious" consumers pay dearly for
the supposedly beneficial soy protein products in health food and gourmet
stores.
The masses, meanwhile, get the soy oil in the form of the deadly
hydrogenated oils lurking in nearly every fast food or packaged product--from
crackers, cookies and other baked goods to canned foods, frozen French
fries and TV dinners. However, upscale soy products are trickling down
as the word "soy" becomes associated in the popular mind with
"healthy." Although average Americans still think of a "Fake
Steak" as a "Misteak," they don't seem to mind the fact
that the industry has slipped "invisible" soys into every
supermarket food imaginable.
Provided that the prices are low and flavor and texture remain
familiar, soy is now perceived as a "healthful" additive,
a "plus value." Meanwhile, over in the upper crust neighborhoods,
soy oil has begun feeding off soy protein's healthy reputation and is
starting to pop up in goods sold to the health food crowd, and not all
of it is in the unrefined, cold-pressed "healthy" form.
The product I'm most concerned about, however, is soy milk. Not because
it's the worst product out there, but because some people are drinking
so much of it.
2. How did soy, once a fringe product, end up being thought of as a
"disease-preventive panacea"?
For years, the market for soy foods was limited. Americans not only
loathed the beany taste and gas-producing effects of soy but thought
of soy foods as "hippie foods," "poverty foods"
or specialty foods for vegetarians. That presented a problem to the
industry, which had lots of soy protein left over from soy oil production
and nowhere to sell it. After all, they could only feed so much to animals
before they rolled over with serious health problems. In order to make
a good profit selling soy protein as a "people feed," the
industry needed to make people want to
eat it and to pay well for the privilege.
As a top gun marketer hired by the soy industry explained in 1975,
"The quickest way to gain product acceptability in the less affluent
society is to have the product consumed on its own merit by a more affluent
society." Heightening consumer awareness of "health benefits"
has done the trick. Millions of soy industry dollars have gone into
funding "checkbook" medical research, sponsoring symposia,
establishing FDA health claims and influencing of key dietitians and
journalists. The campaign has led to a lot of soy hype, high hopes and
higher profits.
3. With soy being added to so many U.S. food products (soy protein
isolate, soybean oil, etc.) what advice do you have for consumers who
are looking to avoid soy, but don't know where to start?
It's a real challenge, especially for those with soy allergies. But
it's also an opportunity for us to make optimum food choices. The best--and
maybe the only--way to completely avoid soy in the food supply is to
buy whole foods and prepare them ourselves. For those who prefer to
buy readymade and packaged products, I offer a free Special Report,
"Where the Soys Are," on my Web site. It lists the many "aliases"
that soy might be hiding under in ingredient lists--words like "boullion,"
"natural flavor" and "textured plant protein."
In addition, I'd like to share some good news. Help for the American
consumer comes in January 2006 when the Food Allergen and Labeling and
Consumer Protection Act goes into effect. The law requires food manufacturers
to clearly state whether a product contains any of the top eight allergens--milk,
eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat or soy, and it requires
the FDA to conduct inspections to ensure that manufacturers comply with
practices to reduce or eliminate cross contamination with any major
food allergens that are not intentional ingredients of a food. We have
this new law thanks to the Food Allergy Initiative, a New York-based
non-profit organization.
4. Many Americans are convinced that soy is the "cure-all"
for heart disease, menopause symptoms, high cholesterol and more. What
would you say to this large group of the population who still believe
soy is a health food?
In general, we should be cautious about thinking of any food as a "miracle
food"--especially ones being heavily promoted by the very food
manufacturers who stand to benefit. We hear so many wonderful things
about soy, but people need to remember that the possible benefits are
outweighed by proven risks. Thousands of epidemiological, laboratory
and clinical studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive problems, thyroid
dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders, immune system
breakdown, even heart disease and cancer.
While it is certainly possible that several components of the soybean
might be successfully developed into useful pharmaceutical drugs, it
is inappropriate for the soy industry to recommend that the entire population
of men, women and children self-medicate by eating massive amounts
of soy foods. The public has not been properly warned that soy can have
many side effects, that it is a substance that could be helpful in one
stage of the life cycle but harmful in another and that dietary estrogens
can interact cumulatively or exponentially with environmental estrogens.
5. What was your motivation for writing The Whole Soy Story?
Years ago I was excited about the claims being made for soy. The possibility
that a simple, inexpensive food could prevent heart disease, fight cancer,
fan away hot flashes, and build strong bodies in far more than 12 ways
was seductive. The hype, however, did not match the reality of the many
sick, soy-eaters that I saw in my life. At ashrams, I talked to vegetarians
who waxed enthusiastic about their enlightened diets but who complained
about loss of energy, "brain fog," thinning hair, gray
skin, weight gain and gas.
When I taught classes, I met health-conscious professionals who came
to me confused and frustrated because they had been advised to eat soy
but felt worse than they had ever felt in their lives. As a nutritionist,
I worked with many clients whose health improved dramatically after
removing soy foods from their diets. These observations led me to question
everything I'd ever heard or read about soy and to research the subject
for myself.
6. Which types of soy are acceptable? Aren't some types of fermented
soy (natto, tempeh, miso) healthy?
I personally eat old-fashioned fermented soy products such as miso,
tempeh, natto, shoyu and tamari and believe they can be healthy in the
context of a varied diet. Tofu is a precipitated product and less healthy,
but I still enjoy it occasionally at vegetarian potlucks. Edamame--the
green immature soybeans--contains fewer of the toxins found in the mature
beans and so can be eaten occasionally. People who are not allergic
or sensitized to soy can consume these whole soy products safely at
the levels eaten traditionally in Asia, which is to say in small amounts
as condiments, not staples.
Soy sprouts, by the way, are not healthy. Short-term germination
increases the strength of soy's antinutrient fractions. In contrast,
long-term sprouting plus fermentation will decrease and nearly eliminate
them. Soy sprouts are mentioned in historical accounts as useful, sometime
pharmaceuticals, not as a daily food.
7. You say in The Whole Soy Story that soy has never been proven safe
and can cause irreversible harm to people's health. What are some of
the most serious side effects that can result from this food?
I hesitate to use words like "irreversible" or "incurable."
Adults who have been harmed by soy foods have a good chance of restoring
their health if they remove all soy and other estrogenic foods from
their diets, switch to a varied, organic omnivorous diet and use appropriate
supplements as recommended by a wise doctor, nutritionist or other health
professional. I most often see thyroid damage, infertility, menstrual
problems, loss of sex drive, hair loss and digestive problems.
It's the damage from soy formula that may be irreversible. A crucial
time for the programming of the human reproductive system is right after
birth--the very time when many non-breastfed babies get bottle after
bottle of soy formula. Normally during this period, the baby's body
surges with natural estrogens, testosterone and other hormones needed
to
program the newborn's reproductive system to mature from infancy through
puberty and into adulthood.
For infants on soy formula, the programming may be disturbed or
interrupted. The phytoestrogens in soy formula--the isoflavones--bear
a strong resemblance to the natural estrogens produced by the human
body as well as to the synthetic estrogens found in contraceptive pills.
Strictly speaking, soy estrogens are not hormones but "estrogen
mimickers," but the bottom line is that human body mistakes them
for hormones. Little boys who are estrogenized in this way may experience
delayed or arrested
puberty. Little girls who are overly estrogenized may go through
premature puberty. We have many tragic stories.
8. What was the most shocking piece of information you learned while
writing or researching The Whole Soy Story?
I began my research thinking there would be pros and cons to soy. Instead,
I found overwhelming evidence of harm. I was startled by the sheer number
of buried studies that needed to come to light, by the flagrant misrepresentation
of data and the soy industry's talent for "spinning" unfavorable
results. Right now, the FDA is seriously considering a soy- protein-prevents-cancer
health claim as proposed by the Solae Company. The idea that the FDA
could even consider soy for a cancer health claim
is ludicrous on the face of it.
Soy isoflavones--the plant estrogens in soy most often credited with
cancer prevention--are listed as "carcinogens "in many toxicology
textbooks. They have also been proven to be mutagenic, clastogenic and
teratogenic. Recent studies have even shown that soy accelerates the
growth of breast cancer. Yet Solae stated that there is a "consensus
among experts qualified by scientific training and experience"
that "soy protein products reduce the risk of certain cancers."
This is so shockingly
untrue that I joined Sally Fallon and Bill Sanda of the Weston A. Price
Foundation to file two protest documents with the FDA. The FDA has delayed
its decision and we will meet with them this spring.
9. For those who currently include soy as a major protein in their
diet, what foods would you suggest they use to replace the soy?
I strongly recommend a varied, omnivorous diet such as found in
Nourishing Traditions and Eat Fat/Lose Fat by Sally Fallon and Mary
Enig, and in Dr. Mercola's books and Web site. If people wish to remain
vegetarians, I would recommend clean, raw, whole dairy products and
eggs from free-range hens. Those who rely on nuts and beans for protein
should be sure to soak them to deactivate phytates and other antinutrients
and to make them more digestible an assimilable.
10. Do you have plans to write another book?
I am working on Whole Soy Stories, a sequel that will include
true soy stories and the steps taken by men, women and children who
have successfully recovered from the health problems caused by soy.
I want to hear from the public and also from doctors and other health
practitioners who are developing--or have developed--protocols for clients
suffering from soy-induced thyroid disease, infertility, cognitive decline,
cancer or other health problems. Please share your stories or purchase
the
book at http://www.thewholesoystory.com/index.php.
________________________________________
Related Articles:
Soy Myth Exposed: Soy is Not a Health Food
(http://www.mercola.com/2005/feb/26/soy_myths.htm)
Why Soy Can Damage Your Health
(http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/index.htm)
Soy-Bean Crisis
(http://www.mercola.com/2000/oct/8/soy_crisis.htm)
Soy Formula May Stunt the Intestinal Growth in Your Baby
(http://www.mercola.com/2005/jan/12/soy_formula.htm)
Soy Sales Slow for First Time Since 2001
(http://www.mercola.com/2005/mar/16/soy_sales.htm)
Soy: Is it Healthy or is it Harmful?
(http://www.mercola.com/2004/jan/21/soy.htm)
________________________________________
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and sign up for the free twice weekly Mercola e-newsletter today at
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