How to Eat Cleaner - Day 13 of 31 - Soy. Good or Bad, Should You Eat It?

How to Eat Cleaner - Day 13 of 31 - Soy. Good or Bad, Should You Eat It?

Hello everyone. I'm so excited that you decided to join me in our 31 days to cleaner or healthier eating. Each one of these videos will have 1 simple concept for you to chew on. It's your choice what you do with it. Try it for a day, a week, a month or implement for your entire life. My hope is it helps you open your mind to learning more about fueling your body more healthily.

Part of cleaning up what we eat is getting educated and alot of these videos focus on awareness.

Today we talk about soy and yes, this is another topic that could be pages and pages.  Here is just a brief overview, please research for yourself if you want to dig deeper.

The isoflavones in soy bind like estrogen and that is why some folks have wanted to avoid soy because of the fear of getting cancer. Human and animal estrogen is much stronger than the binding that isoflavones can do. Isoflavones have shown positive non-hormonal effects like regulating cholesterol, lower blood pressure,  and lowering the rates of breast cancer.

If you don't already have thyroid problems, soy should not effect your thyroid. For those with thyroid issues, the problem seems to be the soy inhibiting the absorption of thyroid medication if taken too close to consuming soy.

It has been recommended that 1-2 servings of soy a day is ok. A serving being 1/2 cup tofu or 1 cup soy milk.

Just like processed deli meats , we should avoid highly processed soy. You find these in soy protein bars, soy burgers, soy strips of "meat," soy cheese, etc. Avoid them if they say "soy protein" on the label. It's not the end of the world if you have it once in a while, but don't make it a regular part of your diet with the thought, "I'm eating healthy."

When choosing soy milk try to find fresh if available. Look for whole bean soy milk and once again avoid it if it says "soy protein" or "soy isolate." Try using plain and avoiding it if it has added sugars.

Best choices of soy are: edamame, tofu, and fermented soy products.

Whole soy foods retain most of their nutritional benefits.

Tofu is packed with calcium and omega-3 fats.

Edamame, green soybeans, is a great source of protein.

Tempeh, miso & natto made from fermented, cooked soybeans. The fermentation allows the body to more easily absorb the nutrients from food. It brings good probiotics into your system, keeping your gut healthy.

Tempeh is a high-protein source of nutrients with vitamins B2, B6, and B3, & minerals magnesium, copper, iron, manganese, & and phosphorous. plus, it's a good source of monounsaturated fats.

Miso is rich in vitamin B12, which helps metabolize fats and carbohydrates. Be sure to use the low sodium kind.

Natto is a sticky paste made by adding healthy bacteria to lightly cooked soybeans and fermenting. Natto is a powerful food rich in the enzyme nattokinase, which has been shown to reduce the risk of blood clots and help break up the plaque associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

In my personal opinion from what I have read... When choosing soy, choose fermented like miso, tempeh or natto. Tofu is fine when it's the least processed type in the white blocks. Edamane is the actual bean, so who can argue with that? For other forms of soy, be a label reader. Look for whole bean soy and avoid "soy protein" and alot of added salts, sugars and mystery chemicals.

Give soy a try. Find a new recipe that uses soy and enjoy.

Thanks for your time. This is Coach Lana and I would love for you to join me at http://facebook.com/coachlana so we can connect.