What medical professionals will tell you about extreme diets is…
Well, they’re extreme.
Now if you have a paleo view of diets you primarily think of them as a way to control your weight and while an All Grapefruit diet can peel off the pounds and Grapefruits are not unhealthy (unless you’re taking one of the vast array of medications they interfere with) it lacks both variety and certain nutrients (though I can’t complain about the taste, I like Grapefruit).
Not every diet is as obviously fashionable as a Grapefruit diet but if you’re inclined to follow the fad you can be making some pretty unhealthy choices, take Gluten Free for example. Unless you have a very specific medical condition it provides no benefit at all (well, maybe it makes you feel virtuous) and deprives you of some things that are difficult to duplicate from other food sources.
Or in my particular case, periodically my Doctors and Nutritionists tell me to go Low Sodium. Not that I use a lot of salt, but I like my pasta seasoned and I eat in places where the amount of Sodium is not in my control fairly frequently. Sure I salt fried food but I don’t eat it that often and I almost never add it to anything else because I feel it’s kind of an insult tho the Chef, like ordering Beef Well Done and then slathering it in Ketchup so you can choke it down.
Also, I have in the past conformed religiously to their advice for periods of time long enough to have an effect and, in addition to making my food bland and tasteless, it sent my blood Sodium levels dangerously low. So now I just listen intently, nod my head, and ignore them. Since I have adopted this practice my levels have stayed steadily in the low normal range.
But I like food and have an appreciation for how it tastes and no particular allergies (though there are foods I don’t like) except to Bell Peppers (finally met a Nurse who has the same thing, so it’s real) and since every Chef in the world thinks their presentation enhanced with a garnish of colorful Bell Peppers I walk around with a brace of EpiPens (yeah, that bad and I don’t have to eat them, proximity is sufficient- they’re like Kryptonite to me).
Still, I wouldn’t say I’m a picky eater or not open to the exotic. If you didn’t tell me they were Sheep’s Eyeballs I’d probably think they were delicious. On the other hand there are things I’m not interested in- deep fried butter? Someone was bored and said- what’s the most ludicrous thing we can put in the Fry-a-lator.
My problem with Soy is that I think it rather tasteless and the consistency like Jello. This is good and bad in that it picks up the flavor of whatever you’re cooking it with so it makes a great extender. Taken alone it’s not much. Now there are methods of preparation and products other than Tofu that solve the texture problem, Soy Sauce is made with fermented Soy (not as icky as it sounds) and is an essential and strong Asian flavor, but I can’t say my diet is loaded with all things Soy. If you choose to practice Vegetarianism or one of it’s variations the added protein boost is highly desirable (though all Beans are like that).
Some Vegetarians, like some Atheists (but not me), tend to be uhh… evangelical about it’s benefits. Personally I don’t think a meal needs meat to be complete but I love me some Bacon and those dried up salty and artificially flavored Soy bits are not anything like smoked and cured Pork Belly.
Of course to real ‘Murikans it’s just Meat and Potatoes. Now Potatoes are great, loaded with Potassium and other vitamins and minerals (especially if you eat the skins which are so delicious that they’re served separately sometimes) and surprisingly low in calories if you bake them or roast them and don’t load them up too much with fat, but there are other Vegetables.
To some though it’s like Rolling Coal (taking your 7 MPG Pickup and De-Tuning it so it spews out even larger amounts of Air Pollution). Anything other than their gut and artery clogging diet is an emasculating trigger (Evangelical Vegetarians don’t help) and a sign of “Librul Political Correctness” (look, it’s just not ok to be a bigoted asshole in public).
Soy contains some trace quantities of Estrogen (which chromosome damaged Humans also produce naturally only not as much) and one of the older Right Wing Consipracy Theories is that it is “Feminising” men.
Folks, I have been to Comet Ping Pong. There is no basement.
Inside the “soy boy” conspiracy theory: It combines misogyny and the warped world of pseudosciece
by Alex Henderson, Alternet
November 15, 2018
Nutritionists have had many debates about the health benefits of soy products; some are very pro-soy, others are critical of it. Their debates are scientific in nature, but on the alt-right, soy is being discussed in stridently political terms—and one of the leading alt-right conspiracy theories is the “soy boy” conspiracy, which claims that soy products are a vast left-wing conspiracy designed to emasculate men and turn their bodies estrogenic.
The alt-right has an abundance of vocabulary that one doesn’t find in more traditional conservatism. In 2018, the term “soy boy” is as common on the alt-right as “cuckservative” (right-wingers who aren’t right-wing enough) and “snowflake” (a hypersensitive liberal or progressive). “Soy boy” isn’t a term that one typically encounters in more traditional conservative outlets like the National Review and the Weekly Standard, but alt-right outlets — from Alex Jones’ Infowars to the misogynist Return of Kings website—have been a frequent source of anti-soy conspiracy theories.
Jones has long been promoting conspiracy theories involving government operatives and “The New World Order” using products to turn male bodies estrogenic. In 2013, Jones argued that juice boxes were feminizing male children, declaring, “After you’re done drinking your little juices, you’re ready to go out and have a baby. You’re ready to put makeup on. You’re ready to wear a short skirt….You’re ready to put lipstick on.”
Jones has asserted that left-wing male commentators are often “latte addicts” and “soy addicts” who lack masculinity—and earlier this year, Jones’ colleague, Paul Joseph Watson posted an eight-minute video describing the alleged attributes of a “soy boy.”
Watson asked, “What is it about soy that turns men into such spineless wimps? Soybeans contain high amounts of phytoestrogens: organic compounds that mimic the female hormone estrogen in the human body. This reduces testosterone and lowers male sperm count.”
Watson elaborated, “Men with high estrogen take on feminine traits. They find it harder to handle stress. They become less assertive. They become low-energy. Their voices get higher, their genitals shrink.”
According to Watson’s video, “environmental estrogens” are causing males to develop female-like breasts—and one of the most prominent “environmental estrogens” is soy. The use of soy baby formulas, Watson said, suggests that “rather than people with already preexisting left-wing beliefs being attracted to vegan-style tofu soy diets, we’re actually creating an army of soy boys from birth.”
Alt-right blogger Mike Cernovich is not only a leading proponent of the bizarre Pizzagate conspiracy theory, which in 2016, claimed that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton was running a child sex ring in a Washington, DC pizzeria—he is also a strident critic of soy products, arguing that there is a correlation between liberal and progressive beliefs and use of soy products. And “soy boy” is one of his favorite insults.
…
In one on his anti-soy videos, Watson focused on “soy face” exclusively—arguing that because “soy boys” have lower testosterone, it shows in their facial expressions. Watson declared, “Look a little closer and see what soy face truly represents: weakness and fear….The globalist chemical warfare program to make men effeminate so they vote more like women and generally vote for left-wing policies and big government is still in full swing. But now that the testosterone-decimating effects of soy and plastics are being exposed, the reign of the soy boys is coming to an end.”Health-related websites will continue to debate the merits of soy products, doing so in a non-political way. But to the alt-right’s conspiracy buffs, the use of soy is very much a political issue—and nothing says “giant left-wing conspiracy” like the abundance of mythical “soy boys.”
Sorry. Man boobs are a sign you’re getting old and out of shape, not that you’re eating too much Soy.