From soy to hemp

As I eat my breakfast today I thought I'd write a quick note about hemp milk. You can't be conscious in America and be unaware of the rise of soy milk (or soy generally). Many people think that soy milk is a healthy alternative to milk (for intolerance issues, fat, etc.). Others think that soy actually provides health benefits over alternatives. Soy milk has been pushed big time and Americans have drank it up. Soy milk had sales of about $2 million in 1980, and currently posts sales over $300 million a year. The truth is that soy milk is not healthy (nor is any fermented soy). And like anything dangerous to eat, it is far worse for growing children. Plus, soy eaten as part of a omnivorous diet is not great, but eaten on a vegetarian diet it is particularly unhealthy and damaging, as people count on it to provide what they miss from meat, and yet it often fails to provide those nutrients and hurts the bodies ability to get them elsewhere, as is shown below.

The list of what's wrong with unfermented soy is pretty long. Here's a few: it blocks protein digestion (what you eat isn't necessarily digested) that also can cause problems with amino acid uptake and other nutrient deficiencies including calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc in the intestines, it promotes clotting that causes the clumping of red blood cells, it acts as a growth inhibitor, it depresses thyroid function, and contains isoflavones that are estrogen-like compounds that are widely believed to increase cancer risks, particularly amongst women and even more particularly for post-menopausal women (many people actually take these isoflavones in pill form as a supplement). Further, any health benefit of soy is really unclear. Some studies show that soy reduces certain types of cancer, while others show that it most likely increases the risks of other types. Some women look to soy to help reduce their chances of breast cancer, but as Marian Burros of the New York Times has discussed, some studies show that soy reduces breast cancer risks and others show that it increases it. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, for instance, reported over 10 years ago that soy increases breast cell proliferation in women -- and the greater the cell proliferation the greater the chance of breast cancer cells developing.

To me, the message here is fairly clear when you look past Silk's health claims: avoid it. Unfermented soy at most has unproven health benefits, and at worst is a cause of significant diet related problems and even cancer. Yes, the Japanese consume soy. But they consume it primarily in FERMENTED form. Fermentation largely reduces or eliminates every health concern listed above. Further, the Japanese on average consume small amounts of soy with meals. Americans think there is no such thing as too much of a good thing. Well there just might be. (I'll also add that there are particular types of cancer that the Japanese have higher rates of, and some attribute this to soy intake.)

So what should you do about your cereal and your coffee and your smoothie? While Starbucks may only offer milk or soy milk, even regular grocery stores now often offer numerous alternatives. The most popular are almond milk and rice milk (and some people will also drink oat milk). However, both offer almost no health benefits. So you're better off using either to soy milk, but I want to suggest a better alternative: hempmilk. Hempmilk is taking on in the health food community. I have been drinking it for years now and recently realized on a trip to a primarily organic grocery store that the soy milk consumed a tiny amount of shelf space, while hempmilk was offered in three different flavors from multiple brands. This has clearly become the preferred alternative to those who have become well informed on soy. Hempmilk has more calcium that cows milk, and is packed with Omega 3s and 6s. It contains a good amount of digestible protein, amino acids, and numerous minerals. Hempmilk is pretty darn good for you. Give it a try -- I personally love Living Harvest Hempmilk's vanilla flavor. You can certainly get it at Whole Foods, health food stores, Green Grocer in Chicago, or online here. (Oh, and for those of you who may think this also gets you high, it doesn't. Hemp food products are all THC-free. Though unfortunately the wise government of the United States does not allow the growing of hemp seeds, so these are usually imported from Canada or other more progressive countries.)

Processed vegetarian/vegan food

I promised to write more about Veggie Bite today (the vegan "fast food" two store chain in Chicago). The reason I want to talk about Veggie Bite has less to do with the "restaurants" themselves and much more to do with what they represent -- and that is a belief by vegans and vegetarians that when they cut out flesh (or all animal products for vegans) they are eating healthier no matter what. I never bought into that mentality entirely, but I certainly found myself filling half my cart from the frozen section in Whole Foods. That meant I had fake chicken nuggets, vegan TV dinners, soy ice cream sandwiches, vegan meatballs, and who knows what else. I started to realize how absurd it was that I could believe I was eating healthy. Above all else, our bodies cannot handle processed foods. I am a firm believer that processed foods are the cause of so many healthy problems today. Maybe my foods lacked processed (a/k/a hydrogenated) oils, or some of the worst of processed corn byproducts (like high fructose corn syrup) but they still entailed an ingredient list that took up the entire side of the box and contained few items I recognized or could pronounce. This cannot possible be healthy. Indeed, research has shown that unfermented soy products are not only a poor source of nutrition as they are not very digestible, but they can wreak havoc in other ways -- even impeding the bodies ability to absorb protein. (Note that soymilk is one type of unfermented soy product).

This goes back to the basic and sensible thought that natural is better then processed, no matter how bad you think the natural is. The butter v. margarine issue provides perhaps the best example. Margarine is clearly worse for you overall. Making the same spread contain less fat is to ignore the terrible things that the processed ingredients in margarine will do to you over time. This is the same with vegetarian and vegan meals. Vegetarians often think that now their diet lacks unhealthy meat so they can eat as much cheese and milk as they want (which in their current form in America is usually a poor choice for a meal -- more to come on that another day). And together with vegans, we reach for fake chicken nuggets and the like. Besides the soy argument, believe it or not, the unhealthy thing about a chicken nugget is not just the part about the chicken.

I'll end by admitting that I know when vegans and vegetarians reach for these foods at times. This comes down to comfort and convenience. We remember eating them as kids, etc. and the only way we can eat a ruben again is to eat one made out of fake ingredients so it takes and feels like the real thing. We also can't always have a fridge full of fresh veggies and the time to wash and prepare them all so sometimes you need to pull something out of the freezer.

I think we just need to be aware of how unhealthy these foods can be, and that there are alternatives. Seitan (the wheat gluten byproduct) for instance, is much healthier than unfermented soy (so long as you don't have any gluten intollerance). And there are plenty of all veggie dishes that don't require fake meat. Wendy's serves chili -- why hasn't Veggie Bite thought to add a vegan chili that would be filled with vegetables, protein-packed beans and great flavor without any health issues? The reason seems to be that they blindly subscribe to the idea that as long as their food can be made without harming an animal (besides those who digest it) and without any ingredients of or from an animal, it can be deep fried in oil, made of unfermented soy, filled with processed ingredients, and still do a body good.

PS. I do not want to give the impression that unfermented soy should be avoided at all costs. As I understand it there are some benefits to soy regardless of fermentation -- the point is to be aware of what you are eating and to eat certain items (such as unfermented soy) in moderation. Some nuitritionists recommend no more then two servings of soy per day -- and we're talking 1/2 cup servings here (not a Texas lunch). So if you're worried that you're killing yourself with your daily Starbucks venti soy latte, my personal advice would be to take it down to a tall and avoid unfermented soy the rest of the day.