>Subject: Re: Soy

Wrt those who are havingtrouble cutting out soy:
I can certainly relate.  I ate a lot of tofu, tempeh, soy milk, and dishes
made from them for many years while following vegan and macrobiotic diets.
To give you an idea of just how "into soy" I was, during my early and mid
twenties, my white Toyota sported a liscense plate which read "GO4TOFU"; the
prefix of my phone number was followed by 8638 (which spells tofu), and I
once dressed up as a box of extra-firm tofu, tear off recipe pads and all,
for work, on Halloween day.  Btw: I was mislabeled; "soft" would have been
more accurate then.  (I'm serious!  Part of how I made a living was teaching
people to eat tofu and other vegan foods!)

What finally helped me nix them from my diet?  Reading a lot of articles
about the down side of soy and realizing how many of the chronic health
problems my husband and I had (at the time) were caused in part by eating
all that soy.  We also got pretty fed up with all the "soy methane" we were
generating and the elaborate exorcism rituals we devised to expel the soy
and other bean gasses.  Btw:  How on earth does anyone manage to eat soy
nuts without having massive discomfort and/or embarrasment?

The Price Pottenger Nutrition Foundation sells a packet called "The Ploy of
Soy"; I think it's $5.  I did some research into the soy industry and was
appalled at what I uncovered.  (Mansanto is at the helm.. that should tell
you $omething!  The $oy industry is far bigger than the beef industry...)
More recently, I read another good article on the ill-effects of soy in the
Fall 1998 issue of The Price Pottemger Nutrition Foundation Newsletter.  I
urge you to read them; they are very eye opening.  There are others you can
find on the internet too.  The idea that soy protein will help protect
against osteoporosis, cancer, etc. is one big marketing $cam.  IMHE, eating
soy protein just really wacked out my hormones, my husband's too!

You might try replacing soy milk with diluted unsweetened, coconut milk,
maybe eating eggs and veggies for breakfast or egg salad and veggies for a
snack.  A pressed tofu and steamed or stir fried vegetable meal could be
replaced by one comprised of chicken or turkey breast with vegetables and
seasonings if a lean meal is what you are after.

Best of success,
Rachel Matesz