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Soy, Oh Soy!!

Nov 7, 2019 | Green Cuisine Blog

If there has to be one food with all the bad reputes in the modern culinary circus, boy, it’s gotta be soy! Without the blink of an eye, there are so many critiques lining up to convince you not to have soy. Well, we are here to prove otherwise. Let’s discuss some common myths about soy, why we love it, and how you can enjoy it. 


We ‘heart’ Soy History

Soybeans (Glycine max) originated from East Asia and have been around for centuries making appearances in many different ancient cultures worldwide. The timeline started when Emperor Sheng-Nung of China named five sacred plants – soybeans, rice, wheat, barley, and millet in 2853 BC. Thanks to sea and land trade routes, soybeans travelled worldwide and reached western civilizations in the 1800s. Cultures everywhere truly love their thousands of native varieties of soybeans through traditional foods like tofu, tempeh (Indonesian fermented soybean), natto (Japanese fermented soybeans), miso, Kinema (Nepali fermented soybean), Doubanjiang (Sichuan fermented chilli bean paste), Douchi (Chinese fermented and salted black soybean), tương (Vietnamese fermented bean paste) and Cheonggukjang (Korean fermented soybeans). These are a few examples, but you get the idea, right?


The Ugly Truth

We are not going to pretend that everything is a fluffy bed of Cumulus clouds when it comes to soy, especially when there is a dark Nimbostratus (the grey clouds that block out sunlight and drop rain on us) glooming around. To cut to the chase, we are talking about Genetically Modified Organisms – Soybeans in particular. Since its approval in 1994, GMO Soy has stirred quite the controversies, eventually driving us to hate soy altogether. We are not going to get into the dirty details; instead going to empower the readers to do their research on GMO Soy and draw a conclusion that is best for us and the planet. But we stand by our values and are always committed to supporting organic farmers; hence our soy-based products will always be organic and non-GMO.


Soy & Sustainability

We belong to an era where the planet Earth comes first, as it sustains our lives on it. It is essential to us that we enjoy our food and care for our beautiful planet Earth. There is a common misconception that soy-based products harm our environment, when (fortunately) it just isn’t the case. There is indeed soy-related deforestation happening worldwide, but this is for chemically grown GMO fodder soy fed to livestock. The soy humans consume from tofu and other plant-based foods make up only 6% of the global soy production. By eating plant-based foods, we tend to consume far less soy than we would indirectly from consuming animal-based foods. Studies suggest, “If everyone in America removed the meat from their diet, there would be enough extra grain grown to feed 1.4 billion people!”. So don’t hold your breath, climate enthusiasts; time to embrace sustainably grown soy-based products and organic farmers.


Moobs, Soy Boy and Effeminacy.

Did we get to the most exciting part of this blog or what!? Your grin is wide and bright. Let us get down to the basics.

Firstly, all men (sorry guys, no exceptions here) have breasts. With that inevitable truth, we have to understand that some men may experience larger breasts than others, medically known as Gynecomastia (literally means ‘lady-like breasts’), which is caused by obesity, genetics and hormones, to name a few. Soy is rich in isoflavones, which are plant-based molecules with estrogen-like activity, and estrogen is a female hormone. That, in turn, has raised the fear that eating soy could bring out feminine traits in men, such as breast enlargement. But researchers haven’t found any association whenever they have studied the link. In a 2010 review of the medical evidence, researchers wrote that “isoflavones do not exert feminizing effects on men,” at least not when consumed at levels typical of many soy-heavy Asian diets. While no one advises jugging down a gallon of soy milk daily, enjoying some delicious tofu satay or grilled tempeh will not give man boobs (moobs). Just FYI, Japanese and Chinese men are healthy and void of soy troubles as far as history goes. Here, keep calm and soy on!

‘Soy Boy’ is a pejorative term sometimes used in online communities to describe men perceived to be lacking masculine characteristics. Such derogatory affirmations are linked with anti-Asian sentiments and unsurprisingly date back to Colonial-era stereotypes of the far east. It was popular among America’s “Real Men” who drank cow milk and ate meat associating veganism with weak feminine attributes. 

Defaming a gender to be of the lesser kind (like being a woman is the worst curse) picked up along the way from historical times. Effeminacy means lacking macho and having feminine characters, often considered sensitive and feeble. When did a mountain gorilla (who feeds on bamboo shoots and fruits) look frail to you? The Association of veganism (kindness and compassion) to being weak was primarily stated by the meat industries to prevent gentle souls from being ethically sound. Those familiar with the social media trends would have experienced being trolled for standing by justice. 

These typical male stereotypes have formed the society we live in. We are not limited to complying and blindly following the belittling remarks but to seek justice in the eye of empathy.


Who should avoid soy?

If you are allergic to soy, then it makes sense to avoid it. “A national survey found that only 1 in 2,000 people report a soy allergy. That’s 40 times less than the most common allergen—dairy milk—and about ten times less than all the other common allergens—like fish, eggs, shellfish, nuts, wheat, or peanuts.” So, while soy allergy is uncommon, it is crucial to avoid it if you are allergic because, like with any allergen, small amounts ingested can still cause trouble, depending on the severity.


Protein – everyone’s favourite!

Soy is a plant protein that contains all essential amino acids, also known as a complete protein. There are 18.2 grams of protein in 100 grams of boiled soybeans. It is cholesterol free, high in protein, and not any significant source of carbohydrate or fat, so it can be a great addition to many different meals or eaten as a snack on its own, depending on your needs. Consumption of soy protein has been linked with a modest decrease in cholesterol levels. According to Harvard Health Publishing, plant-based foods like soy are associated with a lower risk of diabetes and heart disease, lower blood pressure, bad cholesterol, and body weight.


We have made an immense effort to lift all charges off the villain ‘ soy.’ Now, it is your turn to understand the benefits you could reap and make better choices for your body, the planet and animals. Give soy a chance.

References/ Resources:

Please take a look through this information as a starting point. There are so many more interesting facts to know about soy!

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/who-shouldnt-eat-soy/

https://nutritionfacts.org/video/fermented-or-unfermented-soy-foods-for-prostate-cancer-prevention/