Originally published March 14 2014
Health Basics: What is soy lecithin?
by S. D. Wells
(NaturalNews) Soy lecithin is one of the most ubiquitous additives in the American food supply. It's used mostly as an emulsifier, and it pops up in everything from chocolate and salad dressings to tea bags and supplements. If you ask any allopathic doctor in the country, they always say the same thing about food toxins -- "there's not enough in there to cause concern," or "a little bit is not going to hurt you." Oh, but it most certainly does. When you add it all up -- all those GMOs and little, extra-processed, toxic "additives and preservatives" -- you end up with cancer, unless of course you learn to watch out not only for the big killers but the seemingly "innocent" little ones too. A thousand tiny arrows will kill you, just like one or two big ones, my friends.
As a general rule, avoid soy across the board. The only good soy is organic and fermented, and it's not easy to find. Over 5,000 years ago, even the Emperor of China only praised the root of the plant, not the bean. He knew then that the soybean was not fit for human consumption. That's also why you shouldn't eat canola, because it is manufactured from a substance that is toxic to humans, rapeseed oil.
Releasing the nutrients of soy
About 3,000 years ago, it was discovered that a mold which grew on soybeans destroyed the toxins present in it and made the nutrients in the beans available to the human body. This process became known as fermentation and led to what we know today as tempeh, miso and natto. During the Ming dynasty in China, tofu was made by soaking and cooking the beans with nigari, a seawater substance. It was used as a remedy for many diseases.
Eating toxic soy and other "stupid food"
For the most part, Americans are stupid when it comes to nutrition. This is mainly no fault of their own, though. They have been "dumbed down" and tricked into believing that all disease can only be treated with chemical medicine. Since the early 1900s, this has been the case. Unfermented soybeans are no exception to "stupid food" and what have been labeled "anti-nutrients." Certain "phytochemicals" have toxic effects on the body, including phytates, enzyme inhibitors and goitrogens. These actually protect the soybean plant and function as its immune system, protecting it from invading bacteria, viruses and fungi. These anti-nutrients make the soybean plant unappetizing to foraging animals. Understand and appreciate the potent power of the soybean's phytochemicals and you may never eat unfermented soy again in your life. They could be the worst food that you ever eat, did you know that?
Typical health problems caused by unfermented soy and soy lecithin
First of all, at least 90% of U.S. soy is genetically modified to be glyphosate resistant. Are you a weed in need of being beat down? For you health enthusiast beginners, that means GM soy is soaked in herbicide and, if you eat herbicide, you are ruining your immune system, irritating your whole digestive tract, and this can cause reproductive disorders and birth defects, not to mention cancer and heart disease. Plus, you can't wash off genetic modification -- it's inside the seeds, inside the plant and inside you if you eat it.
Unfermented GM soy is very common in baby formula in America. Many vegetarians think that they are somehow replacing protein by consuming soy, an insidious myth perpetrated by mainstream media and fake "guru" diets for the past few decades. Mid-lifers may have also fallen for the "menopause" myth that soy helps with those symptoms, which couldn't be further from the truth. How is loss of libido helping anyone enjoy the mid-life "crisis"? (http://www.undergroundhealth.com)
A whole myriad of toxic soy products "consume" Americans' health, like soy milk, soy flour and soy protein isolates. Inhibiting your enzymes is very dangerous and detrimental to your health.
"When food is eaten, digestive enzymes such as amylase lipase and protease are secreted into the digestive tract to help break it down and free nutrients for assimilation into the body. The high content of enzyme inhibitors in unfermented soybeans interferes with this process and makes carbohydrates and proteins from soybeans impossible to completely digest."
The great U.S. soy plague
Soybeans can also block production of thyroid hormones and cause goiters to form. Low thyroid activity plagues women in America. Soy lecithin is a byproduct that flies under everyone's health radar. These are the worst kind. The term lecithin can have different meanings but mainly refers to the mixture of phospholipids and oil. Lecithin is often derived from rapeseed (canola), milk, soy and egg yolks. You can bet these are all GMO sources, so remember the herbicide, as discussed earlier! Don't become a dying "pest."
To make (toxic) soy lecithin, the oil is extracted using a chemical solvent (usually hexane, a constituent of gasoline). Then, crude soy oil gets "degummed," dried and often bleached using hydrogen peroxide. Commercial soy lecithin, you can bet, is still LACED with chemicals. The FDA does not regulate how much hexane residue can be left in food products, and that could be upwards of 1,000 parts per million (ppm)! Still not worried about that "little bit that won't hurt ya"? Did you know that the concentration limit for hexane in pharmaceuticals is 290 ppm? Go figure!
Allergic reactions to foods can begin within minutes. If you experience itching, hives, eczema, breathing problems, swelling of the throat, wheezing, nausea, vomiting, dizziness or fainting, I wouldn't put it past soy lecithin.
Are there therapeutic uses for organic soy lecithin?
There is some research regarding the use of organic soy lecithin for improving blood lipids, reducing inflammation and treating neurological disorders. Remember though, GM soy does the exact opposite, so watch out! If you're trying to regulate your good or bad cholesterol levels, maybe first you should check your ratio of omega-3s to omega-6s. Research the benefits of hemp seed oil and flax seed oil first. You don't have to have soy allergies to be smart enough to avoid soy! Beware of supplements that are not organic or recommended by reliable nutritionists, like the Health Ranger, Mike Adams.
Sources:
http://www.undergroundhealth.com
http://preventdisease.com
http://chriskresser.com
http://wellnessmama.com
http://preventdisease.com
http://science.naturalnews.com
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