Subj: Soy Products A Significant Health Risk
Date: 11/27/1999


11.27.99
Soy Products A Significant Health Risk

An unfortunate bit of news from Ian Goddard. Evidence shows that soy food products are notably unhealthy in some crucial ways.

Subject: SOY WARNING!
Date: Sat, 27 Nov 1999
From: Ian Goddard

SOYBEANS LINKED TO BRAIN ATROPHY AND CELL DEATH

As a vegetarian, I present the following with great regret. Soy products like tofu have provided the staple alternative to eating murdered animals. Unfortunately the study reported here: http://starbulletin.com/1999/11/19/news/story4.html  has found a significant link between eating tofu and brain aging and atrophy! My first reaction was to hope that the study was flawed. Unfortunately, a quick study of published research at the National Library of Medicine indicates that there is a STRONG physiological basis for the findings in that study. It seems that a main phytochemical in soybeans, genistein, reduces DNA synthesis in the brain, and reduced DNA synthesis promotes apoptosis, which is also known as "programmed cell death." Multiple studies I found indicate that drug-induced reduction of DNA synthesis is routinely associated with reduced cell proliferation and death. DNA synthesis is a critical part of the life cycle of a cell:

It appears that the ability of genistein to reduce DNA synthesis may be why it is a promising anti-cancer agent, for research suggests genistein can kill cancer cells and other drugs that reduce DNA synthesis kill cancer cells. Unfortunately, genistein's cytotoxic properties appear to be nonspecific, ie, it doesn't only kill cancer cells. In the first abstract below, it was found that genistein "induced significant testicular cell death." Ouch! The second study finds that genistein reduced DNA synthesis in the brain. To get the full picture of what I've stated here, I recommend using the National Library of Medicine's search engine: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed It is easily the most powerful tool on the Internet, accessing most of the published medical research since around 1965.

Too much tofu induces ‘brain aging,’ study shows:
http://starbulletin.com/1999/11/19/news/story4.html

6-6-08

Here is a product that may help with this problem:  Indole 3 Carbinol

 

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Soy-phytochemical genistein "induced significant testicular cell death."

Biol Cell 1999 Sep;91(7):515-23

Cytotoxic potential of the phytochemical genistein isoflavone (4',5',7-trihydroxyisoflavone)
and certain environmental chemical compounds on testicular cells.

Kumi-Diaka J, Nguyen V, Butler A
Florida Atlantic University, Department of Biology,
College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, Davie 33314, USA.

[Medline record in process]

The effects of genistein (Gn), sodium azide (naz), and dexamethasone (dxm) on testicular cells TM3, TM4 and GC-1 spg were studied in vitro. First, a series of experiments were performed to assess the response of the cells to the exposure of Gn, naz, dxm, a combination of Gn with naz and Gn with dxm. Trypan blue exclusion assay was used to determine the percentage of viability, and LDH-cytotoxicity test was used to assess the degree of treatment-induced cytotoxicity on each cell type. A second series of experiments were performed to study cytomorphology and determine the type and percentage of treatment-induced cell death (apoptosis and necrosis) on each cell line, using fluorescent dye technique to detect apoptotic and necrotic cells, and tunnel assay to confirm apoptosis. The results from the data obtained demonstrated:

i) that incubation of testis cells with each of the agents (Gn, dxm, naz) alone and in two combinations (Gn-dxm, and Gn-naz) induced significant testicular cell death;

ii) that both genistein and dexamethasone mostly and significantly induced apoptotic cell death while sodium azide induced necrotic cell death;

iii) that addition of dexamethasone to genistein demonstrated synergism in apoptosis on testis cells; and

iv) that combination of naz with Gn demonstrated synergism in necrosis on testis cells even though Gn alone did not induce significant necrosis. It is concluded that the synergistic actions of genistein and dxm, and of genistein + sodium azide in induction of apoptosis and/or necrosis may be of clinical and pathophysiological research interest considering the chemopreventive and chemotherapeutic potential of genistein; and the clinico-pharmacological application of dexamethasone and sodium azide.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=10572627&form=6&db=m&Dopt=b

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"Genistein decreased the DNA synthesis within less than 30 min."

Exp Neurol 1999 Sep;159(1):164-76

Early effects of protein kinase modulators on DNA synthesis in rat cerebral cortex.

Yakisich JS, Siden A, Vargas VI, Eneroth P, Cruz M
Applied Biochemistry, Clinical Research Center, Karolinska
Institute, Novum, Huddinge University Hospital, Huddinge,
S-141 86, Sweden.

By using tissue miniunits, protein kinase modulators, and topoisomerase inhibitors in short-term incubation (0-90 min) we studied (1) the role of protein phosphorylation in the
immediate control of DNA replication in the developing rat cerebral cortex and (2) the mechanism of action for genistein-mediated DNA synthesis inhibition. Genistein decreased the DNA synthesis within less than 30 min. None of the other protein kinase inhibitors examined (herbimycin A, staurosporine, calphostin-C) or the protein phosphatase inhibitor sodium orthovanadate inhibited DNA synthesis and they did not affect the genistein-mediated inhibition. The selective topoisomerase inhibitors camptothecin and etoposide decreased the DNA synthesis to an extent similar to that of genistein and within less than 30 min. In addition, the effects of these substances on topoisomerase I and II were studied. Etoposide and genistein but not herbimycin A, staurosporine, or calphostin-C strongly inhibited the activity of topoisomerase II. Our results

(1) strongly suggest that the net rate of DNA replication during the S phase of the cell cycle is independent of protein phosphorylation and

(2) indicate that the early inhibitory effect of genistein on DNA synthesis is mediated by
topoisomerase II inhibition rather than protein tyrosine kinase inhibition. Copyright 1999
Academic Press.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=10486185&form=6&db=m
&Dopt=b

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Reduce DNA synthesis associated with aging

Acta Neuropathol (Berl) 1999 Jan;97(1):71-81
Age-related changes of DNA repair and mitochondrial
DNA synthesis in the mouse brain.

Schmitz C, Axmacher B, Zunker U, Korr H

Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, RWTH University of Aachen, Germany. cschmitz@alpha.imib.rwth-aachen,de

Using quantitative autoradiography, both nuclear DNA  repair - measured as nuclear unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) - and mitochondrial (mt) DNA synthesis were
evaluated in situ for several types of cells in the brains of untreated mice of various age. It was found that distinct types of neuronal cells showed a decline of both UDS and mtDNA synthesis with age, whereas - except for glial cells of the cerebral cortex - no glial or endothelial cells showed age-related alterations of UDS. Together with various data reported in the literature, these patterns of a cell type-specific decrease of UDS and mtDNA synthesis with age in the mouse brain lead to an improved understanding of the complex interrelationships between the molecular events associated with the phenomenon of aging as well as to a new idea regarding the cause of the specific distribution pattern of those cells in the human brain that are affected by the formation of paired helical filaments in Alzheimer's disease.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/htbin-post/Entrez/query?uid=9930897&form=6&db=m&
Dopt=b
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To get the full picture of what I stated above, I recommend using the National Library of Medicine's search engine: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed
The key words you choose make all the difference!

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GODDARD'S JOURNAL: http://www.erols.com/igoddard/journal.htm
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Date: June 11, 2007 at 04:13:59 From: AboveClouds Subject: Genetically Modified Organisms

OFFSPRING DIED WHEN RATS ATE GENETICALLY ENGINEERED SOY By Jeffrey Smith The Russian scientist planned a simple experiment to see if eating genetically modified (GM) soy might influence offspring. What she got, however, was an astounding result that may threaten a multi-billion dollar industry. Irina Ermakova, a leading scientist at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), added GM soy flour (5-7 grams) to the diet of female rats. Other females were fed non-GM soy or no soy at all. The experimental diet began two weeks before the rats conceived and continued through pregnancy and nursing. Ermakova's first surprise came when her pregnant rats started giving birth. Some pups from GM-fed mothers were quite a bit smaller. After 2 weeks, 36% of them weighed less than 20 grams compared to about 6% from the other groups. But the real shock came when the rats started dying. Within three weeks, 25 of the 45 (55.6%) rats from the GM soy group died compared to only 3 of 33 (9%) from the non-GM soy group and 3 of 44 (6.8%) from the non-soy controls. Ermakova preserved several major organs from the mother rats and offspring, drew up designs for a detailed organ analysis, created plans to repeat and expand the feeding trial, and promptly ran out of research money. The $70,000 needed was not expected to arrive for a year. Therefore, when she was invited to present her research at a symposium organized by the National Association for Genetic Security, Ermakova wrote "PRELIMINARY STUDIES" on the top of her paper. She presented it on October 10, 2005 at a session devoted to the risks of GM food. Her findings are hardly welcome by an industry already steeped in controversy. GM Soy's Divisive Past The soy she was testing was Monsanto's Roundup Ready variety. Its DNA has bacterial genes added that allow the soy plant to survive applications of Monsanto's "Roundup" brand herbicide. About 85% of the soy gown in the US is Roundup Ready. Since soy derivatives, including oil, flour and lecithin, are found in the majority of processed foods sold in the US, many Americans eat ingredients derived from Roundup Ready soy everyday. The FDA does not require any safety tests on genetically modified foods. If Monsanto or other biotech companies declare their foods safe, the agency has no further questions. The rationale for this hands-off position is a sentence in the FDAs 1992 policy that states, "The agency is not aware of any information showing that foods derived by these new methods differ from other foods in any meaningful or uniform way." The statement, it turns out, was deceptive. Documents made public from a lawsuit years later revealed that the FDA's own experts agreed that GM foods are different and might lead to hard-to-detect allergens, toxins, new diseases or nutritional problems. They had urged their superiors to require long-term safety studies, but were ignored. The person in charge of FDA policy was, conveniently, Monsanto's former attorney (and later their vice president). One FDA microbiologist described the GM food policy as "just a political document" without scientific basis, and warned that industry would "not do the tests that they would normally do" since the FDA didn't require any. He was correct. There have been less than 20 published, peer-reviewed animal feeding safety studies and no human clinical trials�in spite of the fact that millions of people eat GM soy, corn, cotton, or canola daily. There are no adequate tests on "biochemistry, immunology, tissue pathology, gut function, liver function and kidney function," and animal feeding studies are too short to adequately test for cancer, reproductive problems, or effects in the next generation. This makes Ermakova's research particularly significant. It's the first of its kind. Past Studies Show Significant Effects Other studies on Roundup Ready soy also raise serious questions. Research on the liver, the body's major de-toxifier, showed that rats fed GM soy developed misshapen nuclei and other cellular anomalies. This indicates increased metabolic activity, probably resulting from a major insult to that organ. Rats also showed changes in the pancreas, including a huge drop in the production of a major enzyme (alpha-amylase), which could inhibit digestion. Cooked GM soy contains about twice the amount of soy lecithin, which can also block nutrient assimilation. And one study showed that GM soy has 12-14% less isoflavones, which are touted as cancer fighting. An animal feeding study published by Monsanto showed no apparent problems with GM soy, but their research has been severely criticized as rigged to avoid finding problems. Monsanto used mature animals instead of young, more sensitive ones, diluted their GM soy up to 12-fold, used too much protein, never weighed the organs, and had huge variations in starting weights. The study's nutrient comparison between GM and non-GM soy revealed significant differences in the ash, fat, and carbohydrate content, lower levels of protein, a fatty acid, and phenylalanine. Monsanto researchers had actually omitted the most incriminating nutritional differences, which were later discovered and made public. For example, the published paper showed a 27% increase in a known allergen, trypsin inhibitor, while the recovered data raised that to a 3-fold or 7-fold increase, after the soy was cooked. This might explain why soy allergies in the UK skyrocketed by 50% soon after GM soy was introduced. The gene that is inserted into GM soy produces a protein with two sections that are identical to known allergens. This might also account for the increased allergy rate. Furthermore, the only human feeding trial ever conducted confirmed that this inserted gene transfers into the DNA of bacteria inside the intestines. This means that long after you decide to stop eating GM soy, your own gut bacteria may still be producing this potentially allergenic protein inside your digestive tract. The migration of genes might influence offspring. German scientists found fragments of the DNA fed to pregnant mice in the brains of their newborn. Fragments of genetically modified DNA were also found in the blood, spleen, liver and kidneys of piglets that were fed GM corn. It was not clear if the GM genes actually entered the DNA of the animal, but scientists speculate that if it were to integrate into the sex organ cells, it might impact offspring. The health of newborns might also be affected by toxins, allergens, or anti-nutrients in the mother's diet. These may be created in GM crops, due to unpredictable alterations in their DNA. The process of gene insertion can delete one or more of the DNA's own natural genes, scramble them, turn them off, or permanently turn them on. It can also change the expression levels of hundreds of genes. And growing the transformed cell into a GM plant through a process called tissue culture can create hundreds or thousands of additional mutations throughout the DNA. Most of these possibilities have not been properly evaluated in Roundup Ready soy. We don't know how many mutations or altered gene expressions are found in its DNA. Years after it was marketed, however, scientists did discover a section of natural soy DNA that was scrambled and two additional fragments of the foreign gene that had escaped Monsanto's detection. Those familiar with the body of GM safety studies are often astounded by their superficiality. Moreover, several scientists who discovered incriminating evidence or even expressed concerns about the technology have been fired, threatened, stripped of responsibilities, or censured. And when problems do arise, they are not followed up. For example, animals fed GM crops developed potentially precancerous cell growth, smaller brains, livers and testicles, damaged immune systems, bigger livers, partial atrophy of the liver, lesions in the livers, stomachs, and kidneys, inflammation of the kidneys, problems with their blood cells, higher blood sugar levels, and unexplained increases in the death rate. (See Spilling the Beans, August 2004.) None have been adequately followed-up or accounted for. Ermakova's research, however, will likely change that. That's because her study is easy to repeat and its results are so extreme. A 55.6% mortality rate is enormous and very worrisome. Repeating the study is the only reasonable option. American Academy of Environmental Medicine Urges NIH to Follow-up Study I presented Dr. Ermakova's findings, with her permission, at the annual conference of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) in Tucson on October 27, 2005. In response, the AAEM board passed a resolution asking the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) to sponsor an immediate, independent follow-up of the study. Dr. Jim Willoughby, the Academy's president, said, "Genetically modified soy, corn, canola, and cottonseed oil are being consumed daily by a significant proportion of our population. We need rigorous, independent and long-term studies to evaluate if these foods put the population at risk." Unfortunately, there is a feature about GM crops that makes even follow-up studies a problem. In 2003, a French laboratory analyzed the inserted genes in five GM varieties, including Roundup Ready soybeans. In each case, the genetic sequence was different than that which had been described by the biotech companies years earlier. Had all the companies made a mistake? That's unlikely. Rather, the inserted genes probably rearranged over time. A Brussels lab confirmed that the genetic sequences were different than what was originally listed. But the sequences discovered in Brussels didn't all match those found by the French. This suggests that the inserted genes are unstable and can change in different ways. It also means that they are creating new proteins�ones that were never intended or tested. The Roundup Ready soybeans used in the Russian test may therefore be quite different from the Roundup Ready soybeans used in follow-up studies. Unstable genes make accurate safety testing impossible. It also may explain some of the many problems reported about GM foods. For example, nearly 25 farmers in the US and Canada say that certain GM corn varieties caused their pigs to become sterile, have false pregnancies, or give birth to bags of water. A farmer in Germany claims that a certain variety of GM corn killed 12 of his cows and caused others to fall sick. And Filipinos living next to a GM cornfield developed skin, respiratory, and intestinal symptoms and fever, while the corn was pollinating. The mysterious symptoms returned the following year, also during pollination, and blood tests on 39 of the Filipinos showed an immune response to the Bt toxin�created by the GM corn. Despite the world moratorium imposed on this "restricted use" technology, research is still being carried out in Canada, the United States and Europe in laboratories and in one case, even a greenhouse, said Pederson. At COP8, "the central, strategic battle will be waged around seeds," pitting peasant farmers who have produced and improved seeds for 10,000 years, thus expanding their genetic diversity, against the transnational corporations that want to control the entire agricultural chain from production to marketing, said Baggio.

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