SOY Rebuttal by Dr. Russell Blaylock
Yesterday Robert Cohen of www.notmilk.com put a column on his large
non-milk list against Dr. Blaylock and Dr. Mercola's warning against the
use of soy products. I believe he did this because he advocates soy milk
and sells a machine he calls soy toys. He also has a large calling with 7
Day Adventists who should also receive this rebuttal from Dr.
Blaylock. Robert's information was wrong and I couldn't stop him nor could
I convince him to allow Dr. Blaylock to show his side so people getting the
information could form their opinion having both sides of the debate. Dr.
Blaylock has answered Robert. This article is chock full of incredible,
life-saving information everyone should have. I'm putting it on my lists
but I hope that others who have lists will, in fact, also share it, publish
it and saturate the globe with it. Dr. Blaylock's web site with his books
is www.russellblaylockmd.com and he also has an excellent newsletter. Also
for more information on MSG go to www.truthinlabeling.org Dr. Blaylock can
be seen in the movie Sweet Misery: A Poisoned World
(cori@soundandfuryproductions.com) Stay tuned for Sweet Remedy, coming soon.
Dr. Blaylock's rebuttal was very necessary because "Truth" always comes
first, and we're talking about people's lives. It's bad enough that
industry and professional organizations who are funded by industry mislead
the public. And the glutamate people are very powerful and continually put
out propaganda to consumers. Dr. Blaylock's information is brilliant and
is the truth of the matter.
All my best,
Dr. Betty Martini, Founder, Mission Possible International, 9270 River Club
Parkway, Duluth, Georgia 30097 770 242-2599 www.wnho.net (subscribe to
the Aspartame Information list for continued info on aspartame and
MSG) and www.dorway.com
Response to Robert Cohen's Slanderous Statements
I have been sent an e-mail that you have circulated concerning my
objections to soy-based foods. I must say your slanderous rantings are that
of a three-year old having a temper tantrum, not a reasoned discussion of
the issues involved. You portray yourself as a "scientist", but I fail to
see your credentials posted. I am a board-certified neurosurgeon, retired
Clinical Assistant Professor of Neurosurgey, Visiting Professor of Biology
at Belhaven College and have written over 30 papers published in
peer-reviewed scientific journals. I serve on the editorial board of the
Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons and the Journal of the American
Nutraceutical Association.
My recent papers on the connection between excitotoxicity and fluoride
neurotoxicity, and autism and the Gulf War Syndrome have received praise
from leading authorities in each of these areas of research. I am the
co-developer of one of the most commonly used methods for removal of
intraventricular meningiomas, for which I am given credit in all major
neurosurgical texts, along with my mentor Ludwig G, Kempe, one of the most
famous names in Neurosurgey.
I have written three chapters in three medical textbooks as well as
three nutrition books for the lay public, one of which you quoted, citing
me as an expert in the field. I do extensive study in the field of
excitotoxicity.
Since you are now in the business of selling soy products and a
soy-milk making machine, I can understand your concern for your financial
future. That has nothing to do with science. If your reading public wants
an excellent review of the dangers of soy I suggest they read Dr. Kaayla
Daniel's newly released book- The Whole Soy Story.
You rambling defense of soy safety falls far short of science for a
number of reasons.
Aspartic acid, which is a naturally occurring amino acid, that, despite
your statement that it is an essential amino acid, is not. It can be
synthesized from oxaloacetate and glutamate via transamination. What you
and many of the defenders of excitatory amino acid safety cannot seem to
understand, or refuse to understand, is that free amino acids act
differently than those occurring in whole foods.
Digestion breaks most proteins into amino acids only at a very slow
rate. I quote Guyton's Textbook of Medical Physiology, page 794- " As a
result the normal rate of absorption... (amino acid absorption is
determined) by the rate at which they can be released from the proteins
during digestion. For these reasons, essentially no free amino acids can be
found in the intestine during digestion."
When soybeans are processed, the excitotoxic amino acids (glutamate and
aspartate) are not only released, they are concentrated. This is especially
so in soy protein isolates and soy protein concentrates-which are used in
soy milk. This means that your figures on the glutamic and aspartic acid
contents is much lower than in fact exist in your product.
Olney and others have shown that human blood levels of glutamate
increase as much as 20X on glutamate loading with concentrations found in
such hydrolyzed proteins. These high blood levels are transferred into the
human brain, especially under certain circumstances. Even in the completely
normal brain, glutamate, aspartate and other excitotoxins can enter the
brain via the circumventricular organs, which includes the hypothalamus. As
you certainly know, or should know, one of the most sensitive structures in
the brain is the arcuate nucleus. It is easily destroyed by levels of
glutamate found in hydrolyzed proteins and this has been proven in
laboratory studies.
It is also known that the blood-brain barrier contains glutamate
receptors and that free glutamate at these concentrations, can open the
barrier, allowing these high levels of glutamate to freely enter the brain.
It is also known that a multitude of conditions open the barrier,
including strokes (both gross and silent), brain injury, brain tumors,
certain pesticides, mercury, lead, autoimmune disorders (lupus, rheumatoid
arthritis, etc), radiofrequency radiation (cell phones), seizures, multiple
sclerosis and infections. Anyone with these conditions should avoid
products that contain high levels of excitotoxins, such as hydrolyzed soy
products. This constitutes a large percentage of the population.
In addition, pregnant women should avoid such excitotoxin-containing
products, since the placenta concentrates the glutamate, exposing the baby
to much higher levels of glutamate than the mother. This has been proven.
It has also been proven, that the baby's brain is 5X more sensitive to
excitotoxin exposure than is the adult brain and that humans are 4X more
sensitive than the next most sensitive animal species. And this is under
the best of conditions.
It has been shown that inflammation dramatically increases the toxicity
of excitotoxins on the brain, especially in small children. This means that
any inflammatory condition, virus, bacterial infection or immune disorder,
will increase a person's and especially a baby's risk of injury. Since the
human baby's brain undergoes its most rapid growth and development from the
last trimester of pregnancy through the first 2 years of life, it is most
at risk from food-based excitotoxins, such as hydrolyzed soy.
A number of recent studies have shown that excess glutamate exposure
during this period of "brain growth spurt" can alter the development of the
child's brain, especially neuroendocrine, cognitive, behavioral and
language functions.
I am sure many of your readers are not aware that one of the earliest
finding during glutamate research was that newborn animals fed glutamate
developed gross obesity. This has been repeated numerous times and is used
in obesity studies. An international panels of neuroscientist cited this as
a possible reason for the obesity epidemic in the developed world. With the
dramatic increase in glutamate food additives and consumption of soy
products, especially soy based formula and soy milk by babies and small
children, is is no wonder we are seeing this epidemic of childhood gross
obesity and diabetes. Experimentally, glutamate exposure in these same
doses can induce diabetes in animals.
Experiments have also shown that early exposure to glutamate can
alter-permanently-the baby's vascular reactivity. This would have major
implications in cardiovascular disease. Likewise, early exposure to higher
levels of glutamate, equal to that of food-based excitotoxins, results in
behavioral problems, endocrine disruption, increased susceptibility to
seizures early in life and alterations in lipid profiles that increase the
likelihood of cardiovascular disease later in life. In fact, newer studies
have shown that elevated blood glutamate significantly increases free
radical generation in the endothelial lining of blood vessels-the very
mechanism that causes atherosclerosis.
Recent research has also shown that many tissues and organs in the
body contain glutamate receptors and that overstimulation of these
receptors can cause a number of clinical problems. For example, glutamate
receptor stimulation of pulmonary tissues can result in bronchiospasm (as
in asthma) and worsening of pulmonary function in those with lung diseases.
The heart muscle and heart conduction system (AV and SA nodes) also contain
numerous glutamate receptors. As I pointed out, the pancreas (ilets of
Langerhans) also contain abundant glutamate receptors, and explains the
resulting diabetes.
Even more frightening is the recent discovery that glutamate greatly
enhances the growth of a number of cancers-especially brain cancers, such
as the glioblastoma and malignant astrocytoma. Breast, lung and ovarian
cancers have also been shown to spread and metastasize faster when
glutamate levels are elevated. This has been proven, and is beyond dispute.
We know that under certain conditions, glutamate toxicity is greatly
increased, which includes low magnesium levels, deficient mitochondrial
energy production [such as hypoglycemia, mitochondrial disease, during
aging, with all of the neurodegenerative disease (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's
and ALS] and most chronic diseases), during inflammation and when
associated with other toxins-including mercury, lead, cadmium, aluminum,
pesticides, fluoride and industrial chemicals. This would include tens of
millions of Americans, who should be avoiding soy products.
While there is a lot more concerning excitotoxins, which can be found
in my two books-Excitotoxins: The Taste That Kills and Health and Nutrition
Secrets That Can Save Your Life., unfortunately, there is a lot more
involved than just excitotoxins. Soybeans and especially their hydrolyzed
and processed products, contain high levels of manganese, aluminum and
fluoride-all of which are powerful cell toxins, especially for brain cells.
Recent studies have shown that when aluminum is combined with
fluoride, which occurs very easily, brain levels of aluminum are doubled.
Extensive research connects aluminum in the brain with most of the
neurodegenerative diseases. When hydrolyzed as in soy milk, the fluoride
and aluminum easily bind, forming neurotoxic fluoroaluminum compounds. The
concentration at which this occurs in 0.5 ppm, a very small concentration.
Fluoroaluminum compounds interact with G-proteins, which are common cell
communication systems, especially in the brain and operate most of the
glutamanergic receptors in the brain (glutamate receptors).
I would call attention to a most important study reported in the
Journal of the American College of Nutrition in the year 2000. It describes
a 25 year study of middle-aged individuals consuming a diet containing
tofu, which found a strong association with brain atrophy and cognitive
impairment and the consumption of this soy product. Brain atrophy was
determined by MRI scans. In fact, low brain weight was seen in 12% of men
consuming the lowest amount of tofu and 40% consuming the highest amount.
This indicates a dose-response effect, making a stronger case of neurotoxicity.
I can go on forever with research and studies showing a significant
danger of consuming large amounts of soy products, especially soy milk, but
I have other things to do-like research processed food toxicology .
I would hope that Mr. Cohen would in the future refrain from his
temper tantrums and childish, slanderous name-calling. Neither I nor Dr.
Mercola are idiots, morons or suffering from delusions. What we are not
doing is making money selling soy products. I expect this response to
appear on your website.
Russell L. Blaylock, M.D.