Soy sauce

[joano]

It seems like the MWL book says no soybean products on page 61 under #3 Eliminate all High-Fat Plant Foods. Yet many of the recipes in the back of the book include soy sauce in the ingredients. I don't understand.

[VeggieSue]

In this case, the soybean products are things like edamame, tofu and tempeh. Lower sodium soy sauce is not a high fat product.

[joano]

Thank you for clarifying that for me.

[gracezw]

I know that on MWL, soy products including tofu are not allowed. What about cooked soybeans?

The plain firm tofu I know well is 4.7% fat percentage. I did the calculation. If I pressure cook soybeans, they are 5% fat percentage. Dried soybeans are 20% fat percentage.

So cooked soybeans are even higher fat percentage than tofu.

[Mark Cooper]

For Tofu, ~45% of calories come from fat. Soybeans (cooked from dried), ~44% of calories come from fat. Edamame, ~36% of calories come from fat. Soy is specifically noted as a higher fat plant food in both the MWL 10-Point Checklist and Passive Overconsumption: The Unintended Intake of Excess Calories.

5) Eliminate all higher fat plant foods (i.e., nuts, seeds, avocados, tofu, soy).

As the percentage of calories from fat goes up, we are more likely to over-consume calories, especially from added fats/oils. Adding fats/oils to food increases the overall percentage of calories from fat and the overall calorie density and decreases the overall satiety (per calorie). On a WFPB diet, the foods that are higher in fat are peanuts, soybeans, avocados, nuts, seeds and oils.

The regular McDougall program recommends limiting soybeans and soy products, as well.

Reserve Traditional Soy foods for Special

Despite concerns, there is no definite evidence that traditional soy foods are harmful at levels customarily consumed. Consider the hundreds of millions of people living in Japan, consuming soy products throughout their life – and they enjoy the longest life expectancy in the world (Japanese women are expected to live 84.93 years, compared to US women to 79.5 years; and Japanese men to 78.07 years, compared to 74.1 years for US men).

However, soybeans and their by-products should be thought of as rich foods – naturally high in fat and protein. In their traditional forms consider them as delicacies – and you should consume them as you might other plant food delicacies – nuts, seeds, avocados, and olives – in small amounts on special occasions.

[gracezw]

Mark, thank you! I got it!