Is soy fattening up Americans? Or the answer for weight loss?
As Americans get fatter and fatter, that’s an important question. Not surprisingly, the soy industry has been stepping up its efforts to promote soy as the ticket to weight loss. In school cafeterias soy is presented as the “healthy” meat and dairy alternative that can prevent childhood obesity. In health food stores and supermarkets, it’s promoted as a “miracle food” that can prevent heart disease, cancer, bone loss, menopausal symptoms and weight gain. Soy ingredients also predominate in the shakes, bars and other products that serve a growing weight loss market that has rocketed from $55 billion in 2006 to $66 billion today.
It’s a lucrative market. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported 69.2 percent of adults over the age of 20 to be overweight, with 35.9 percent of them obese. In Europe the International Association for the Study of Obesity reported 53.1 percent of the population overweight, with 17.2 percent obese. And as the American way of eating spreads around the world, fattening will follow, opening up even more future markets.
Clearly the soy industry has reason to perceive vast potential for profit. Accordingly, it has not only funded research on soy and weight loss but held conferences to present favorable findings to food industry representatives, health-care professionals, dietitians and university scientists. These events have been sponsored by the Illinois Center of Soy Foods, the National Soybean Research laboratory and many other pro soy organizations, and their carefully orchestrated headlines have been widely reported in the media.
The latest effort comes from soy giant Solae, which recently teamed up with the British Obesity Society to run a survey in which nutritionists will be asked to weigh in on the role of protein in the diet and on weight management. The researchers don’t seem to be interested in just any protein, however, but only in soy. As Dr. Marcus Stephen, formerly CEO of the British Obesity Society, put it, “The British Obesity Society is really excited to be partnering with Solae on this soy perception survey. We have worked hard together to establish an effective survey that will produce some interesting and useful insights. We look forward to the findings and working with Solae to produce the report that will inform and educate on the consumption of soy as part of weight management and a healthy diet.”
David Welsby, a science fellow at Solae added, “Solae has worked in close collaboration with the British Obesity Society to create a survey that helps identify where more work needs to be done to educate nutritionists and the public on the benefits of consuming soy as a source of protein, specifically focusing on the value of consuming soy as a source of protein, specifically focusing on the value of consuming soy protein as part of a weight management programme and achieving a healthy diet.”
Can’t wait to weigh in on this one when it comes out!
In the meantime, it’s fair to say that when the soy industry trumpets its products for weight management, it’s speaking out of two sides of its mouth. Which side is messaging, of course, depends on who’s meant to be listening. For people, soy products are promoted as high-protein, low-fat and perfect for weight loss. For factory farmers, soy-based animal feeds are just the thing to fatten fish, poultry and animals quickly and profitably for market. Can we have it both ways? Only with the power of public relations, the corruption of scientific research and the collusion of the many government and non profit organizations canoodling with Big Soy.
The truth is soy protein is fattening despite its reputation as a low-carb, low-fat, low-glycemic index, high protein ingredient. More than seventy years of studies document adverse effects on the thyroid, most often manifesting as hypothyroidism with its familiar symptoms of weight gain, fatigue, lethargy and malaise. Sadly, the cause and effect is not always clear cut. In some individuals the hypothyroidism develops so gradually that soy does not take the blame. In others, soy stimulates the thyroid, initially contributing to hyperthyroidism with increased metabolism, energy and weight loss. This, of course, explains why some short term studies show weight loss. While some overweight individuals might perceive this as a good thing, the such stress on the thyroid, leads all too soon to glandular exhaustion and long-term hypothyroidism.
Soy’s anti thyroid effect also comes from estrogenization through the phytoestrogens known as isoflavones. Although not identical to human estrogens, they are close enough to confuse the body and interfere with the production and utilization of all hormones. Weight gain is a common result of endocrine disruption and the confounding of the body’s regulation of fat storage and fat burning,
Soy, of course, is not the only devil in weight loss products. Jenny Craig, NutriSystem, MediFast, Merbalife, and other diet delivery plans all offer processed and packaged products with long lists of dubious ingredients, including the excitotoxins MSG and aspartame, both of which are associated with weight gain. Add in wheat gluten, milk protein isolate, high fructose corn syrup, fiber and a host of artificial colorings, flavorings and texturizers and it’s clear soy protein isolate, textured vegetable protein, and other soy ingredients are not even the worst ingredients. If and when such products contribute to weight loss, the two most likely reasons are reduced food absorption and gastrointestinal disturbances, leading over time to malnutrition and health challenges. To repurpose a quote from coach Vince Lombardi, “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.”
SOURCES
U.S. Weight Loss Market Forecast To Hit $66 Billion in 2013
Growth To Improve Due To Pent-up Demand, Finds Marketdata Enterprises
(PRWEB) December 31, 2012 http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/12/prweb10278281.htm
Centers for Disease Control, Health United States, 2012Health, United States, 2012, table 63 [PDF –
IASO: Overweight and Obesity in the EU27. International Association for the Study of Obesity, July 2008. http://www.iaso.org/site_media/uploads/v2PDFforwebsiteEU27.pdf
British Obesity Society and Solae survey UK nutritionists about protein.
Daniel, Kaayla. The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food (New Trends, 2005).
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This article really hits the soy problem on the head. It is insidious in that the exposure to soy also extends to livestock such as soy fed chickens and their eggs along with soy fed pork and soy fed farm raised fish. I have to cut all of that *stuff* out entirely and focus on eating nutrient dense protein sources of foods that are relatively free of soy such as beef liver, oysters, clams, wild caught sardines, and gelatin. I’ve always liked the Weston A. Price approach as Paleo goes to far in the elimination of properly prepared gluten-free grains and legumes, as well as the elimination of potatoes. These foods and their resistant starch are necessary for the healing of a damaged gut, along with a broad range of Probiotics including soil-based microorganisms. For myself, the real heath disasters masquerading as healthy foods are wheat, a1 casein (an inflammatory mutated milk protein from Holstein Cow dairy), toxic vegetable oils such as canola and cottonseed oils, and soy.
While I do not agree with the anti-gluten-free-grain stance on the Wheat Belly blog, I did post the following and I feel that this is an important piece of information for the Weston A. Price nutritional approach with regards to a1 casein and the its rather nasty food opiate casomorphin. For myself, I have found that it is much worse than the food opiate, gulteomorphin, in wheat.
This is what I posted:
This has been a hard one for me to figure out because I would get gas/bloating and other unpleasant symptoms from sharp cheddar cheese and none from goat milk cheddar cheese. I also went through four weeks of opiate related withdrawal symptoms from the casomorphin[e] when I gave up the Holstein cow dairy (with the exception of grass-fed butter and clarified butter).
This article is titled “You are Drinking the Wrong Kind of Milk” and elaborates on the differences between a1 casein and a2 casein:
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/a1-milk-a2-milk-america
And this:
For myself, I have found that both the wheat and the a1 casein (from the Holstein black-and-white cow dairy) were making me sick.
Here is a good article to read that really hits home with the problems associated with wheat and casein (along with soy and corn):
http://www.freshlife.com/content/have-you-sprung-a-leak-the-impact-of-leaky-gut-syndrome
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In hindsight, I have found that corn is not an issue for me as long as it non-GMO (not genetically modified), and/or properly prepared in the form of non-GMO lime-treated masa harina.
Where are your sources to back up your claims in this article? Do not simply reference your book. Please provide sources for the following claims:
“More than seventy years of studies document adverse effects on the thyroid, most often manifesting as hypothyroidism with its familiar symptoms of weight gain, fatigue, lethargy and malaise.” Evidence?
“Soy’s anti thyroid effect also comes from estrogenization through the phytoestrogens known as isoflavones.” Evidence?
“Although not identical to human estrogens, they are close enough to confuse the body and interfere with the production and utilization of all hormones.” Evidence?
My daughter could’ nt handle cow’s formula as a baby, so Dr. Switched 2 soy. She had gerd @ the tender age of 5, , somewhere along the line I read that 1 (8 oz ) glass of soy milk =5 birth control pills! She went thru puberty @ age 8!!! She’s morbidly obese @22, has’bhas’nt had soy in years!!
My daughter couldn’t handle cows milk as a baby, so Dr. Changed formula 2 soy. Then I read that 1 glass ( 8 oz) of soy formula=”5 birth control pills! @ 22, she’s ” morbidly obese”, the dr’s tout soy as the super food, @ she has’nhas’ nt taken soy in years!!! I have her on a green organic green diet and it works
Ten years later and we have seen doctors and scientists shunned and discredited for speaking out against soy. Why? Clearly something is changing our bodies? Everyone is screaming obesity but no one is actually finding the root cause. Medicine is not a solution. Privately doctors will tell you to avoid soy but they can’t publish it for the population to receive a fix without pharma. No money in that. And nobody will ever support banning soy because it would bankrupt nearly all food companies that rely on soy based ingredients. No I don’t need to support my statements with articles from discredited individuals nor can I complete with an industry that payrolls it’s doctors and scientists. Just remember: If an organization supports and funds it’s on products testing without any publications on adverse reactions or states “inconclusive” results on a product in 90% of packaged foods then…………
………oh snap, I’ve been silenced due to the adverse reactions to the money being made from making people sick. You people are silly….. follow the money, find the answers.