Soy: is it bad for you?

Half the time, when I talk with people about eating a plant-based diet, I hear that I should avoid soy. It seems that most of the people around me worry that soy is full of estrogen. Ironically, most of these people regularly consume dairy products. When pressed on the subject, my friends usually think it would be ideal to avoid both. A week later, they are still only avoiding soy. Why? Is soy really bad for you or is this more propaganda against giving up meat?

Many people switch from meat to tofu and quickly benefit from reduced saturated fat and cholesterol. Sure, you can still get these benefits from a plant-based diet without consuming soy.

Most people, who accept the logic of a plant-based diet, would agree that tofu is safer to eat than steak. Those same people would also agree that tofu or edamame is better for you than a tofu dog or other processed soy products because many of the nutrients in soy, like fiber, are filtered out in the process of making the tofu dog or tofu-based cream "cheese."

People worry about consuming the estrogen in soy because for years we were told that estrogen caused breast cancer. Many blogs still support this idea. Is it true? Does soy even contain estrogen?

When I started writing this post, I knew that soy contained isoflavones and phytoestrogens. I've been reading up on what that means:

Isoflavones are polyphenolic compounds that possess both estrogen-agonist and estrogen-antagonist properties. For this reason, they are classified as phytoestrogens — plant-derived compounds with estrogenic activity. Isoflavones are the major flavonoids found in legumes, particularly soybeans.

We know that during the early stages of breast cancer estrogen encourages cancer cells to grow and spread. This makes many doctors worry that soy could make things worse for women with breast cancer. A 2014 American study looked like it may support this idea, but the study lost funding and couldn't go on long enough for conclusive results. During this study, 70 women at the early stages of breast cancer consumed four cups of soy milk a day, while 70 others consumed a placebo. I don't know anyone who consumes that much soy per day. They found that several genes that encourage cancer growth were active in women in the soy group. They didn't find out if this actually caused cancer to grow.

They also didn't find out anything about the effect of soy on people who don't have cancer. Many studies suggest that consuming soy prevents cancer, including prostate cancer in men.

In fact, soy has been found to have so many health benefits that it is available as a supplement. People take soy supplements to treat high blood pressure, heart diseases, type 2 diabetes, asthma, lung cancer, endometrial cancer, prostate cancer, thyroid cancer, osteoporosis, and kidney disease. It's used to regulate bowel movements, improve memory, to relieve muscle and breast pain, for menopause, and premenstrual syndrome. People also take it to prevent breast cancer. Though, we all know how I feel about supplements.

A study of the quality of commercially available soy supplements suggests that less than 25% of products contain within 90% of labeled isoflavone content. Paying more for a product doesn’t necessarily guarantee that the content shown on the label is accurate. 

But wait a minute... can soy prevent cancer?

When we want to know more about the benefits of plant-based diets, we keep looking to China because the Chinese have been eating plant-based diets for centuries. Researchers studied more than 73,000 Chinese women and found that those who ate at least one or two servings of soy per day were 11% less likely to develop breast cancer than those who did not.

Of course, there are problems with that study too, at least when we apply it to the lives of women who ate McDonald's and Dairy Queen as kids, rather than tofu and miso. We don't know how soy benefited those women in China. Did it start to work when they were children? Is starting a soy diet at 40 too late?

I don't know. None of the research available is persuasive enough for this skeptical woman. I would likely be more concerned about soy if I had breast cancer. If I had breast cancer, I wouldn't take advice from my blog, but would listen to the professionals helping me get rid of the cancer.

If you don't have cancer, these studies are only telling you to eat soy in moderation, by which they mean one or two servings per day. That doesn't sound very moderate to me, but I'm less concerned about soy now than I was when I started researching it.

Thanks for reading. Please share any more information about the benefits and dangers of soy in the comments.

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Eat healthy for under $50 a week

You can eat a healthy plant-based diet for less than $50 per week!

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post like this after a new Whole Foods 365 opened in my neighbourhood. I meant to write another post like this last week, but I didn’t finish it on time. It was my birthday and I had a lot of other stuff going on. Sorry.

This week, I met with Abe Nabors, second-generation owner of the Mustard Seed Market & Cafe, also in my neighbourhood! I wanted to show that you can eat healthy at your locally-owned health food store for the same low price as Amazon-owned chain retailers. Coincidentally, helping people eat well on a budget is part of Nabors’ mission in life.

Nabors volunteers to teach classes on how to eat healthy food without spending too much money. I could write a separate post on what I learned speaking with him for an hour.

We also agree on the basic approach that I have been using to create these shopping lists and menus. Begin in the produce section, then look at what you can buy in bulk. Everything else is convenience food. Though Nabors also shops in the meat department. As Michael Pollan says: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Nabors told me that the bulk food section of his store is under-utilized by customers. Customers feel intimidated when they see that granola costs $3.99 per pound. This week, however, you’re going to eat 1/2 cup of Organic Classic Granola and that only costs about $1.37 bought in bulk. Bulk food is cheaper because you don't have to pay for marketing and packaging. If you're nervous buying it, most bulk food sections have a scale so that you can weigh your food before heading to the checkout.

The last meal planning post I wrote left me worried that I was requiring you to spend too much time cooking. To remedy that, this week you will be cooking more food at once and eating leftovers. If you don’t like leftovers, you will spend more time cooking. There’s no way around that, unless you can afford to eat out!

The shopping list below comes to about $49.27. The amount is approximate because we are buying a lot of things that are priced by weight — not all apples are the same size/weight. Approximately $49.27 worth of food will give you enough to cook all the meals on my meal plan, except oils, salt, pepper, and spices. Being a grown-up and all, you should have oils, salt, pepper, and spices at home.

The optional ingredients are not included in the $49.27 total. Buy the tofu, if you want tofu scrambles with your breakfast hash. Buy the jackfruit and the wine, if you want to add it to your soup. I don’t think the soup needs it.

The Benevolent Bacon is included in the $49.27 total, though it is secretly optional as well. I just really like it in this breakfast hash.

Finally, I’d like to mention the Field Day Organic brand. Field Day Organic products are available in most locally owned health food stores because small businesses usually can’t afford to produce an affordable store brand, like Whole Foods 365. Nabors showed me that most store brands aren’t organic, and use BPA lined cans. Though Whole Foods is working on changing that, some of their 365 brand canned goods come in BPA-lined cans. Shopping locally is not only good for your community, it is good for you too!

Shopping List

1 box blueberries $1.99
3 medium Fuji apples $3.69
1 lime 1 lime is 0.75 (can substitute for lemon)

2 oranges $1.50

1 1/4 cup green beans $2.00

1 avocado $1.99
1 small cauliflower $1.99
I bag organic frozen whole kernel sweet corn $2.79
1 bunch of orange carrots $1.99
1 whole butternut squash $1.79
1 box cherry tomatoes $2.99
1 bunch kale $2.99
1 small bunch (1/2 pound) broccoli $1
1 bell pepper 0.80
1 small jalapeño for 0.25
1 cup green onion $1.49
3 shallots $1.50
2 large white or yellow onion $1.49
1 small red onion 0.80
1 fresh garlic bulb 0.30
2/3 cup uncooked barley 0.75
1 pkg linguini $2.50
2 14.5 ounce cans Muir Glen Organic diced tomatoes  $2.50

1 can (8 ounces) Field Day Organic tomato sauce $1.79
1/2 can Field Day Organic white beans $1.25
1/4 can Field Day Organic Chickpeas (Garbanzo) $1.25
1/2 cup Organic Brown Basmati Rice 0.67
1/2 cup Organic Classic Granola $1.37
1 bottle Field Day Organic Lemon Tahini Dressing $3.99
1 tetra pack Blue Diamond Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla almond-coconut milk $2.00
1 pkg veggie bacon Sweet Earth Benevolent Bacon $4.99
1 pkg extra firm tofu (optional) $2.50
1 pkg jackfruit (optional) $5.99
1 bottle Tillsdale white wine (optional $4.59)

Total: $49.27

Day One:

Breakfast: Roasted Butternut Squash Hash with Apples & Bacon
Substitute the package of Benevolent bacon for real bacon, or go without.
You can make this recipe the night before and divide it into four portions, to be eaten over the course of the week (freeze three of the portions).
Because it is pictured with eggs, I might be tempted to serve it with a tofu scramble, which is why the package of tofu is optional in our grocery list.

Lunch to-go: big salad
Wash and chop a bowl of kale, a little red onion, a little broccoli, a few cherry tomatoes, and some simple homemade vinaigrette.

Snack to-go: handful of blueberries

Dinner: Thyme White Bean Pot Pies and mini apple pies
For this recipe, make your own vegetable broth from kitchen scraps.
I had trouble finding fresh thyme, so we have to substitute dried.
You are going to half this recipe, but make the full amount of pie crust, so that you can make sweet pies as well.
Once you have the crust done, mini apple pies are easy to make.
Just peel and thinly slice two apples. Sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar. Put them in three muffin cups and place the crust on top.
Bake at 400 for 20-30 minutes and PRESTO!
Since you are making plenty of food, you might as well invite a friend over. Even halved, this recipe makes three servings: you can feed a friend AND have leftovers tomorrow!

Day Two:

Breakfast: mini apple pie
Because who doesn’t want pie for breakfast?

Lunch to-go: leftover pot pie
Though these taste delicious, warmed up, they are just as good to eat at room temperature. Because they are meat and dairy free, we don’t have to worry about them spoiling as quickly.
Also, if you didn't share your food last night, you still have a mini apple pie and an extra pot pie. You could share your lunch or eat like a pig!

Snack to-go: 1 orange (save the peel)

Dinner: Spicy Sesame Noodle, Green Bean, and Carrot Salad 
Again, you will be halving this recipe. Yet, you will still get three servings out of it. So, you can feed a friend and take some for lunch tomorrow. OR be a piggy!

Day Three:

Breakfast: Breakfast: Roasted Butternut Squash Hash with Apples & Bacon (from your freezer) with optional tofu scramble
Saving money and time! Isn't life amazing?

Lunch to-go: leftover Sesame Noodle Salad

Snack to-go: handful of blueberries

Dinner: Turmeric Roasted Cauliflower with Cherry Tomatoes and Beans 
Half this recipe and use the leftover white beans from day one.
Substitute lime for lemon because that is what we have on hand.

Day Four:

Breakfast: granola with blueberries and almond milk
Freeze the remaining blueberries.

Lunch to-go: leftover roasted cauliflower.

Snack to-go: orange

Dinner: Butternut Squash, Chickpea Buddha Bowl with tahini dressing
This recipe makes enough to share, or you can take the leftovers for your lunch tomorrow.
You will need to have on hand: water or your favourite cooking oil, salt & pepper, spices (like cumin, child powder, garlic — which you bought fresh, oregano, and turmeric).
You will use from the shopping list: red onion slices, remaining butternut squash, a little broccoli, a little kale, a can of chickpeas, avocado, rice, tahini dressing and roasted chickpeas.
Preheat your oven to 400. Wash the chickpeas and season with oil and spices. Spread on a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes, turning occasionally. Cube the remaining butternut squash, then season with oil and spices. Roast for 20-30 minutes, turning once. Prepare the rice. Thinly slice a little red onion and a quarter avocado for each bowl. Freeze the remaining avocado. Cut the broccoli into bite size pieces. Wash and chop a handful of kale.
To serve, put the cooked rice in the bottom of your bowl and arrange the kale, half the butternut squash, broccoli, red onion, and a quarter of the chickpeas on top of the rice. Drizzle with tahini dressing.
Enjoy!
Don’t forget to save the leftover roasted chickpeas.

Day Five:

Breakfast: Breakfast: Roasted Butternut Squash Hash with Apples & Bacon (from your freezer) with optional tofu scramble
Make dinner in the morning!

Lunch to-go: leftover Butternut Squash, Chickpea Buddha Bowl with tahini dressing

Snack to-go: roasted chickpeas

Dinner: Slow Cooker Vegetable Barley Soup
This soup is so delicious you will enjoy eating it all weekend.

Ingredients
3/4 cup frozen cut green beans
2/3 cup frozen whole kernel corn
1 pkg optional jackfruit (I would do it without, but if you want something meaty...)
1/2 cup chopped bell pepper
1 large onion, chopped
2/3 cup uncooked barley
1 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 carton (32 ounces) vegetable broth or beef-flavoured vegan broth
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes with roasted garlic
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
You can also add an optional glass of white wine, but what would you do with the rest of the bottle?

Instructions
Put everything in the slow cooker. Cook at low temperature for 8-9 hours.
Makes 10 servings! Why not share with a friend?

Day Six:

Breakfast: Breakfast: Roasted Butternut Squash Hash with Apples & Bacon (from your freezer) with optional tofu scramble

Lunch: leftover Vegetable Barley Soup

Snack: roasted chickpeas

Dinner: leftover Vegetable Barley Soup and a big salad
Use the remaining 1/2 carton of cherry tomatoes. Chop the remaining red onion. Grate your leftover carrots and green onions. If you have some leftover green pepper throw that in too. Wash and tear up your remaining kale.
Half of this salad will make for good eating tomorrow too. Don't forget to put half in the fridge!

Day Seven:

Breakfast: avocado berry smoothie
Put frozen avocado and blueberries in the blender with 1 cup of almond milk. Blend and enjoy!

Lunch: leftover Vegetable Barley Soup

Snack: roasted chickpeas

Dinner: leftover Vegetable Barley Soup and a big salad

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