September 13, 2017
Tofu or Not Tofu?
Depending on who you listen to or what you are reading, the question of whether soy is a healthful or harmful food is a much debated topic. A book says one thing, a well-researched magazine article says another, a naturopathic doctor shares her opinion, and so on.
I don’t worry too much when I eat something with soy in it because I don’t generally eat enough soy to worry that it would become a problem. I don’t mind a nice soy latte once in awhile, though I usually go with almond or coconut milk now that they’re more widely available. And I’ve instinctively nearly always avoided concentrated soy products such as fake meats because they give me indigestion. But I was raised on tofu and sometimes crave it.
So finding a satisfactory answer to this debate became something of an ongoing exploration some time ago. I decided that the gist of the matter was that fermented soy = good, non-fermented and/or highly processed soy = questionable or worse.
The introductory series in this course confirmed that. Yay! It was so interesting to learn about the process through which concentrated soy protein is made (no question left in my mind that I don’t want to consume it). But what surprised me was that tofu was not listed as being a fermented soy product. Only miso, natto, and tempeh. I’ve seen this confirmed elsewhere as well. What? No more guilt free tofu for me? This is an issue because soy contains several varieties of anti-nutrients and fermentation removes them, making soy more digestible and less harmful. I could have sworn I’d seen a show about the tofu making process that showed large fermentation vats. Hmm. Back to detective mode.
Interestingly, in Haas’ book, on p. 323, he lists tofu as being a fermented soy product. My hopes were rekindled.
A quick Google search brought up many similar results stating that while some tofu is fermented, this process is more traditional in Asian countries. So unless it is specifically called “fermented tofu” or “fermented bean curd” your package of tofu is probably not a fermented soy product.
I found this article on Dr. Axe’s website to be a concise resource. I also liked this article from Renegade Health and continue to take a similar, cautious but non-fanatical stance.
After going through this whole debate several years ago, I got really excited when I discovered that Trader Joe’s was selling sprouted tofu. It made me wonder, does sprouting remove the anti-nutrients as well? Could this be my guilt-free tofu solution? Another quick Google search later and I was foiled again. Some people sing its praises while another article I found, quoting Dr. Kaayla Daniel, author of The Whole Soy Story, claim it is even worse for you than regular tofu because, unlike with most foods, sprouting actually increases the anti-nutrients in soybeans. Doh! It seems that if I really want a good bet for a definitive answer, this book would be the place to start. Meanwhile, I will continue to enjoy a very moderate amount of organic tofu and edamame. Yum.
