On Soy Products.

The public's perception of soy as health food just got a boost from the FDA with a newly published rule permitting soy beverages, soy-based cheese substitutes, and soy- based butter substitutes to be fortified with vitamin D.

Right now, Vitamin D is the superstar of the supplement world.  Study after study has revealed the remarkable health benefits linked to the sunshine vitamin.

You can be sure you'll soon be seeing "Now with Vitamin D!" on soy-based milk products (etc.) at your local grocery.  Another false prophet in the health food world!

It is important to understand, fermented soy is not bad for you, in fact, it is great for you. Tempeh, Miso, Natto and unpasteurized soy sauce are fermented soy, and they are fine for consumption. But, phytates in unfermented soy products impede the absorption of protein, and four key minerals: calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc. You need those minerals if you want to stay healthy.

So this is what you need to understand:

The soy products in your traditional grocery store (e.g. soy milk, soy cheese, soy yogurt etc) are not fermented.
The products will be fortified with vitamin D2.
Ring the bell – this fight is over.

Fish consumption and exposure to sunlight deliver much-needed vitamin D3 to your body. 

But according to a brief history of vitamin D research that appeared in a 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, scientists created a synthetic form of the vitamin in the early 1920s when they manufactured vitamin D2 by exposing plant foods to ultraviolet light.

Within a decade, researchers began to notice that D2 was quite a bit less potent than D3. 

D2 was useful in eradicating rickets when added to milk in the 1930s, but as research methods were refined, it became clear that D3 was the superior form. In addition, the body retains D3 for longer periods and in higher concentrations than D2.

In their conclusions, the authors wrote: "The public expects to derive the equivalent effect per unit dose of vitamin D, whether it is vitamin D2 or vitamin D3.  The scientific community is aware that these molecules are not equivalent. Therefore, vitamin D2 should no longer be regarded as a nutrient appropriate for supplementation or fortification of foods."

The scientific community is aware…but apparently food producers and the FDA are not.

thanks to the HSI e-Alert for reminding me to write about this confusing deception.