Soy-free food is an interesting topic, and some might say a controversial one. Lots of people think of soy as a health food, or an alternative to dairy in the form of soy milk.
But soy is the most common genetically modified food in our food supply today. Up to 94% of soy is genetically modified, which is one of the main reasons we suggest avoiding it.
Additionally, most soy is also produced using glyphosate, which is a toxic herbicide that can be very detrimental to our health.
Forms of Soy in Food Products
There are different forms of soy, and they appear in a variety of ways in food products and on ingredient labels.
Because it’s one of the eight major food allergens monitored by the FDA, manufacturers are required to explicitly state if soy is included in any of their food products. So, it’s typically easy to identify if a food product contains soy, as long as consumers are reading food labels.
For example, one of the forms of soy you’ll often see listed is ‘soy lecithin’. It’s a commonly-used highly-processed food additive that comes with some risks and side effects.
One of the main health concerns related to soy is that it's estrogenic, and overconsumption of soy can lead to increased estrogen levels in the body. Most people, women and men, don't want higher estrogen (unintentionally). So if you are going to include soy in your diet, be aware that it can affect your body’s hormones. It’s better to avoid it all together or keep it to a bare minimum.
Studies have also linked soy to digestive and immune issues, allergic reactions, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, and more. Our perspective is that it's best to avoid soy due to the prevalence of genetic engineering and the health concerns mentioned. If you decide to include soy in your diet, opt for organic or non-GMO options. With all of this in mind, we don’t include soy in any of our products. Organic’ly products are soy-free.
How to Go Soy-Free
Eliminating soy from your diet can be simple, and you can still find delicious products without soy. The soy-free flours we use for baking include almond flour, arrowroot powder, and coconut flour. There are plenty of soy-free options.
However, if you just pick up something from the packaged foods section of your grocery store without checking the ingredients, there’s a good chance that soy is included. It’s in children's foods, granola bars, crackers, protein bars, cereal, and more.
But as long as you're paying attention to product labels and reading ingredients, it's not hard to avoid soy. And if you're following a whole food, unprocessed, properly prepared diet, you won’t even notice its absence.
To go soy-free with Organic’ly Foods, click here now!