The Soya Fraud

The Cornucopia Institute (www.cornucopia.org) has just released a new report about organic soy products that’s sending shockwaves through the soy industry. By compiling information on the sourcing of soybeans, the use of toxic chemicals for soy protein extraction, and the use or avoidance of genetically modified soybeans, the Cornucopia Institute has created an Organic Soy Scorecard that reveals which soy product companies are truly trustworthy vs. those that are not.

The scorecard (http://www.cornucopia.org/2009/05/s…) takes into account:

• Where the soybeans are sourced from (many companies use “organic” soybeans sourced from China!)
• How the soybeans are processed (some companies bathe soybeans in toxic chemicals, then put the resulting extracts into infant formula!)
• How forthright the companies are in providing information to investigators.
• Whether the company tests for and avoids genetically modified soybeans.

You can read the full report on www.Cornucopia.org

Here’s who came out on top:

The soy companies scorecard

5-star rating
• Eden Foods – 100% of their soybeans are grown in the U.S. and Canada.

• Vermont Soy (Vermont) – 100% of soybeans also grown in U.S. and Canada (mostly in Vermont). Low-heat pasteurization helps preserve soybean nutrients.

• Small Planet Tofu (Washington) – Buys solely from American farmers.

• FarmSoy (Tennessee) – Real tofu made from soybeans bought from American farmers.

• TwinOats (Virginia) – Buys soybeans from an organic family farm in Virginia.

• Unisoya / Green Cuisine (Canada) – They grown their own organic soybeans on 400 acres.

4-star rating
• Organic Valley
• Great Eastern Sun
• Fresh Tofu
• Wildwood
• Tofu Shop

3-star rating
• Harris Teeter

2-star rating
• Trader Joe’s – refused to disclose sourcing information

1-star rating
• Pacific Natural Foods – Buys soybeans from China and refused to disclose the name of the organic certifier in China. Refused to respond to questions about the certification of their “organic” soybeans. Cornucopia wonders whether Pacific Natural Foods is engaged in “a marketing gimmick” when it claims its products are “Certified to the Source.” (Certified by who?)

• Vitasoy USA – Buys soybeans from China.

• Westsoy / SoyDream (both owned by Hain Celestial Group) – Refused to share sourcing information.

• Silk (Dean Foods) – Refused to participate. Says the report: Since Dean Foods acquired WhiteWave, its founder, Steve Demos, has left the company, along with almost all of the pioneering management — those who believed in “green” values. According to Demos, the company is now all about “green, with the dead presidents on it.”

Phenolic food compounds are all somewhat related, having a common ring formation (phenyl ring) as part of their molecular structure.  There are literally hundreds of phenolic compounds in plants that are responsible for most of the odour, colour and other characteristics of the plants.  In recent decades, agriculturalists have selectively bred plants with increased levels of certain phenolic compounds to make them more resistant to fungus. In doing so, they have  created plant foods that may cause adverse reactions in  humans. For example soybean plants of today have 200 times the amount of phenylisocyanate as in soybeans of just 30 years ago.

There are multiple sources of exposure to aromatic compounds. Aromatics are in pollens, food additives,  toothpastes, tobacco smoke, drugs, insecticides, perfumes,  dyes, ink, carpeting, cleaning solvents, auto exhaust fumes  as well as foods.   The list of problems associated with these compounds is long. It includes hyperactivity and learning disabilities in children, the irritable bowel syndrome, asthma, ear infection  in children, arthritis and migraine headaches. Phenolics appear to affect mood so that a person can be cheerful or depressed, according to the presence or absence of phenolics in the brain.

In a earlier post I also wrote about Soya and brain damage in men.

“Why Soya is not good for you”

Soya anyone?

Be well

Dr Sundardas

Why you should detox.

You may wonder about the significance of looking at environmental toxicity and its relevance to your health. More than two decades of practice and eleven thousand patients later, I am convinced that apart from nutritional deficiencies, environmental toxicity is the biggest factor behind the modern day tendency for disease and illness.

We are living in times fraught with stress and tension.  We are living lives where the food we eat,the water we drink and the environment we live in could be poisoning us. The aim of this blog is not to alarm but to inform.  Given the  state of the world today, it is not really possible to run  away to a safe haven. Instead by a process of adopting an appropriate diet, simple safety pre-cautions and judicious nutritional supplementation, it is possible to reduce the  extent of damage.

What are free radicals? There has been a great deal of mention made about them. They are often treated like mysterious strangers in the night that cripple you, weaken you and accelerate your aging. What are they really? Oxygen is essential for basic cell-function in humans and most humans. However it appears that this is a mixed blessing. Although it gives us an evolutionary advantage over those life forms that do not require oxygen, it is simultaneously a threat to our survival. Oxygen can produce toxic substances in our body such as peroxide, superoxide, hydroxyl radicals and “excited state oxygen”.

To those who never had the benefit of chemistry lessons,I will briefly recap as follows. An atom or a molecule consists of a core of positive particles called neutrons and spinning around them are electrons or negatively charged particles. So long as the total number of positive and negative charges are equal, the atom or molecule is stable and all is well. However when we take in molecules that are not  electrically balanced and are capable of oxidising  substances by stripping electrons from other stable  molecules, we are dealing with a free radical.

When we say oxidation we are referring to the chemical reaction where a electrically unbalanced molecule takes an electron from a another balanced molecule.   We can see this destructive chain reaction occurring all around us as in metal when it rusts, rubber as it perishes, apples and potatoes as their cut surfaces turn brown. Similar processes also take place inside us, rapidly  when tissues are in contact with toxic substances such as  strong acids or more slowly when fatty substances in our  blood oxidise (become rancid) or as we age. For it is largely  free radical activity that causes our cells to age and  protein synthesising machinery to become less efficient. Itis this that causes skin to wrinkle and muscle tissue to harden.

A deficiency of specific nutrients may allow some toxins to produce severe damage to our cells by a process of free radical oxidation as we have already discussed above. Oxidation also occurs dramatically when fats inadequately protected by anti-oxidants like Vitamins C and E become rancid. Too much cholesterol/fat in your arteries causes oxidation, damage to their lining and eventually arteriosclerosis. On the obvious level, free radical damage can take the form of poor quality skin and lack lustre hair. It can aggravate whatever skin problems you may have. It can rob you  of your energy and leave you feeling lethargic, tired and  yes, even depressed.   Oxidising heavy metals such as lead, excessive iron or copper and cadmium produces similar damage; as do free  radicals in smoke and alcohol. Cells so affected can become cancerous or part of an arthritic or any other inflammatory process. In general free-radical activity can be held responsible for any if not all forms of degenerative disorders from cancer to diabetes. Symptoms of free radical damage can include the following;

Poor Skin                      Oily Skin              Weight Gain

Cellulite                         Fatigue                 Lethargy

Sore and tired eyes       Arthritis                Cataract

Infertility                       PMS                     Mood Swings

Cancer                           Fibroids                Tumours

Atherosclerosis             Heart Disease        Fibroids

Birth Defects                Endometrosis         Cancer

What steps should you take?

1) Drink clean filtered water

2) Eat clean (organic) food

3) Reduce your exposure to DDTS, PCBS and watch what you use in your household products, cosmetics, toiletries and cleaning agents. Also reduce exposure to radiation ie computer, handphones etc

4) Start internal detox programmes. Start with your blood type diet.

5) Start cleaning your gut. Try digestive enzymes and probiotics together with liver and gall bladder cleanses.

6) These can include replacing your mercury amalgams in your mouth and doing a heavy metal detox with oral chelation agents.

7) Start taking vitamins, minerals and supplements to correct deficiencies and reduce free radical stress.

8) Reduce stress in your life. This will reduce toxic hormones being generated in your body.

For quite a few years, we have been offering this programme to our clients. Its is called the “Cellular Rejuvenation Program”.

http://www.naturaltherapies.com/cell rejuvenation program.htm

Be well

Dr Sundardas