http://www.care2.com/greenliving/does-soy-grow-on-trees.html
Does Soy Grow on Trees?
Due to its high nutritional value, soy foods continue to gain popularity in the market place. Much of this interest has focused on soybean products for people looking to cut down or eliminate animal products from their diet–soy comes in the form of tofu, soy milk, soy-protein fortified flour, miso and soy protein meat substitutes. The soy plant originates from central and eastern Asia. Soy has been cultivated in China for many centuries and is now cultivated in many countries, mainly in China, USA, Argentina, and Brazil.
But beyond tofu and soy milk, soybeans are also a delicious vegetable on their own and can be eaten directly from the pods similar to other beans or peas. When eaten as a vegetable, soybeans are usually called edamame.
Edamame is planted the same way as bush beans are, and a mature soybean plant reaches about 2-feet tall. The soy plant belongs to the family of the papilionaceous. The soy plant has large trifoliate leaves with small white to purple flowers, born close to the stem. The soy beans ripen in a pod, which normally contain 3 to 4 beans. The color of the soy beans differ from light yellow, to green and black. Only the soybeans (seeds of the soy plant) are used.
Edamame offers a number of superfood phytochemicals such as isoflavones, genistein, saponins, beta-sitosterol and daidzein. Soybean consumption has been associated with reduction of triglycerides and LDL cholesterol. The soybean protein as well soy isoflavones are responsible for this action. The soy bean contains about 38% protein of high nutritional quality, because the eight essential amino acids are present.
Edamame is great on its own, but is also adds character as an ingredient in other recipes. Incorporate them as you would other beans, or try these recipes for Egyptian Edamame Stew or Green Tea Rice with Edamame and Shitakes.
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44 comments
add your comment »One thing to keep in mind, too, is that when a person goes to see a naturopath, this kind of doctor will always start a person on an elimination diet, which helps a person self-test for food sensitivities. This reason for this is because food sensitivities are behind a lot of health issues, such as IBS or sinus allergies. The best advice for starting an elimination diet is to see a naturopath. With such a diet a person avoids the most common food allergens. There are about 16 major food items to avoid during this process. Soy is one of the big ticket items. Many people with digestive issues benefit from this process.
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thanks...
Kabin
Konteyner
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Unfortunately majority of soy is genetically modified. Even those that "think" they are buying organic soy are getting genetically modified soy. I will NOT touch ANY soy products or products with soy in them. Testing something majority of american companies avoid is being done in other countries. Last year France discovered that all of their "organic" soy was indeed genetically modified soy. Soy is full of estrogen and it is not healthy for anyone to eat all of the time. Sprayed with tons of roundup which has been proven to cause skin cancer. When I banned soy from my diet I lost 14 pounds in two weeks. I have steadily lost since then and do not gain anything back as long as I avoid it. I do not even feed my dogs dog food as I will NOT feed them ANY soy products either.
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About 3 months ago I started adding soy into my diet on a regular basis (again, the healthy lifestyle con??) and am stunned to read all this and have just looked at the other sites mentioned and am very very glad I have taken the time to read.
Thanks to everyone for pointing me in the right direction. I will now ween myself off the 3 litres of soy milk I go through in one week and go back to the something a little safer.
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I shop primarily at my local farmer's markets, CSAs, and coop local and organic food store. Yet I still find it challenging to find certain products that don't include soy. It's a cheap option for companies to include in their processing and save money (yikes!) For instance, I used to buy Ezekiel brand English Muffins. Then I looked at the ingredients and realized that there's soy (filler) in it. So I now opt for the Rudy's brand English Muffins instead as an occasional treat. Though the best ones are actually sold at my local farmer's market with only a few ingredients in the English Muffins. And to think...that's just English Muffins!
In other words, being healthy, which includes avoiding soy, entails reading, reading, reading, reading! No simple answer.
As for lactose intolerance, drink Organic Pastures Raw Milk! It's fabulous and no lactose intolerance with it. In most of the 1900's, they made pasturization so that they can "kill" bacteria from the ways they chose to process food. But actually, when the animals are treated properly and the milk is truly organic, then unprocessed, pasturized, whole milk is best. I'm sure I'll catch a lot of flack for saying that, but I've done a lot of research on it and feel confident with my findings.
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I recently heard about health concerns regarding soy milk, so I bought a case of rice milk. Oh, I'm not a vegetarian. I just am lactose intolerant. I was going to do something positive for my digestive tract by buying soy milk. Also, my older dog is allergic to soy so I actively seek dog foods without it.
Thank you all for verbalizing about the dangers of soy. I was aware of the problems with it.
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Vegetarian or not - the soy industry has made it very difficult to keep soy out of your diet. I have to look at the label of everything that I purchase. Of course basic fruits and vegetables are available and are always soy free. (although avoiding gm foods in general is becoming a new challenge). Soy is definitely not the only, nor is it the best source of non-meat protein. There are all types of nuts, legumes, berries, etc. that can fill your nutritional needs. Research the internet, check out some books, get some recipes, and hopefully check in with a nutritionist on the best plan possible for you.
Here are some sites you can check:
http://organicconsumers.org/
http://organicconsumers.org/btc/BuyingGuide.cfm
http://soyfreesales.com/index.html
http://www.soyfreesolutions.com/
http://www.goveg.com/
http://www.vegcooking.com/rest-ecopolitan.asp
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i've been vegetarian for about 2 years & i'm wondering how can I keep my meat-less diet without the harmful soy products or is there soy products that are not harmful? not only to myself but the environment
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Me too, I'd like to add my two cents.
Everybody should read this article
"Soy: The Dark Side of America's Favorite "Health" Food ", at http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/darkside.html
It will do you good to be more aware,and good health to you all.
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I love soy but I need to add, we need to make sure it's grown responsibly and not the reason for the clearing of rainforest land in the manner that is happening in South America, mainly Brazil or monsantoized
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