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How To Kick Your Thyroid’s Ass: Two Hidden Sources of Soy at Your Breakfast Table
I was so inspired by a live-streaming speech given by Sally Fallon Morrell, the president of the Weston A. Price foundation, this week at the Wise Traditions Conference on how and what to eat (that is, real, whole, traditionally-prepared foods). This woman is truly a food science and food history genius and her lecture really drives home the point: do not trust industrial/processed food to sustain us or nourish us. If anything, trust processed food to send us into a diseased state. This is because we are expecting for-profit companies to sell us high quality and high-nutrition goods. Quite frankly, it ain’t gonna happen. Instead, giant food manufacturers sell chemical concoctions and processing byproduct waste as foods safe to consume. Or, as Sally Fallon brilliantly put it, “The goal is to make fake foods out of the products of commodity agriculture…, The food is highly manipulated, sterile, and artificially constructed — nothing as naturally occurs in nature. Why wouldn’t it be destructive to our bodies?
In an article on the fake foods and chemicals invading our diets, Fallon touches on one of the staples of any typical American breakfast — orange juice. How terrible could that be?, Well, she says, “Have you ever wondered why processed orange juice stays cloudy, why the solids do not settle? This is because soy protein combined with soluble pectin is added, and this keeps the juice permanently cloudy. It might be interesting to know, for those of you who are allergic to soy…
Actually, it “might be interesting to know†for those who have thyroid disease!, Did you know you were downing a cup-full of a thyroid-slowing goitrogen every time you got your “daily dose” of vitamin C?
Another staple of any Western breakfast is the grain product — pastries, cereal, bagels — but especially the toast. It is normal in our culture for people to eat bread several times a day — toast for breakfast, sandwich for lunch, garlic bread with dinner. Unfortunately, when this bread being consumed is processed in a plant and not homemade, chances are, we’re consuming soy. It is often used as a dough extender or conditioner. Yes, soy in bread; who knew?, Consider this anecdotal story; one woman’s firsthand experience:
Leslie Blumenberg went to pick up her mother at the airport and got lost coming home. Although she had lived in the area for years, she became completely disoriented. It took her two hours to find her way back to her house. She was also suffering from cognitive problems, her words would jumble when she tried to speak coherent sentences, and she forgot how to spell.
Leslie had been eating soy foods, lots of them, for three years. When she went off soy, her problems cleared up, her mind returned to normal. But Jenny Smith did not eat soy. Her problems cleared up only when she went on a diet and stopped eating bread. She discovered that she could eat homemade bread without any problem. But supermarket bread gave her brain fog.
Jenny had a thyroid problem and had been taking thyroxine for years. When her office connected with the internet, she went online to a thyroid site. There she learned that soy was a potent thyroid depressant and should not be consumed by anyone with thyroid troubles. Next trip to the grocery store, she began to read labels and discovered that every loaf of bread in the supermarket contained soy flour.
The moral of the story here is read food labels — be aware of every ingredient (both listed and not listed, as many times ingredients that are considered to be “industry standards” are not required on the label), whenever possible make the food yourself, and do not rely on a company to give you nourishing/healthy food products. And for more information on soy, check out this easy-to-read fact sheet, the Soy Alert! from the Weston A. Price Foundation.
On a final note, I wrote a few weeks ago about trying to up my raw fermented foods intake. I have to tell you, it’s truly one of the best things I’ve done for my health in a long time. I realized in a still-weakened system like mine, taking a few probiotics a day isn’t enough. My body was craving live beneficial bacteria, and I’ve started eating these raw cultured vegetables at every meal. Yes, every meal. In just a few weeks time, it’s drastically cut down my rate of (candida) infection. I would highly suggest it to anyone dealing with immunity problems and autoimmunity.
Until Next Week,
Love Always,
Liz
Send any questions or comments to Liz@DearThyroid.ORG; I’d love to chat.
Resources:
- The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food
- Is There Soy In Your Bread?
- Food Companies Try, But Can’t Guarantee Safety
Wait! Before you leave, a few weeks ago we had a contest for Shakeology goodies from our dear friend Beth. One of our winners never claimed their prize, and so we’ve chosen a new winner…. Tamara!! Tamara, please email me at Liz@DearThyroid.org with your address and information to claim your prize!
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46 Responses to “How To Kick Your Thyroid’s Ass: Two Hidden Sources of Soy at Your Breakfast Table”
Leave a Reply to Liz Schau
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Liz,
Another interesting article. I love the WAP foundation! I used to eat a lot of soy–when I was a vegetarian (tofu, soy “copies” of meats, etc.). I cut way back when I began consuming small amounts of meat, and then pretty much eliminated it shortly after my Hashimoto’s diagnosis. I did not know about OJ and bread, although we only drink/eat the “from scratch” kinds here anyway. I’m already picking apart labels for hidden gluten, but I will start paying more attention to soy as well!
Thanks for another thoughtful article!
I don’t drink processed orange juice or really any processed juice!!.. but this is a total surprise.. NO MORE TROPICANA!!!!!!!!or the likes of it..
I did not know about orange juice but we don’t drink it at home. I did know about bread, I try not to eat any because of the soy. I have also discovered now that I’m allergic to milk that milk too is in everything from soup’s to breads. I really need to take the time to make my own bread just can’t make a good loaf though.
Liz, what kind of fermented veggies are you eating at each meal? Are you making them yourself or do you buy them? The grocery store I’m going to now doesn’t sell the sauerkraut that I’ve been buying, so I have to find some alternatives. Plus, it’s good to have variety.
Thanks for the update on OJ. I succeeded in ridding it from our frig, based on the pesticides and all that sugar, but I didn’t know about the soy. Our dog was having an incontinence problem due to low estrogen levels from when she was spayed. The vet recommended soy supplements and it cleared her right up. Kindof scary how quickly that worked! My significant other is big on avoiding soy now that he knows what it does to the estrogen levels.
Thanks Robyn, I appreciate it! Good for you for doing things from scratch… it’s the way humans have always eaten… makes so much sense for us to continue to do it now. 🙂
i gave up oj years ago… now im’ really glad i did.
oh, and thanks again for my prize!!
Alexia — right?? And because things like this are considered “industry standard”, it doesn’t always require claiming/labeling. How scary.
Melanie, milk allergies are so common too. Soy, gluten, milk… they’re rampant. Good for you for identifying it and being aware of what’s in your food. And, I’ve never tried to bake a loaf of bread, but I can imagine how difficult it is 🙂
Hey Melissa,
I really really like the Rejuvenative Foods green cabbage sauerkraut. I’ve been eating that, and then recently every health food store in the area ran out of it, so I was buying a different brand (a local company called Glaser Farms — they have a whole line of raw vegan products like cultured veg and dressings). And also, because of the whole recent “shortage” of sauerkraut, I decided to start making my own, which is also so much cheaper! Right now, I have green cabbage and celery fermenting. It’s my first batch so I’ll have to see how it turns out and if I did everything right. Do you have any tips for me? Have you ever made any or have a brand you prefer? 🙂
And, that is crazy about your dog! — the estrogenic power of soy!!! Oyy!!
I didn’t know soy was in orange juice or bread. I’m heading over to the Soy Alert to find out other products soy is in.
Recently, I started trying the vegetarian Paleo diet vs just vegan/GF. I was drinking orange juice. I’m curious to see how it will affect my mind, body and weight loss.
Great article!
Very glad to hear the raw fermented foods has been paying off.
Katie
Thanks Liz, for enlightening me once again ! I was eating gluten-free bread a couple times a week; however, I stopped it a while ago because of the sugar in it. I wonder if there was soy in that too (Trader Joe’s brand). I don’t drink juice either because of the sugar but I sure am glad to learn about this.
I definitely need to go back and learn more about the raw fermented foods, and I definitely want to try the yogurt I saw you post about. How did that come out, BTW? I know I need more of this in my diet. The one thing I really miss that I’ve cut out of my diet is my yogurt, so I’d love to try making that.
Thanks again, Liz♥
Liz, (and everyone)
Baking bread at home is EASY PEASY. Ridiculously easy, in fact. I have had some trouble with GF recipes, not that the loaves turn out bad (they taste pretty much the same as GF bread you can buy), but because they don’t have the same texture as wheat flour bread.
I would be happy to share my easy, almost fool proof, recipes with anyone. I’ve been making my own bread for YEARS now, only takes about 10 min of actual “do” time, and then about 2 hours for rising/baking.
Interestingly, I had a conversation with one of my co-worker doctors this week. She was eating a “Healthy Choice” frozen dinner, and I had chicken salad that I had made at home. She was all about how I eat so healthy but that she just doesn’t have the time. I told her–I put the whole chicken in the oven with salt and pepper (prep 10 min) for an hour, we had chicken with dinner that night, then the next day I removed a big hunk of breast, shredded, added walnuts, grapes, poppy seeds and mayo (prep about 10 min). I am not sure where this whole “it takes so much time” to cook from scratch comes from. Organization? Yes. Planning? Yes. Time out of my day? Not really. And, yes I realize that 20 minutes over the course of 2 days is longer than 2 minutes in the microwave–but are we really THAT busy that 20 minutes (over TWO days) is too long for good food?
I have never read what the scientific, measurable quantity of soy intake is for the threashold of when it begins to inhibit thyroid hormone supplement intake. Do you know? I would love to see this and compare it to the quantities of soy in various products including OJ. My registered dietitian and thyroid oncologist have both stated to me that timing of soy intake is the most important factor that will interfere with absorption and to wait for four hours before taking soy. Helpful to know what does and does not have soy and at what levels it will make a real difference. Keep me posted and thanks for the scoop!
Thanks Katie.
Lori, the yogurt came out good, but I think the starter I used wasn’t fully alive. I am ordering a fresh one off the internet. It tasted coconutty, but not as tart as one would think. So, I’m going for round two with the yogurt… 🙂 I’m also thinking I could, technically, just use a can of coconut milk in place of the fresh coconut water and meat. Think I’m going to try that, simply because it’s cheap and easy.
Robyn, I would die for some of your chicken salad right about now. That sounds delicious!
Kairol, I think we’re seeing the soy issue from two different paradigms. Whereas I feel like I avoid substances that are known to be destructive altogether, you would prefer to take the appropriate amount. I totally get what you’re saying, however — when is too much too much? I can’t answer that.
I will say, however, that I think with soy, alot of the time the goitrogenic properties take center stage (as in, goitrogens that thyroid-challenged people should avoid). However, I think something else at play here are antinutrients and phytates. Soy is traditionally eaten fermented, and because in this country we primarily eat unfermented soy, we are eating antinutrients and enzyme inhibitors which block the absorption of vitamins and minerals. To me, this equals greater health losses than the goitrogenic component alone. When you combine the antinutrient effects of soy with all of the other nuts, seeds, grains, beans, and legumes we eat that also contain antinutrients, we are truly set-up for vitamin and mineral deficiencies and poor gut health.
One more thing, lectins present in legumes, such as soy, break down intestinal lining and create a leaky gut condition where foreign proteins enter the blood stream. This can create all sorts of health conditions, autoimmune disease being one of them — the body reacting to foreign particles.
Another thing to watch out for in processed foods is the acrylamide content. It is a carcinogen that was first detected in certain foods in 2002. From the FDA web site: Acrylamide forms from sugars and an amino acid (asparagine) during certain types of high-temperature cooking, such as frying, roasting, and baking.
In a nutshell, the more processed food we eat, the more acrylamide we get in our diet. Here is a list of foods and their acrylamide content on the FDA web site: http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/FoodContaminantsAdulteration/ChemicalContaminants/Acrylamide/ucm053549.htm
Those gluten-free pretzels that I love so much are probably really high in acrylamides 🙁
We should know the basics of cooking as it may help us some times.
I’m actually cutting sugar and soy out. (Sugar to help with the weight loss and soy because I figure my thyroid is suppressed enough already, it doesn’t need any help!)
I’ve been looking online if there is a website that discusses soy-free diets but I’m having trouble. Does anyone know of one?
I’ve heard a lot about eating fermented foods . . . I’m a little turned off by it, but very curious too. It looks interesting.
Every time I have had allergy testing I have tested allergic to wheat, but it wasn’t until after I was diagnosed hypothyroid and began reading about it that I learned wheat inhibits thyroid function. Looking through my copy of “Prescription for Natural Cures” by James F. Balch and Mark Stengler, I read on page 184 “… wheat is the product most often linked to depression.” I try to reduce my bread consumption, at least when eating at home, sometimes making lettuce wraps instead, and using alternatives such as Feldkamp’s linseed bread. It’s not fluffy, but it’s edible, and an acquired taste. Here is a picture.
http://www.germandeli.com/fellinbread.html
Robyn,
send me your GF bread recipe! I wanna try! 🙂
I try to keep soy out of my diet and once I fully switch over to the GF diet I will watch out for it much more. But like High Fructose Corn Syrup – it’s in everything!
I am not totally free of soy and gluten … just cutting-back, and should try to make a better effort to plan ahead and shop so I always have good alternatives for me on hand. I feel more energetic when I eat according to my blood type, which is very similar to my food allergy testing where I was determined in the 1980s to be allergic to 70% of … the foods. If you donate blood, they can tell you your blood type for free, and http://er4yt.com/ tells about the four ways of eating according to blood type, but you have to buy the book to know what the good and bad foods are. This book in the series is more specific for hormonal balance. http://www.amazon.com/Menopause-Individualized-Preventing-Osteoporosis-Conditions/dp/0425212084/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269198959&sr=8-16 Several years ago I felt weird after drinking a half-gallon of soy milk over the course of a couple days, so avoided it after that. Later I was diagnosed hypothyroid and estrogen dominant … so it makes sense to me the phytoestrogens in the soy milk could have made me feel different. A couple years ago a coworker mentioned to me soy should be eaten only if it is properly fermented. Such information can be found at http://search.mercola.com/Results.aspx?k=SOY Wheat for me is a big problem; I notice, for instance, after eating a sandwich, I need a nap, so it’s really not worth it to eat it. Last year two days in a row I was very groggy and late for work, then I gave the situation some thought and realized the two nights before I had eaten Hot Pockets. It is just not worth it for me to eat such things. http://www.amazon.com/Celiac-Disease-Revised-Updated-Epidemic/dp/0061728160/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1269199690&sr=1-1 is a very informative book, including hair loss can sometimes be associated with with wheat consumption. WARNING: If you eliminate a food you are allergic to, then reintroduce it back into your diet, it is possible you can have a worse reaction. For instance, I had eczema on my hands for about ten years, then totally eliminated all cow milk products and my “chronic recurrent hand eczema” cleared gradually over two weeks. After my food challenge was over and I consumed milk again, my eczema returned to my hands … and all over my body. Since I have been taking dessicated thyroid and since I improved my gut health, I have noticed my allergy symptoms are significantly less severe. My current doctor has lots of good information on his website. http://drhotze.com/ His compounding pharmacy can be a source for people who are looking for dessicated thyroid. Despite being unemployed right now, I am feeling pretty good, which I partially attribute to taking recently lots of vitamin D after being determined my levels were rock bottom. http://vitaminddoc.com/ I also take iodoral. http://www.optimox.com/pics/Iodine/opt_Iodoral.htm I am feeling well, but my hair needs to be thicker, and despite the obvious, that I need to lose weight. I need to use my T-Tapp videos; these exercise videos by Teresa Tapp help balance hormones. http://t-tapp.com/
Donna, thanks for the heads up! Good point! That’s also very present in potatoes that are cooked at high temps (potato chips and french fries).
Em, good for you! Sugar is another culprit altogether. You’re definitely taking great steps for your health.
I’m familiar with a bunch of soy-free sites. I guess it just depends what kind of eating you do (ie: omnivore, vegetarian, vegan, hardcore carnivore, paleo…):
http://glutenfreesoyfreevegan.wordpress.com/
http://nourishedkitchen.com/
http://www.elanaspantry.com/
Let me know (email me) if you want some more sites.
And in terms of the raw fermented foods… I LOVE Rejuvenative Foods brand, which is available online and also in many local health food stores. It is very tart and sour… basically, if you like pickles, you’ll like their raw sauerkraut. It is just very tangy and vinegary. Very good. And it’s not like there’s mold or bacteria growing on it, visibly. It’s just like eating yogurt. 🙂
Madame Hypogirl, very true. I boycott all processed food for that very reason. I know it’s a hardcore stance, but it’s also an easy way to avoid all the things we know are damaging. It’s not a reality for everyone, though, so eliminating whatever body-damaging foods we can is well worth it!
Margaret Ann, wow, that’s an amazing story. Especially the part about the elimination diet and eczema. It really is a wonderful thing when the body isn’t reacting in an allergic/autoimmune way to what we’re consuming. So, is your skin still cleared up?
Very interesting about what you said about wheat. Wheat allergies are also very common. I think, in addition to reacting to wheat itself, people can also be reacting to the pesticides/fungicides/etc. sprayed on the crop. Wheat is HEAVILY sprayed, unless organic. Not good for the immunocompromised.
Do you think you’ll want to go 100& gluten- and soy-free in the future? Do you think it’s something you want to do and sounds realistic?
I didn’t know about the soy in breads! I have noticed, however, that in many lotions, soy is an ingredient. I try to avoid them, however it’s obviously getting more difficult to completely avoid this thing! Makes one suspicious about why it’s in everything…..
When my cholesterol was high (hullo, thyroid?!) and my dr still hadn’t believed it was my thyroid, his nutritionist put me on a special soy margarine. I tried it once and my face turned red. I was glad to say I was obviously allergic.
I have hypothyroidism and have been taking Synthroid for about 10 years. Just increaed my dosage to 100 mcg. Still have terrible symptoms, Anxiety, Depression, Fatigue, heart palputations achy muscles. I feel totally out of wack. Started on Royal Maca which was suggested to me at my local health food store. Took for aprox 2 months and seemed to be helping. Now I’m back to the same old symptoms and now my hair is falling out, (bald spots and thinning) am wondering if the Royal Maca is interfering with the Synthroid?
I noticed that the only food based rice free multi-vitamin that I can find has soy flour in it. Arg. So right now, I don’t take one. Also, my doc. wanted to try me on a new thyroid supplement that had blue flag root in it (stimulates thyroid production) and in the filler included soy flour! In even the high quality supplements it seems very hard to get away from.
p.s. I’m so glad you love fermented food! And yes, a probiotic in no way compensates for a diet rich in friendly bacteria. I find that if I don’t take it for a while and end up eating sweets of any sort, that transitioning back onto the stuff can be tough. I get a die off reaction that results in a few days of GI distress and fatigue. Hopefully, you didn’t have any of that sort of thing.
Marie, isn’t it funny how the foods people are most allergic to are actually the foods most commonly found in food? Coincidence? I think not…
And, raw fermented foods are definitely helping to curb my cravings for sweets. Really works wonders that way. 🙂
Donna, that’s a terrible reaction!! So sorry that happened to you!!! Have you noticed any other soy-related reactions?
Lally, I don’t know anything about Royal Maca… I’ve heard of Maca as a superfood, but I really don’t know very much about supplements. Sorry…
Sorry gals. Soy is one of the 8 allergens that by law must be labeled in simple terms. If orange juice has soy, the soy must be listed. No exceptions are allowed. Now some OJs may have soy, but if they do you will see it listed.
Personally I consider orange juice to be liquid fructose and I generally avoid it for that reason.
Actually Don, because it is considered an industry standard it is not required to be listed. Also, in many cases, other things don’t need to be claimed on labels because they are under a certain PPM. That is true in the case of organic processed foods — they can still contain small amounts of non-organic foods, but this isn’t listed on the ingredients.
Read this about bromide in bread.
http://www.breastcancerchoices.org/bromidedominancetheory.html
In regards to some food cravings, read
http://www.springboard4health.com/notebook/health_food_addiction.html
Soy. What a big subject. There is lots of research information at http://www.pubmed.gov. In the two fields, search PubMed and search soy.
Speaking of fermented foods, a couple years ago I read the book The Body Ecology Diet. http://bodyecologydiet.com/ The book mentions the best kefir (similar to yogurt, but different organism) is made by Lifeway. http://lifeway.net/
Another informative article I knew soy was in bread and OJ I try to avoid it in most things and cook from scratch but some things have hidden soy and aspartame so you have to check labels for everything.
Great Article Liz are you a vegan or vegetarian I am thinking of cutting meat completely out of my diet.
Lolly, I’m not a vegan or vegetarian. I eat low glycemic index (little grains, starches, and sugars), and the only animal product I eat is fish and seafood.
Donna –it all started with the farm subsidies during WWII era. Once an industry is built up around a certain food, interests are entrenched and it’s hard to change things. Have you seen Food Inc?
Liz –thanks for the tips about the fermented food. I will keep an eye out for that brand. I’ve made sauerkraut at home but where I’m at, organic cabbage is way more expensive than buying sauerkraut. I did see it on sale recently so maybe I will try it again. I’ve also made fermented ginger carrots from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Very tasty. I like to add a bit of whey to the recipe (I get it by straining yogurt) because it seems to make for a powerful fermentation, and it’s less salty.
wow so much on this topic, thank you all. I am concerned, i am not yet diagnosed w thyroid but if symptoms count i am a poster child. i am celiac and dairy sensitive so have resorted to a great deal of soy. i used to cook everything from scratch and mostly vegan and organic. now i rely on what i can have brought to me that is non guilt forming, i hate to ask for the hubby to cook or kid too much i know now I’m addicted to sugar and it probably only makes me feel worse. when i was just managing my fibro i discovered sprouting and it was fun and quite healthy sprouts contain much higher amounts of the adult plants nutrition. we loved broccoli, chick peas, and flax sprouts. if you have a dehydrator you can mix sprouted flax with some slivered onion garlic and shredded carrot and make some very tasty crackers. i learned allot of the recipes and techniques from a raw foodist friend of mine. a goggle on raw foodist or sprouting will give some good starting ideas. I do suggest you always rinse all your sprouts daily and soak for a few min before eating and only sprout organic seeds. my friend also suggested mixing a teaspoon of food grade hydrogen peroxide to a quart water and soak the seeds for a couple of hours to help prevent bacteria. my whole family liked the fun of sprouting and since this was before i had celiac we sprouted wheat berries, they are sweet like candy. thank you all for the wonderful advice and thoughtful suggestions.
The Paleolithic diet refers to the diet taken by human beings before the arrival of agriculture, technology and civilization. Basically, this Stone Age diet consisted of vegetables and lean red meat. Consumed in large quanties, this type of diet provides 40 to 65% of the energy needed by the body.
Living off of the Paleolithic Diet till the early centuries, people had extremely low rates of cancer, obesity, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart diseases before shifting to our modern diets. Thus, many scientists and nutritionists feel that Paleolithic diet is a very good tool for fighting against obesity, cancer and many other modern ailments.
The foods included in this diet are generally lean red meat, eggs, fish, fruits, nuts and vegetables. Items like breads, pasta, milk, refined sugars were excluded from this diet. This diet used to vary region and culture wise in different countries.
The specialty of this diet is it is rich in protein, fiber, minerals, iron, vitamins, mono unsaturated fat, omega3 fats, antioxidants and phyto-chemicals. On the other hand the diet contains lower quantity of saturated fats, salts, and enzyme inhibitors.
Experts feel that the Paleolithic diet have many health benefits and since foods taken are mostly natural they have no side effects. Since milk and dairy products are excluded in this diet it is safe to have some calcium to protect from rickets, osteoporosis, etc.
I started trying the vegetarian and some orange juice too.
it’s really a wonderful article.
I didn’t know about soy in OJ either. I stopped drinking it years ago when I found out it had too much sugar but I know the stuff they serve in most restaurants is gonna be the cheap kind, i.e. with soy. 🙁