Okay, so my three day cleanse turned into one. Still, it was the kick start I needed after travelling for the last few weeks.
So today, I find myself at Starbucks, peppermint tea in one hand, Whittaker’s dark chocolate bar in the other. The soya lecithin and flavour additives might not make it the healthiest treat around, but since my diet is usually raw wholefoods, once is okay. Girl’s gotta live a little, right? A nice surprise to find a choccie bar with no dairy!
The not-so-good news about soy? Here’s an excerpt from a Natural News story:
The soy myth
Finally the soy myth needs to be exposed. This is another persistent one among alternative circles. An often-used argument is that soy has been used in Asia for thousands of years. Another half truth. While it is true that soy products were consumed as far back as the Ming Dynasty, only fermented soy was used. Raw soy products such as tofu, soy milk, soy lecithin and soy oil are only 200 to 300 years old. Once again they have been popularized by a powerful industry which has been pulling the wool over our eyes by emphasizing a healthy tradition in fermented soy use and confusing it with unfermented soy. Health food stores sell this as a health food!
What’s so bad about soy? Well, it contains lots of phytic acid, an acid which can also be found in yeast bread but not in sourdough bread. Sourdough bread is a fermented bread which contains lactic acid bacteria and so does fermented soy. Besides eating the sugars in the starch these bacteria also eat the phytic acid. If left intact, phytic acid acts as a mineral blocker. It blocks the absorption of important minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium. Feeding babies with a so-called lactose allergy soy milk is an absolute disaster. Kids and adults would also do wise to avoid taking unfermented soy.
Fermented soy products are soy sauce (watch out for other harmful ingredients such as sugar, MSG, preservatives and colorants), miso and tempeh. Particularly, Japanese cuisine is very good with fermented soy. Bad news for vegetarians and vegans who often turn to tofu and associated soy products. They too fall victim to the propaganda of a very profitable industry.
Hmmm… should have reminded self of facts above before consuming said chocolate…
There is a brand of dark chocolate at Walgreens and Rite Aid that has no soy or dairy… it’s at least 70% cocoa (probably a bit more) and it’s pretty good. I don’t remember the brand name, but it’s in a rectangle, flat brick. There’s only one brand that was that way, though; it used cocoa butter instead of milkfat. I’m sure it’s not the healthiest thing, but for the occasional splurge for someone who eats healthy, it’s not that bad. It even uses real vanilla, not the fake stuff.
I just wish I could remember the brand name….