Intro and Total Tofusion

[Guest guest]

Hello all, I'm `C.B.' and after 17 yrs my wife and I returning to

vegetarianism. Right now we are still having some dairy, but limited

mostly to an occasional dollop of yogurt. We have no plans in the

immediate future to become vegan.

 

We were both veggies in the past before we met, each for 5-6 yrs.

Recently my wife said, kind of out of the blue, that she really had

strong feelings about returning to it. She really hardly makes any

kind of requests of me, so the least I could do is try to be

supportive. And I must admit I was worried because when I was a

veggie before, I found choices limited and while I survived quite

well and healthily, it wasn't what I would call a sumptuous diet.

However, I have weight to lose and also for the first time in my life

I have had a bad cholesterol test, so I figured it was worth it to at

least try.

 

I do 90% of the cooking, so I went to the local organic grocery and

was very skeptical, but purchased all kinds of things that weren't

available 20 yrs ago when I did this before. Soy sausage, Boca

patties, all sorts of `instead of meat' type of products and some

faux cheese. And of course I bought tofu and The Big Book of Tofu

Cooking. I cannot tell you how easy it has been. Our meals are, if

anything, tastier than before and I'm losing a little weight too.

We've always been good about eating lots of fresh vegetables, so at

least I was familiar with how to fix those. Anyway, I've got lots

more energy and I've been able to give up alcohol without it seeming

like a punishment. I know that doesn't seem like it could be

associated with diet, but I definitely think it has played a part.

Also, I have been an acid reflux sufferer, and my digestion is 100%

better than it has been in a long time after taking about two days

initially to adjust.

 

So everything is humming along great and I'm feeling happy about the

whole change. However, a friend of mine found out I was going veggie

and got all concerned. He said `Well I hope you aren't eating tofu,

that stuff will kill you'. Then goes on about how eating more than 2

servings of tofu in particular, but all soy in general can cause

brain damage, cancer, all kinds of horrible things not the least of

which is impotence. So I searched the net and I found many articles

stating exactly what he said was true, and I also found a lot of

articles saying it was partially true, and then a bunch more saying

it probably wasn't true, but not to eat more than 2-4 servings of soy

per week just to be safe. And then there is a whole different camp

that says fermented soy is okay, but tofu and soy milk should be

avoided like the plague.

 

So I am totally confused (or is that tofused?). Does anyone have

first hand experience or have there been any studies specifically

focused on the health drawbacks of soy? I have been loving my tofu

scramble and `Gimme Lean' sausage and would rather not give it up,

but I don't want to do myself a mischief when I'm actually trying to

do good for myself. I don't eat soy at every meal, but I'm probably

getting 3-4 servings a day on average. And there have been some days

when I have gotten something soy at every meal of the day so I'm a

bit worried now.