An argument between whether or not soy is good for you or bad for you is briefly outlined in this article at Boing Boing, but it seems like the answer is the same as it is with anything else: if it's processed, stay away and if it's a whole food, it's going to have nutritional value. This has always seemed like a no-brainer to me. Cook with whole foods, they taste better and are better for you. My personal favorite version of soy, is edamame. Seriously, in my opinion, nature's absolute perfection (aside from my son of course ;).

In her recent book The Jungle Effect, San Francisco-based physician Daphne Miller — who studied low cancer rates in Okinawa extensively — writes:

While Okinawans take in over 80 percent of their soy in a relatively unprocessed form as tofu, edamame, soy flour, soy milk, or miso, people in the United States eat a similiar percentage of their soy in a processed form. Our soy foods are heated, mashed, and denatured to create a vast array of substances ranging from Tofurky to fillers for tuna fish to ice-cream sandwiches... while whole foods offer valuable protection, concentrated or denatured derivatives of these foods are having the opposite effect.


The bottom line, at least for now, seems to be that good soy prevent cancer and bad soy might promote cancer. Good soy = tofu, soy sauce, miso, natto, edamame. Bad soy = soy protein powder, energy bars made with soy, fake hot dogs, tofurky.

Read the rest here: Taste Test: natto, gooey fermented soy beans - Boing Boing

Technorati Tags: soy, tofu, natto, beans, edamame, soy beans, whole foods, processed foods, food, cooking, recipe