Why do I place this nice photo here?
I want to remind you what ‘real’ food looks like.
Soy derivatives. I call them ‘plastic food’. Although I think it might even be healthier to eat plastic instead of the soy derivatives.
I get pretty mad when I have to write about this subject.
Why?
Because I want everyone to eat well, eat natural clean foods and be healthy. And soy derivatives don’t fit into this picture.
Firstly, because soybean crop has to withstand heavy applications of pesticides. Therefore every time you consume regular TVP made of soya [textured veg protein] you’ll be getting an unwanted dose of it, unless it says organic.
Food processors are always looking to increase profits. And that’s totally ok. I’m not against them making a profit. But what I am against is them making a buck without producing ‘honest’ foods and feeding us stuff that makes us sick.
Substituting cheap soy derivatives as a filler for part of the volume is one way that food processors “extend” our foods.
Soy by products and derivatives are very VERY cheap. A few months ago one of our favourite brands changed yet another one of their products to included low cost soy protein. This to allowed them to produce a cheaper product. Cheaper to them,…. not us.
Personally, I’m not going anywhere near it. Except when my vegan husband wants to eat it. I cook it for him, but I eat one of my chickpea burgers instead, whilst he is eating ‘Frankenfood’.
If you see any of these following items in the ingredient list of your pre-packed foods, put it back on the shelf and run the other way. But beware….finding soy free foods is not going to be easy.
Challenge: find me a supermarket bread or vegan sausage without it. Please. I bet I will hear crickets for some time to come. 95% of them contain either these soy items below or similar…
Soy Protein Isolate: De-fatted soybean meal is mixed with a cocktail of various chemicals to remove the fibre (and remove any other useful nutrient) to precipitate out the protein. These protein curds are then dipped into another chemical solution and spray dried at extremely high temperatures.
Textured Soy Protein: TSP is used as a meat replacement in vegan and vegetarian products. It’s made by forcing de-fatted soybean flour through a special machine called an extruder. The temperature and pressure are extreme and here comes what I don’t like either: it changes the structure of the soy protein [very unnatural] and turns it into a product, much like foam packing.
Soy Protein Concentrate (SPC): created from defatted soy flakes, and it mainly it consists soy protein and its fibre. But look how it’s made: they are mixing soy solids with aqueous acid, aqueous alcohol, moist heat and/or organic solvents. This new mush immobilizes the protein, which is then extracted with some of the soy carbohydrates, isoflavones and salt residue.
Is this still a food?
I don’t think so.
If given a choice, it would be better to have a chickpea or lentil burger.
Do you want to read more about how soy derivatives are made? I don’t. I’m just getting mad with this subject.
Truly, if you want a healthy body, feed it mostly healthy clean, natural foods. Read the food labels and make a decision to avoid soy derivatives. If you can. Good luck with that one.
Quick word on organic tofu. Likely ok for most people. Some are allergic to it and some people complain from strange hormonal reactions to it. Like me. My boobies hurt when I eat soy more than twice a month. I know. Too much information. Sorry. But certain soy components are able to change women’s hormone levels. That is why soy supplements are often used during menopause. They mimic oestrogen and unless you want to interfere with your hormone levels, don’t eat it too often.
Do you have thyroid issues? Please reduce or avoid the intake of soy.
However, if you wish to try something new: fermented soy is a nutrient-dense food which in small quantities can be beneficial for you. The fermentation process produces major changes in soy’s structure and removes some of the goitrogens (thyroid-harming substances).
Soy milk? Only drink if organic made from whole soy beans. That ‘should’ be ok. But I cannot vouch for this statement either. After all, it’s still made with soy….
‘Real soy milk’ was originally made by using the leftover residue from making tofu. But look what they’ve done to it now? It’s a concoction of stuffs, just like most commercial plant milk….
But I admit….and here comes the ‘but’….I buy some ready-made almond, oat or coconut milk in cartons for my hot beverages, because they contain added calcium. Plus my home-made one that I use for smoothies and with breakfast cereal, seriously curdles and has ‘bits’ floating in it.
Hey, I’m not a saint either 😉 But they don’t make my boobies hurt either.
Until next time,
Nicki Kelly.
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