Lucia,

I did read the article, and it is not the first time I have seen stuff
like this.  I believe that it has some truth.  I believe that tofu,
sprouted soybeans, and limited amounts of cooked soy beans in soups, or
fermented soy, as in traditional Asians meals are just fine.  From time
to time, I enjoy raw and cooked sprouted soybeans, a spoonful of soybean
cooked in soups (prepared like a dry bean), miso soup, tofu and a number
of other things I grew up with.  To eat it or anything else excessively
or constantly is not a good idea, IMO.  It is also documented in TCM
that soy has some properties that are undesirable.

Lucia Wright wrote:

> I just read an article on the Gerson webpage that explains how soy
> products are harmful because they block enzyme activity, among other
> things. Does anyone here have an opinion on this information, or some
> experience?

Soy products are often fermented in Asian foods.  These have different
properties than plain soy.  So the preparation of Asian dishes using soy
is quite different than in the occident.

In TCM soy is considered a "cooling" item, which in theory slows down
several body functions.  About this, I cannot say I have a strong
opinion, but in the traditional texts it is supposed to slow down your
metabolism, cool your body and generally have the opposite effects that
it is used for in western culture. Let's just say for the sake of
argument that soy slows down your thyroid (my recent post on oils
suggests this).  So one documented fact that I have seen in a number of
studies is that menopause women in Asia don't have hot flashes due to an
estrogen-like precursor in soy products that women in the USA don't
consume (who have hot flashes).  That would be a benefit, right?   But
aside from that there's more to consider.  Soy powders as protein are
added to many sports nutrition items, and, according to TCM that is not
a good idea, since if you're trying to do any kind of sports, you
wouldn't want your body temperature lowered, your metabolism slowed,
your lean muscle mass growth limited, which is the implication of eating
a "cooling" food.  So trying to gain weight by body building and
consuming soy products, in TCM, as I understand things, is totally
contraditory.

Also, soy oil is an extracted item, not including most of the original
food.  It is cheap, cheap stuff, certainly appealing to a manufacturer.
And it is present in high amounts in salad dressing, prepared foods that
are fried and other supermarket items.  Let's just say soy oil is
"cooling," and that all these people that are trying to lose weight by
having salads use store bought salad dressings made with soy oil.  Well,
then you get the idea, they have the right veggies, but the dressing
contains something that makes them gain weight (IMO).

I can always think of more to say, but those are the major points for
now . . .
:-)

regards  r
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