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If isoflavone supplements are questionable, what about eating soy, and how much soy should we eat? We continue to hear that Asian have less disease because they eat a lot of soy. But how much soy do Asian really eat? In ancient times, farmers cultivated soybeans to instill nitrogen into the soil so that other crops would thrive. When they did begin to eat small amounts of soy they subjected it to a long fermentation process to make foods such as miso and shoyu (soy sauce). Historically, Asians understood that it was imperative to soak and naturally ferment soy to rid it, at least in part, of naturally occurring antinutrients (compounds that decrease the nutritional value of the plant) and toxins (which serve to protect plants from annihilation by insect and animal predators). The fermenting process, aided by healthy microorganisms, deactivated or eliminated most antinutrients and toxins, improved the soybean’s nutritional profile, made the resulting food items more digestible, and imparted diseases-fighting microorganisms to the intestinal tract.

Excerpted from page 84 of ‘Death by Supermarket’ by Nancy Deville