A…cup of tea!

I was waiting for my unhealthy toasted sandwich at a local coffee shop when a young woman ordered a cup of tea with Soya milk. She later added “Sweet’n Low” saccharin to her tea. She was probably trying to be healthy, but was she?

As much as 93% of Soya beans are genetically modified (GMO). GMO organisms are not found in nature and are created by “scientists”. Several health and environmental risks with genetically modified foods (GMO) have been identified.

If GMO soya beans will not harm you, hexane will. Hexane is a by-product of gasoline refining. It is a neurotoxin and a hazardous air pollutant. Soybean processors use it as a solvent—a cheap and efficient way of extracting oil from soybeans, a necessary step to making most conventional soy oil and protein ingredients. Whole soybeans are literally bathed in hexane to separate the soybeans’ oil from protein.

Other issues have been identified with the current making of products from soya-beans, and these are:

  • High levels of phytic acid in soy reduce assimilation of calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc. Phytic acid in soy is not neutralized by ordinary preparation methods such as soaking, sprouting and long, slow cooking. High phytate diets have caused growth problems in children.
  • Trypsin inhibitors in soy interfere with protein digestion and may cause pancreatic disorders. In test animals soy containing trypsin inhibitors caused stunted growth.
  • Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.
  • Soy phytoestrogens are potent antithyroid agents that cause hypothyroidism and may cause thyroid cancer. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.
  • Vitamin B12 analogs in soy are not absorbed and actually increase the body’s requirement for B12.
  • Soy foods increase the body’s requirement for vitamin D.
  • Fragile proteins are denatured during high temperature processing to make soy protein isolate and textured vegetable protein.
  • Processing of soy protein results in the formation of toxic lysinoalanine and highly carcinogenic nitrosamines.
  • Free glutamic acid or MSG, a potent neurotoxin, is formed during soy food processing and additional amounts are added to many soy foods.
  • Soy foods contain high levels of aluminum which is toxic to the nervous system and the kidneys.

As with many bottled water products where the “original water” goes through a water purification process where PH balance, Sodium, Calcium, Chloride, Fluoride, Sulphate and Potassium are later added to the water as man-made chemicals, soya milk has vitamins and minerals added to it after various industrial processes. Added vitamins and minerals to foods are often not the best or healthiest solution.

With reference to Saccharin – today this is commonly manufactured by combining anthranilic acid (used among other things as a corrosive agent for metal) with nitrous acid, sulfur dioxide, chlorine, and ammonia. Saccharin sodium can cause some individuals to experience a potentially severe allergic reaction, mainly due to the presence of sulphonamides *1.

While no carcinogenic effect has been observed in mice, hamsters, or monkeys, and numerous epidemiological studies provide no clear or consistent evidence to support the assertion that sodium saccharin increases the risk of bladder cancer in the human population, other studies have indicated that saccharin increases cortical and trabecular bone mass of male mice and modified cortical bone alone in female mice.

Why would anyone want to take saccharin with their drinks!? [Try, instead, Rapadura/Panela sugar or Kitul]

Consumption and choice of the right products will allow many to conduct a healthier life, away from drugs.

Article by A B M Procaccini © – Counselling Psychologist, Naturopathist

 

NOTES:

*1 – Allergies to sulfonamide are common and they include: Skin rash, Itching, Dizziness, Diarrhoea, Tiredness, Nausea or Vomiting and Joint pain. According to data the overall incidence of adverse drug reactions to sulfa antibiotics is approximately 3%, close to penicillin; hence medications containing sulfonamides are prescribed carefully.