Re: soy is dangwerous?

In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>,  <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
>I was reading in this site how dangerous soy is.  Is this true?  Should I
>worry about it?
>
>http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/
>
>"All soybeans contain the natural toxins  ..."
>
>"Soy protein has been Assessed by the Australia/New Zealand Food Authority
>as posing potential hazards to consumers as to sexual maturation, sexual
>differences, foetal and neonatal brain development, and to thyroid function
>of children and adults"

Umm, here's a general tip in evaluating such bizarre claims:  Look for the
real world consequences if they were true.

For example, if China and other east Asian countries where soybeans have
been a major source of dietary protein for thousands of years were largely
depopulated by infertility, this claim would be supported.  If soybeans
were not used in animal feeds because they cause reproductive problems and 
sickness in livestock, that would also support the claim.  However, it
appears that billions of people live healthy lives on diets containing 
substantial amounts of soy products, and soybean oil meal is a common and
important protein supplement in most animal feeds in soy-growing areas.

Raw soybeans, like some other leguminous seeds, contain growth inhibitors 
which are destroyed by heat or fermentation.  Therefore single-stomached
animals like pigs and humans shouldn't eat a lot of raw soybeans, and few
if any do.  Of course, people who are allergic to soy should avoid it.

This "Soy Online Service" seems to have a great big axe to grind, and I
don't have the patience to wade through the abusive language to find out
what it is.

So don't eat soybeans if you are afraid of them.  There are lots of other
things to eat.  But if you search the web, you can probably find pages
that will try to convince you that almost any food is there to destroy
you, but there's a huge plot by farmers, governments, marketers, university
researchers and drug companies to fake the evidence in order to make you
sick and profit from it.  You can also find pages claiming that any of a
variety of foods are the panacea which cure all ills, but a similar cabal
wishes to conceal this from you for similar reasons of profit making.