Micah Stanley
Actually, soybean is a very nutrient-rich food. It provides high-quality protein and numerous vital substances. Nevertheless, soy products are repeatedly criticized. So is soy healthy or harmful? We look at the arguments of the soy critics and explain what you should pay attention to so that the consumption of soy products remains completely safe.
Soy can be healthy and harmful
To get straight to the point: Soy – like almost every food – can be healthy and harmful, depending on the amount consumed. Below we go through the arguments/claims of the soy critics and comment on them.
Soy: Not a natural food for humans
Claim: Soy is not a natural food for humans and should therefore not be consumed.
That depends on your perspective and the definition of “natural food”. In any case, milk is far more clearly not a natural food for humans than soy, as it is the natural baby food for the calf, lamb, or kid.
Even an ordinary bread roll made from Type 405 wheat flour is not exactly a natural foodstuff for humans. Apart from the fact that grain has only been part of human nutrition for a few millennia, today’s wheat is a variety that has been heavily overbred for many decades and would never exist in nature in this form.
The grain is now not only harvested and ground with rather unnatural machines but also – in order to produce the white flour – mechanically separated into its components. This flour is now – again with the help of a wide variety of technical means and equipment – processed into a roll or bread. So there can be no question of nature here. The situation is similar in the production of sausage or cheese.
Soy protein is not a complete protein
Claim: Soy protein contains only a small amount of the essential (vital) amino acids methionine and cystine. In addition, modern processing denatures fragile lysine (another amino acid).
Of course, a food protein does not have to be complete. So it doesn’t have to contain all the amino acids in the right ratio and in the required amount – not because you don’t live from one food alone, but from many very different foods. In this way, the individual amino acid profiles complement each other. If one food contains a little less of certain amino acid, the other food has a little more of it, and vice versa. The complementary foods do not even have to be consumed in one and the same meal.
Apart from that, this accusation is surprising, since soy products contain the same proportions of the amino acids methionine and cysteine as cow’s milk products or meat, as the following examples show. For orientation, we list the value of lysine, another essential amino acid (each in mg/100 g):
- Example tofu: lysine 789, methionine 205, cysteine 126
- Examples of full-fat cow’s milk yogurt: lysine 234, methionine 79, cysteine 30
- Example of beef cooked medium-fat: lysine 2406, methionine 690, cysteine 303
Note: The cystine content is usually not given in nutritional tables, since this amino acid can be produced very easily from the amino acid cysteine. Cystine is therefore not one of the essential amino acids, as the soy opponents claim above.
Let’s get to lysine: Whatever is meant by “modern processing”, the amino acid lysine is only denatured at high temperatures and preferably with dry heating, as it is e.g. B. would result in a piece of meat on the grill. However, in the production of tofu, edamame, or soy milk, where it is neither dry nor at higher temperatures than with normal cooking in everyone’s kitchen, the lysine is largely retained – which can also be found in any nutritional table.
It is possible that reference is made here to textured soy products (soy granules, soy shreds) and to soy protein isolates, for which other (more intensive) production methods are used.
Unfermented soy products are harmful
Claim: Unfermented soy products are indigestible and worthless to the point of being harmful.
Unfermented soy products can also be digested wonderfully. So they are neither indigestible nor worthless, which we will also see below in the topic of enzyme inhibitors, phytic acid, etc. They are not harmful either – as we will also see below.
Many fermented products made from soy are also often heavily salted (miso, soy sauce), are used in small quantities as a spice, and are therefore not really relevant, since it is more about soy products that are used as food, i.e. to supply e.g. Macronutrients (proteins) are used.
In the meantime, however, there are also fermented tofu and fermented tofu cream made with cream cheese. However, since unfermented tofu is easy to digest and generally does not cause digestive problems, it is difficult to judge whether you should only use fermented tofu from now on. You can of course do this if you want to, but it is by no means necessary from a health point of view.
However, since the critics of soy keep citing a particular study as proof that soy products are indigestible, their opinion is understandable. This study took place sometime in the middle of the 20th century and is probably described in this book, as stated by Kaayla T. Daniel in the anti-soy book Soya – The Whole Truth (p. 192). Unfortunately, we couldn’t find it online in any other form). In any case, Ms. Daniel describes the study as follows:
Malnourished preschool children in Central America were fed a diet made from local foods. After that, for two weeks they were only given a drink made from soy protein isolate and sugar – whether instead of their usual protein sources or as sole food is unfortunately not entirely clear from Ms. Daniel’s explanations. Apparently, some of the children were not doing well at all. They suffered from vomiting, diarrhea, and skin rashes. But that’s not surprising, since neither soy protein isolate nor sugar is healthy food to give to children. Why not just give them a piece of deliciously prepared tofu with their usual diet of vegetables, fruits, and rice?
Anyone who eats soy supports genetic engineering
Claim: Ninety percent of the world’s soybean harvest is genetically modified by Monsanto & Co. Anyone who eats soy, therefore, supports genetic engineering.
Genetically modified soy is of course not recommended. When it comes to tofu & Co, however, GM soy is of very little interest. After all, products made from soy that are on the market in the form of soy milk, tofu, edamame, soy yogurt, tempeh, etc. are – at least in the EU – not even made in conventional quality from genetically modified soy.
GM soy, on the other hand, is eaten indirectly by meat and sausage eaters who buy their food of conventional quality. Because a large part of the genetically modified soybeans from overseas ends up as an animal feed in factory farming in the industrialized nations and thus also in Germany and other EU countries and thus on the plates of meat eaters and egg consumers.
Only a minimal part of the soy harvest is used for tofu and soy drink (approx. 7 percent), some sources speak of only 2 percent, others of less than 10 percent). Those who also value a healthy diet also buy organically grown soy. High-quality manufacturers use organically produced soy from Europe (Germany, Austria). In this way, possible contamination with GM soy can be avoided as best as possible. Efforts are now being made to use European non-GMO soy even for animal feed.
Eating soy encourages deforestation
Claim: Eating soy promotes deforestation in South America.
As already explained under point 4, only fractions of the soybean harvest are processed directly into food. The large remainder of the soybean harvest is used for animal feed and soybean oil. The latter is used as edible oil, particularly in US households. Soybean oil is also popular for making margarine. But it is also used in industry and for the production of biodiesel.
Consequently, it is nonsensical to blame people who occasionally eat a piece of tofu or drink a glass of soy milk or any other product made from soy for the megalomania of the soy industry. So it is not the vegans who contribute to the clearing of rainforest areas for soy or to the fact that small farmers and artisanal businesses have to close down to make way for the large soy companies.
Rather, it is those who regularly consume conventionally produced meat products or soybean oil, or margarine made from them. As is well known, the production of one kilogram of meat requires a multiple of feed, so those who eat the soy product directly need much less soy than those who eat animal products.
And as mentioned above, there have long been farmers in Germany and Austria who grow soy, so consumers who shop consciously can easily find tofu that has never seen South America, let alone the rainforest.
Soy is the trigger of allergies
Claim: Soy is an aggressive allergen and triggers allergies.
It is nothing special about food that some people react to it with allergies. The strongest “food allergens” include milk, peanuts, eggs, fish, and seafood. Gluten is also included, as well as celery, nuts, and soy.
In a 2011 study, researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (New York) explained that between 2 to 3 percent of the young children studied were allergic to milk, while only 1.2 percent were allergic to soy. However, 1.2 percent is related to children with allergies. In children who have no other allergies, soy allergy occurs in only about 0.7 percent. Among children fed soy formula as babies, only 0.4 percent were allergic to soy.
3.2 percent of the children are allergic to eggs and 1.9 percent to peanuts. So the fact that some people are allergic to a food is not an argument that the food in question is unsuitable or even unhealthy for everyone else.
People with birch pollen allergy sometimes develop a cross-allergy to soy. But here, too, soy is not the only food to which a cross-allergy can develop. Other foods that could be problematic for tree pollen allergy sufferers are Various nuts (hazelnuts, cashew nuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts), almonds, some fruits (apple, pear, plum, apricot, peach, nectarine, cherry, kiwi), some herbs and spices (anise, coriander, parsley, basil, dill, cumin, oregano, chili) and also some vegetables (tomato, celery, carrot, fennel).
Asians eat very little soy
Claim: In Asia, people eat very little soy.
Opinions are obviously divided here because a study published in 2009 states that 6 – 11 g of soy protein or 25 to 50 mg of soy isoflavones are consumed there per day. Here you will find a clear table with the isoflavone content of various soy products. Example: 40 mg soy isoflavones are located e.g. B. in 100 g regular tofu and 200 ml soy milk.
Soy damages the thyroid
Claim: Soy contains so-called goitrogens. These are substances that damage the thyroid gland, causing an underactive thyroid gland, and can lead to thyroid cancer.
Goitrogens (= goiter-forming substances) are extremely health-promoting secondary plant substances. In the case of soy, they are also called isoflavones.
Soy causes the blood to clot
Claim: Soy contains hemagglutinin, a substance that causes red blood cells to clump together, promotes blood clots, and promotes thrombosis and embolism, as well as lectins that are said to have the same effect.
Soy contains lectins. Hemagglutinin is one such lectin. So these are not two different substances. Lectins are largely neutralized during soaking and subsequent cooking and thus also during the production of tofu, soy milk, and similar soy products.
If some lectins remain, that is not a problem. On the contrary: There is enough evidence that these phytochemicals have health benefits, e.g. B. has a beneficial effect on the intestine and protects against cancer. Lectins could be dangerous if you were to eat raw beans, but nobody does this anymore because it is known that raw beans are intolerant to toxic.
Oxalic acid in soy is bad for calcium balance
Claim: Soy contains oxalates/ oxalic acid: They prevent the body from absorbing calcium from food and promote the formation of kidney stones and osteoporosis (brittle bones).
Like many other foods, soy undoubtedly contains oxalic acid. Depending on the variety, the amount of oxalic acid in tofu is lower than in coffee and potatoes, and also lower than in beets, sweet potatoes, chard, spinach, wheat bran, and many other foods. An oxalic acid table can be found here: oxalic acid table
The fact that oxalic acid in soy products is not a problem for the bones is known from numerous studies that show that soy products tend to strengthen the bones and protect against osteoporosis. We have already explained here that it is not so much oxalic acid that leads to kidney stones, but rather other factors.
Phytates/phytic acid in soy inhibit mineral absorption
Claim: Soy contains phytates/ phytic acid: These plant substances prevent the absorption and utilization of minerals, such as e.g. B. iron, calcium, copper, magnesium, zinc, and others. and thus indirectly lead to anemia (low blood count), infertility, osteoporosis, and immune deficiency.
Phytic acid has – just like the above Lectins – positive properties on health. For example, phytic acid has an antioxidant, anti-cancer effect, and – what a surprise! – bone strengthening. For example, a 2013 study showed that the higher the phytic acid intake in women, the stronger their bones. This doesn’t mean that you should start consuming huge amounts of phytic acid right away, just that you don’t need to worry about the normal levels of phytic acid in your diet.
Phytic acid is also found in raw soybeans in smaller amounts than e.g. B. in flaxseed and in similar amounts. B. in peanuts. But no one eats raw soybeans.
The amount of phytic acid is already reduced by soaking the soybeans before they are processed into soymilk and tofu so that tofu or tempeh only have part of the phytic acid content they used to have. The remaining quantities then lead to the above positive qualities.
However, phytic acid is harmful if it is isolated and ingested in excessively high doses – as poor test animals had to do. Therefore, the critics of soy then also admit that it is only with “high phytate diets” e.g. B. growth problems in children. This is the case when children in poor countries e.g. B. only have to live on millet porridge. However, the question arises here as to whether they were not much more likely to have growth problems due to other causes, e.g. B. because they simply had too little to eat.
Digestion is inhibited by soy
Claim: Soy contains protease and trypsin inhibitors: they inhibit the function of protein-digesting enzymes (proteases and trypsin). Therefore, the protein from soy is also considered difficult to digest.
The enzyme inhibitors (certain proteins) contain lead – it is said – to gastric dysfunction, putrefaction, and toxins in the intestine, chronic poisoning of the blood and lymph, and overloading of the pancreas with diabetes and cancer as possible consequences.
Here, too, only animal experiments are available as evidence, which excessively high dosages were carried out.
Some people actually do not tolerate products made from soy. Most of them, however, feel fantastic with soy milk & co. Many people who got digestive problems from dairy products have even successfully switched to soy products and are only now enjoying good health. Therefore, side effects in the form of digestive problems are almost never reported in clinical studies with products made from soy.
This is because enzyme inhibitors are also largely neutralized when heated. In addition, since the health status of populations (vegetarians, Asians) that eat a lot of those foods that have particularly high levels of enzyme inhibitors (cereals, legumes, nuts) and that are among the healthiest in the world can be observed for centuries, there is no reason to worry about these substances.
On the contrary, it is now said that enzyme inhibitors, such as those found in food, do not have an anti-nutritional effect (do not negatively affect digestion), but instead have an antioxidant and anti-cancer effect.
Apart from that, in an average diet, about a third of the enzyme inhibitors consumed daily should come from animal foods. So these are not typical plant substances.
Saponins in soy damage the intestinal mucosa
Claim: Soy contains saponins: They disrupt, impede or block the digestion of fat and damage the intestinal mucosa (with chronic poisoning of the blood and lymph as well as intestinal cancer as a result); deadly under certain circumstances.
Do you now also think that these allegations seem somehow far-fetched? After all, how many deaths have the media reported as a result of tofu consumption in recent years?
Of course, saponins could also work in the manner described, namely if saponins in isolated form and in high doses were given to laboratory animals or if raw soybeans were eaten. But how many people die from a glass of soy milk?
Saponins are phytochemicals found in many plant-based foods and, like almost all plant compounds, have health benefits in commonly consumed amounts.
For example, saponins have a cancer-protective effect, help you lose weight, have an antioxidant effect, and also have a positive effect on blood sugar levels – to name just a few of the positive properties. However, since there are many foods and plants that contain saponins, the studies linked do not relate exclusively to saponins from soybeans.
Dangerous manufacturing processes for products made from soy
Claim: The modern, industrially obtained products from soy contain production-related carcinogens (carcinogenic substances, e.g. hexane, nitrosamines, and lysinoalanine) and other harmful substances, e.g. B. the flavor enhancer glutamate, which damages the nerves.
It is possible that the chemicals mentioned are contained in US soy products or could be produced or used in the production of TVP (textured soy protein, e.g. soy shreds and soy granules). However, these substances are not present in tofu, soy milk, soy cream, soy yogurt, etc.
And as if one really had to mention every substance that has ever been associated with a harmful effect, glutamate is of course not missing either. As in many other finished products, this could be contained in conventional tofu sausage, tofu slices, or similar. However, organic tofu products do not contain any flavor enhancers in the form of monosodium glutamate or similar compounds – and even if they were, anyone could unmask it on the list of ingredients and leave the corresponding product on the supermarket shelf.
However, even some supermarket chains (e.g. Rewe) advertise that they do not use glutamate for some or all of their products, so glutamate in soy or meat substitute products is not even commonplace in conventional retail.
Only soy sauce contains glutamate, which is not added but occurs naturally as a result of the months of fermentation and maturing process. That’s why soy sauce tastes so extremely spicy. It is certainly easy to understand that neither tofu nor soy drink or soy yogurt contains glutamate. Finally, people are more likely to complain that tofu doesn’t taste like anything, which wouldn’t be the case if it contained glutamate.
Soy contains aluminum
Claim: Soy contains aluminum, one of the main causes of Alzheimer’s. Studies show a more than threefold increase in the rate of Alzheimer’s and other dementia diseases with regular consumption of soy. For example, a study of Japanese men in Hawaii found that eating just two servings of tofu per week significantly promotes the development of dementia.
First of all, the wording here is misleading. Because the two portions of tofu did not promote the development of dementia. It was only observed that those men who ate tofu twice a week had a higher risk of dementia. So there is no question of causality.
We reviewed the study and found that the study design did not take into account, for example, the vitamin B12 levels of the participants. However, B12 deficiency can also increase the risk of dementia – and it is conceivable that people who eat tofu frequently are vegan and – since it was not known at the time – did not supplement vitamin B12. The study dates back to 2000. However, more recent studies show that soy isoflavones either improve brain function or simply don’t affect it.
Aluminum content in soy
Claim: The aluminum content in soy-based infant formula is 10 times higher than in cow’s milk-based formula and 100 times higher than in unprocessed cow’s milk. The levels are much higher when the soy products are dehydrated
Babies should not be given any soy-based or cow’s milk-based formula. Babies should get their mother’s milk – nothing else. It’s totally understandable for infants to get sick on a soy-only formula. They would get just as sick if they were given nothing but peas or eggs or cheese or bread. The aluminum certainly has only the smallest part in the problem.
Apart from that, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment found 2.35 mg of aluminum per kilogram in soy baby food during food monitoring from 2000 to 2012, which is even less than in wheat flour (type 405).
In z. Soy milk, for example, contained 0.65 mg of aluminum per kilogram, almost as little as 0.5 mg in creamy yogurt. Other foods such as fish, seafood, grains, and many vegetables provided significantly more aluminum than soy products.
To give you an idea of really high values: Cocoa is an aluminum-rich food with about 100 mg per kilogram. But you don’t eat cocoa by 100 grams. Cocoa also has so many wonderful health properties that one can assume that all its other substances compensate for any possible harmful effects of aluminum.
In addition, aluminum is stored in the body in particular when the person in question is not well supplied with minerals (magnesium) and trace elements (silicon), as we have already explained here: Eliminate aluminum, so that you can do a lot to prevent it to forestall aluminum pollution.
Soy isoflavones are used as insecticides
Claim: Soy isoflavones are components of insecticides used in commercial soy cultivation.
This is nothing special because the task of many secondary plant substances is to protect the plant from insects. These substances include many more (e.g. phenolic acids, glucosinolates, etc.), which are indigestible for insects but are extremely healthy for humans in the doses (!) contained in food.
Soy products contain vitamin B12 analogs
Claim: Products made from soy contain vitamin B12 analogs and therefore increase the need for vitamin B12.
Analogs are non-bioavailable forms of vitamin B12 that attach to vitamin B12 receptors without acting like vitamin B12 there.
However, soybean does not contain any vitamin B12 analogs, just like other legumes. It is possible that one means fermented soy products and assumes that they contain a certain amount of vitamin B12 analogs. But even people who regularly eat fermented soy products are no more likely to suffer from B12 deficiency than people who never eat soy.
Interesting on this subject, a 2010 Korean study wanted to know what might be the secret of Korean centenarians to their longevity. The traditional Korean diet of these old people is a predominantly vegetarian diet.
However, they were not found to be vitamin B12 deficient more often than is the case in western nations, where many animal products and therefore vitamin B12 are consumed (but rarely live to be 100 years old).
The researchers concluded that there must be sources of vitamin B12 in Korean cuisine that are not yet known and suspect that they could be fermented soy products (Doenjang and Chunggukjang) and algae. The latter is also repeatedly accused of only containing analogs.
Thus, neither fermented soy products nor algae could prevent the centenarians studied from living to 100 years, which would have been difficult to do with a vitamin B12 deficiency.
Vitamin D is absent from soy
Claim: Soy does not contain vitamin D, which is needed for normal growth and strong bones.
Soy can cause deficiencies in calcium and vitamin D, both of which are needed for healthy bones, some anti-soy sites say.
Maybe it’s this study you’re referring to? It dates from 1946 and is certainly not relevant since it was carried out with a whopping two participants.
In it, phytic acid is mentioned again as an anti-nutritional substance (which inhibits the absorption of vital substances). However, as we have already seen under 10., phytic acid cannot inhibit calcium absorption to such an extent that calcium supply problems, let alone weak bones, could occur.
As far as vitamin D is concerned, soy products – like most vegetable products – are naturally free of vitamin D (exception: of mushrooms). So the soy critics say that simply by not eating – we quote – “seafood, lard, and offal” one suffers a vitamin D deficiency. Because only these are the ones that protect against osteoporosis in Asian countries.
Well, according to most plant-based foods, lard provides exactly 0 µg of vitamin D. This is not just any table, but the values of the federal food code, which are always used as reference values for scientific studies. With the US authorities, you will find no value at all.
Even fresh beef liver provides only 1 µg of vitamin D per 100 g. Calf’s liver even less. The requirement is at least 5 µg (officially). Even with the foods recommended by soy critics, it is not very easy to cover the vitamin D requirement through diet.
However, vitamin D does not have to be supplied with the diet. Food is generally low in vitamin D. That is why the organism forms the vitamin D quantities that it needs best and fastest when it is exposed to the sun. And in the cold, sunless season, it is better to use correctly dosed vitamin D preparations than liver sausage, the vitamin D content of which has to be guessed and is only minimal anyway.
Apart from that, we had already shown under 9. and 10. that products made from soy do not pose a risk of osteoporosis.
Soy contains no cholesterol
Claim: Soy contains no cholesterol and is therefore a very bad food because cholesterol is essential to life.
Even properties that are said to be beneficial in other foods are suddenly considered terribly unhealthy when combined with soy. Like all other plant-based foods, soy products are cholesterol-free. However, according to opponents of soy, cholesterol is necessary for the development of the brain and nervous system.
Hardly any other argument makes it clearer who is behind it than this one: The Weston A. Price Foundation, which wants us all – and especially children – to drink as much cow’s milk as possible and to eat butter, meat, bone broth, and offal. It is understandable that in this case, you have to love cholesterol.
It is possible that the news, known since at least the 1960s, that cholesterol can be produced by the body itself and is therefore not considered essential, has not yet reached those responsible and supporters of the Weston A. Price Foundation. Yes, cholesterol can’t even cross the blood-brain barrier, so the brain has to synthesize the amount of cholesterol it needs entirely on its own, which it can easily do. So you can eat as much offal as you want, but the brain certainly doesn’t benefit from the cholesterol it contains because it can’t get into the brain.
Soy increases the risk of prostate cancer
Claim: A Paleo website, entitled “The Soy Lie,” writes, “In men, high consumption of soy increases the risk of prostate cancer.” A meta-analysis from 2009 is cited as evidence for this statement.
But this meta-analysis says:
The results of this meta-analysis indicate that the consumption of soy products plays a protective role in relation to prostate cancer. It may be the weak estrogen-like effects of isoflavones that may help prevent prostate cancer. Our results should be verified in future studies.
In 2018, another meta-analysis on this topic was published in Nutrients. However, in the corresponding summary one reads:
This meta-analysis presents a comprehensive and updated analysis showing that soy foods and their isoflavones (genistein and daidzein) are associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer. Thirty studies were analyzed. The consumption of unfermented soy products led to a reduced risk of prostate cancer. The consumption of fermented soy products showed no such connection.
Soy has a bad eco-balance
Claim: Products made from soy are processed in a complex manner and a lot of energy is required until soy milk or soy sausages are finally made from them. The eco-balance of soy products is therefore bad.
The tofu wieners from Taifun, for example, have a CO 2 balance of 0.79 kilograms of CO 2 per kilogram of tofu wieners (ex-works). In contrast, the equivalent of 13.3 kilos of CO 2 is released per kilogram of beef. There are 0.75 kilos of CO 2 per kilogram of mixed bread, 0.5 kilos of CO 2 per kilogram of apples, and 0.2 kilos of CO 2 per kilogram of tomatoes. So the eco-balance of soy products is by no means bad. In fact, it’s very good – especially considering how nutritious they are.
The power-hungry soy industry
It is interesting that in connection with the “propaganda for soya-based on commercial profit interests” of “lies and fraud, of power and greed, corruption and opportunism in business and science” and of a “refined, perfidious and unscrupulous marketing strategy of the gigantic US food industry”.
Of course, there is no denying that the soy industry is also thinking about profit – just like any other industry, e.g. B. the meat and dairy industry, which also acts much more aggressively in public. Because how often do you see advertisements for Tofu & Co? And how often do you see advertisements for yogurt, soured milk, sausage, etc.?
Factory farming in particular can also be described as perfidious and unscrupulous, in which millions of animals stand tightly cooped up in ranks and ranks under the most undignified circumstances, are fed with genetically modified soya and genetically modified maize, and, after a few months, are carted through half (or the whole) of Europe, only to end up on the plate for meat, sausage, and ham. A state of affairs that hopefully not too long will cause our posterity to shake their heads in disbelief at the cruelty, insensitivity, and thoughtlessness of their ancestors – their ancestors who preferred to scold themselves and – as we have shown above – threw themselves completely unnecessarily on the soybean, instead of to devote oneself to the abolition of torture called meat and milk production.
Soy is – if it is eaten in the form of wholesome soy food and not in excess – neither harmful to health nor carcinogenic. Soy does not make you infertile, nor are foods made from soy difficult to digest. Nor is the environment destroyed by the low soy content of a plant-based diet. On the contrary.
And that’s exactly what it says at the end of Kaayla T. Daniel’s 450-page anti-soy tome: “Old-fashioned whole-food soy foods, which are health-promoting in moderation, have had to give way to substitute products that inevitably lead to malnutrition and disease. “
