Many people think of soymilk as a healthy milk substitute. That’s because you read about in magazines and all the advertising about the benefits. But you shouldn’t drink it.

Soymilk is bad for you. It’s an unnatural byproduct of soy that your body can’t digest without processing. If you were to eat unprocessed soy, it would cause cramping, nausea, and can cause more serious health problems. Maybe you are experiencing these symptoms and never considered that it could be related to drinking soymilk.

Soybeans contain toxins meant to ward off insect predators that was initially use in Asia to protect the soil. These include:

• anti-nutrients, prevent your body from absorbing essential minerals like calcium, magnesium, iron and zinc, that could lead to osteoporosis.
• trypsin inhibitors, make it harder for your body to absorb protein.
  Both of these substances can give you abdominal pain, gas, nausea, cramps, and other gastrointestinal problems.
• hemagglutinin, a substance that can promote blood clots.
• goitrogens, which can cause gout and thyroid problems.

Compare this with the industrial processes that go into making soymilk: washing the beans in alkaline or boiling them in a petroleum-based solvent; bleaching, deodorizing, and pumping them full of additives; heat-blasting and crushing them into flakes; and then mixing them with water to make “milk.” Does this sound healthy to you?

From the landfill to your kitchen, soy protein, and other sludge is left over from the oil extraction. Since 1950 there has been an explosive growth of processed foods, and many contained soy oil, especially vegetable oil, margarine, and shortening. Soy lecithin is used as an emulsifier. After a while, the soy industry got the idea of using the waste for animal feed instead of dumping it. Then the industry decided to promote it for human consumption. At first soy protein was promoted as a cheap meat extender for the poor or the budget conscious. The real breakthroughs came when the industry began touting it as a great source of protein for vegetarians and then as a miracle health food for everyone.

Promoters of soy products such as soy protein isolate, or phyto-estrogens extracted from soy, usually fail to mention that soy products are goitrogenic to humans. That means they depress thyroid function. Certain substances found in the soybean inhibit thyroid hormone synthesis, leading to goiter and other adverse changes in the thyroid gland. Low thyroid function is associated with a host of debilitating diseases including cancer, heart disease, fatigue, osteoporosis, and a difficult menopause. So, if you are taking soy for your menopause, it is depressing your thyroid and it may cause you to have a more difficult menopause.

The claim that soy foods prevent cancer is predicated on two suppositions: 1) that Asian populations consume large amounts of soy foods; 2) that Asian populations have low amounts of cancer. The average consumption in China is 9 gm - that is less than a tablespoon, and the average consumption in Japan is 30 gm, which is between two and three tablespoons. Yet, The Simple Soy Bean and Your Health recommends one cup, or 230 grams of soy products per day in an optimal diet to prevent cancer. This amount is not consumed in the Orient. And, these are the traditional soy products being consumed, not the soy protein isolate. Studies have shown that consumption of legumes is not strongly correlated with the prevention of any degenerative disease, including cancer. Some studies, in fact, link the actual consumption of soy foods with increased rates of cancer. Why are rates of breast cancer astronomically high in the U.S.? It’s because of the consumption of soy foods in the form of hydrogenated margarines and shortenings. These trans-fats in our food supply contribute to breast cancer. With so many books on the market on how to prevent breast cancer, none of them even mention the very carcinogenic effects on breast tissue of these trans-fatty acids.

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A Swedish study shows that soy, like its botanically-related cousin the peanut, could be responsible for severe, potentially fatal, cases of food allergy, particularly in children with asthma who are also very sensitive to peanuts. Soy has probably been underestimated as a cause of food anaphylaxis” and that “labeling of foods containing soy protein should be improved. Between 1993 and 1996, 61 cases of severe reactions to food were reported, including 5 that were fatal. Peanut, soy and tree nuts caused 45 of the 61 reactions. Including two cases that occurred shortly before the study began, four deaths could be attributed to soy, say the researchers. All four of the youngsters who died from soy anaphylaxis were allergic to peanuts but had no known allergy to soy. In most cases, after consuming the food containing soy, there were no symptoms for 30 to 90 minutes. However, that period of no or mild symptoms was followed by severe and rapidly deteriorating asthma. Those most at risk for developing a severe reaction to soy are young people with asthma and severe peanut allergy, say the researchers. In cases where the allergy was fatal, the amount of soy consumed varied between 1 and 10 grams. Such an amount may occur in hidden form in hamburgers, meatballs, kebabs, sausages, and bread, but rarely in other foods.

Another reason to avoid soy protein.Allergy 1999; 54:261-265.

Did you know that Oprah Winfrey announced on Good Morning America that she has a thyroid disorder? She a big promoter of soy products believing they have health benefits, especially for women in menopause. I believe that her consumption of soy is the culprit. I too, thought that soy had many benefits because of the soy industry marketing making claims that soy products are a safe alternative to HRT therapy. I was lucky to develop an allergy to soy and not wind up with a thyroid problem, especially because I gained over 30 lbs. Since I have been off soy products (including products that are not listed on labels) you will learn what to look for in my book, “The Hidden Dangers of Soy,” I have maintained my weight of 118 lbs. The weight started dropping off immediately. Do you have something would like to share?