Soy update

A few postings below there are big news about soy and its benefits or lack thereof.

Today I finally had a chance to go over the Bon Appétit magazine article written by Paul Tullis.

Here are a few take aways that I don't think I included in the original posting:

* Yes, soy is high in protein and has zero cholesterol

* Soy "contains dangerous levels of isoflavones, natural chemicals that are similar to human estrogen."

* "Isoflavones can affect fertility in men and may increase the incidence of breast cancer in at-risk women."

*Studies' results are highly mixed, changing dramatically from one study to another.

* Err on the side of caution, read labels to be sure you are not unwillingly consuming the stuff, and stick to miso, tempeh and tofu, all of which have undergone various degrees of fermentation (this process reduces isoflavone levels).

Food Safety & Recalls

June alone had food recalls to the tune of almost one a day.

Yet one more incentive to eat more whole foods, get to know at least some of the people who produce your food, or even better give growing some of your food a go yourself.

Yet, many busy families find it nearly impossible to stay away from bar-code foods. So here's a helpful place for you to sign up & get recall notices immediately via email. I am not a big fan of being on mailing lists, but I think this one is worth it.

HA!

I just randomly opened up this month's Bon Appétit magazine to the exact article titled: "Soy Story--Think soy is the ultimate health food? Not so fast. Too much may just be too much of a good thing."

I don't have the time to read it right now but will post the findings possibly tomorrow. The title sends a bit of mixed signals as soy, unless fermented, is not a good thing at all. (Please see my posting two entries down to find out more).

I am too lazy to edit the post below so I am adding this soy info here.

I just found this great webpage with a list of ingredient names under which soy is listed in labels.

Good news, bad news & a saving tip.

THE BAD NEWS

Turns out that, just because you grow something yourself in a sustainable manner and free of pesticides (or you buy it keeping in mind the same principles), it does not make it good for you.

I am sure many of you already knew what I am about to say, but I didn't and this is why I am posting about it: SOY BEANS ARE NOT GOOD FOR YOU, unless they are fermented. (This means real tofu is kosher to eat.)

Some sources say that as long as the beans are cooked with wet heat (e.g., boiled) they are okay for human consumption. You decide for yourself, but after going over all the studies I read, I choose to steer clear of it altogether and stick to the traditional tofu (not the tofu crumbles that resemble meat one may find in the frozen foods area of the super).

Here it is straight from the horse's mouth. An excerpt from Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food:

The soybean itself is a notably inauspicious staple food; it contains a whole assortment of "antinutrients"--compounds that actually block the body's absorption of vitamins and minerals, interfere with the hormonal system, and prevent the body from breaking down the proteins in the soy itself.

While searching online, I found out numerous cases of people with inexplicable illnesses that some good doctors where able to trace back to high soy consumption. These were not people popping edamame like candy. The majority were folks who did not even know they were eating soy. See? The stuff is everywhere (probably because it is one of the most highly government subsidized crop, together with corn, it is cheap, and it can be engineered to became a host of different thickeners, sweeteners, blah blah blah), so-I don't mean to scare you- but read your labels carefully. Became familiar with the many names soy is disguised under. Be particularly mindful of it if you buy bread at the store (vs making it yourself) as soy is found in almost every loaf.

Quick fact: More than 90% of the U.S. soybean crop contains a gene patented by former DDT manufacturer Monsanto (source Vegetarian Times magazine, July/August issue).

Here are some great articles if you want to learn more:

** Soy, The Dark Side of America's Favorite "Health" Food
** A study on Nonisoneflavone Soybeans Anti carcinogens (possible adverse effect of soybean anticarcinogens.


THE GOOD NEWS

Kudos to the city of Gainsville, FL! As they've become "the first U.S. city to adopt a feed-in-tariff program to promote green power. Under FIT, solar panel owners sell the electricity they generate back to the grid at a fixed, above-market price-in this case, 32 cents per kilowatt-hour--guaranteed for the next 20 years." (Source: Vegetarian Times, July/August issue). Perhaps more cities will take the same initiative, eh?

A SAVING TIP

Straight to the point: want to stop throwing out overly ripe bananas? (if you don't compost, that is). When your bananas achieve the desired point of ripeness, put them in the fridge. This will cause the skins to look bad (dark and blotchy), but the cold will slow the ripening process as "the enzymes that convert starch into sugar work more slowly in the cold." The key is not to put green bananas in the fridge, remember, they have to be already ripe or almost ripe. (Source: an old issue of Gourmet magazine, author John Willoughby).
Of course, you can always freeze them for smoothies, dehydrate them, or make banana bread...

What's on your food?

I found this awesome tool to find out what pesticides are in each of the foods we most frequently eat.

I am posting it here as a means of information and inspiration. The latter particularly for those who garden mostly for flowers and ornamentals...perhaps this (coupled with rising food prices) will help give you the nudge to start growing some of your own food...

U-Pick Florida Directory

If you live in Florida and you'd like to buy local, tasty, cheaper produce here's your link.

Value (the) Meal

Loved the logo and clever wording on it...no time to peruse their site too much now but I have a feeling I will love it as well. Thought I'd share...here is their site.

Straight from the horse's mouth

Below I copied OCA's (Organic Consumer's Association) Alert Update of the Week...it is worth reading, trust me.

Former Monsanto Lawyer Michael Taylor & the White House Food Safety Working Group In a recent issue of Bytes, we alerted you that former Monsanto lawyer Michael Taylor, who has been serving on President Obama's Department of Agriculture Transition Team, was "the leading candidate to staff the White House food safety working group."

Michael Taylor, who now promotes himself as a food safety expert, is a lawyer whose accomplishments include shepherding Monsanto's genetically engineered bovine growth hormone rBGH through Clinton's FDA as the Deputy Administrator for Policy. Alexis Baden-Mayer, OCA's Political Director, attended the Food Safety Working Group's Listening Session in Washington, DC, on May 13th, 2009.

Here's her report: If Michael Taylor was in the room, I didn't see him, but it's too soon to declare victory. We should keep reminding Secretary Vilsack, who chairs the working group, that we don't want Michael Taylor or any other former corporate lobbyists to be involved in crafting the government response to food safety. I had an interesting conversation with Bryce Quick, Deputy Administrator for the US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety Inspection Service since 2005, who greeted me by saying, "Organic, oh we're going to have problems with you!" He claimed to have visited an organic farm in Latin America several years ago that had major food safety issues although he wasn't sure if it was actually certified. When the meeting broke into small groups to craft policy "themes" it was clear that the conversation wasn't going to get too deep, I was placed in a group tasked with developing ways to "Allocate Resources Efficiently." I managed to get the group to find consensus around the idea that food safety solutions need to be scale appropriate, as regulations created for factory farms aren't going to be appropriate for small and micro producers who sell direct to consumers. What would you like Secretary Vilsack to know about food safety? Tell him here:

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_17541.cfm