Don’t hate me because I’m Tofu-tiful

Shawn Costanzo thinks eating tofu is like eating wet styrofoam....it tastes like nothing!

That was my friend’s facebook status today which has inspired me to write my blog entry on the misunderstood Soybean and its by-products.

Soy and its by-products have gotten a lot of attention in the media over the past few years, positive and negative. It’s been stated that soy has the potential to lower the risk of breast cancer and heart disease. On the flip side it has also been suggested that soy plays havoc with your body causing problems such as hypothyroidism, reproductive disorders and even Cancer.

Consider this?
Animal studies are at the very foundation of many of the accusations against soy. But animals are not the same as humans, so foods that affect them in one way may well affect us differently. Even those that seem quite closely related, often function quite differently at a molecular level.

Source: What about Soy? John Robbins: http://www.foodrevolution.org/what_about_soy.htm

Soybeans have been used for many years, by Asian cultures, as a high quality plant-protein source that has numerous health benefits. But of course, modern agricultural and food industry methods had to step in and screw with nature! These mafiaoza’s of the food industry have created more and more processed, refined, chemically altered, convenience products that do contain soy but in an extremely altered state containing almost none of the original ancient health benefits.

Yay or Nay?
Like with anything you ingest, whether you include soy and its by-products in your diet is your choice. If you are including soy in your diet or would like to, consider these tips before your next shopping trip.

1. Choose organic – Soy harvests are heavily sprayed with pesticides, herbicides and other nasty chemicals. Soy is also the MOST Genetically modified crop thanks to the food industry mafiaoza’s. Don’t mess with nature, buy organic if you can.
2. Moderation - Even too much of a good thing, like Soy, is still too much. Like anything you eat, don’t eat it every day. By rotating your foods it will help your body ward off food sensitivities.
3. Good Quality products - Do you wear cheap, poorly made shoes on your feet? Probably not. So why would you buy cheaply made food only to have negative effects to your precious body. My favourite inexpensive high-quality Organic Tofu: http://www.solcuisine.com/products/sol_tofu.html

My Top 5 Soy products:
Tofu - has a bland taste and like my friend Shawn said, “tofu is like eating wet styrofoam”. True, true if it’s not cooked properly. The key to cooking tofu is to add lots of flavour that way the tofu, like a sponge, soaks up all the delicious flavours. Pick-up Alicia Silverstone’s book; The Kind Diet and try “Black Soybean and Kabocha Squash Stew.”

Miso - is a paste made from cooked soybeans that are fermented with rice or other grains like brown rice. Most commonly known as a base for soup, Miso Soup.

Tempeh - is a fermented soybean cake with a nutty and mushroom-like flavor that is high in protein and fiber. The Big Carrot makes a killer Tempeh Chili.

Edamame - You’ve seen these little green pods before at a Japanese restaurant. Traditionally served before the main meal with some miso soup. Fresh edamame is quite difficult to find unless you are in an Asian market. The frozen edamame are second best and you can find them in almost every major grocery store or your local health food store in the frozen food section.

Soy ice creams - I love Tofutti’s! However, Tofutti and similar soy ice cream bars are not the healthiest of choices. But everything in moderation, right? Right! It’s difficult not to eat a whole box in one night (been there, done that) but these little cutie's, when highly consumed, are not so cute for your hips or your insides.

Brownie points for Soy:

• Soy contains, Isoflavones which prevent the growth of estrogen-dependent breast cancer cells.
• Isoflavones can also slow prostate cancer cells from growing.
• Studies have shown that Soy lowers LDL (the bad) cholesterol levels by as much as 14% and increase the HDL (the good) cholesterol levels by as much as 8%
• Eating soy helps to replace animal products, which are loaded with saturated fats and cholesterol.

Sources
What about Soy? John Robbins: http://www.foodrevolution.org/what_about_soy.htm
CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/food-supply/soy.html
CNN: http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/diet.fitness/06/23/soy.danger.wmd/index.html