Soy – Let’s clear up some stuff about Soy

Soybeans (soy) originate from East Asia and are a type of legumes (i.e. peas, beans, lentils). They are being produced all over the world and the soybeans in Queal are from within the European Union (EU).

We use toasted full-fat soy flour. It’s (like all our other ingredients) non-GMO. As with all our ingredients, it is held to the highest health- and safety standards, including those for various contaminants, and ingredients. (Pesticides, colourings, GMOs, Hydrocarbons, PCBs, Dioxins, heavy metals, Mycotoxins, etc.).

Soy flour is one of the large ingredients in Queal. We choose to include it because it’s a good source of macronutrients (carbohydrates and fats) and also comes with good micronutrients (folate, vitamin K, calcium, magnesium, iron).

Testosterone and Soybeans

From time to time we get a question from someone who is worried about the quantity of soy flour in Queal.

Mostly, this is regarding a perpetuating myth that soy is supposed to reduce the body’s production of testosterone, or in some other way messing with the hormone levels of people.

It’s good to note that that myth is in reference to soy-protein, not soy flour. We don’t use soy protein, but whey protein.
And aside from that: There is no scientific consensus on this effect at all.

The largest peer-reviewed meta-analysis, constituting 15 controlled studies and 32 other reports did not show any statistically significant effect of soy protein on human reproductive hormone levels.

Read more here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0015028209009662

(breast)Cancer and Soybeans

Any negative claims, again, relate only to soy protein (not soy flour). Next to that there are no peer-reviewed scientific articles which substantiate any negative claims. The opposite is actually true and from multiple meta-analyses from 2012 and 2013 they conclude that there is a negative correlation between soy consumption and the return of breast cancer after remission.

Read more here: http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0081968

More about Soy

Soybeans are a traditional part of diets in East Asia (China, Korea, and Japan). They are the seeds of the plant Glycine max. When you buy them in the grocery story you will see them already dried and removed from the plant. If they are not dried they normally have a green colour, when dried they have a yellowish colour.

In many places, people incorporate soybeans in their diets. If you look at production, this is not the case in America. There they produce most soy only for use in feed for animals and for the use in oil. In contrast to the European Union, in America 90% of the soybeans are genetically engineered.

Soybeans can usually be bought as either dried or canned in a grocery store.