Tofu: Not a healthy health food

Many vegetarians champion tofu for its meatless protein and versatility. They also eat quite a lot of it, and some sources are saying -- and have been saying for a while actually -- that no good can come of this.

Basically, because tofu is an unfermented soy product, there are chemicals left in the soy that are not only indigestible, but also rob your body of other nutrients. Phytates block mineral absorption and trypsin inhibitors block protein digestion.

In this video interview, Dr. Kaayla Daniel says she isn't so much worried about the people who eat a couple of chunks of tofu in miso soup and the like, but more the vegetarians who eat slabs of tofu daily as their main source of protein. She also says that eating tofu is still safer than ingesting soy protein isolate or hydrolyzed soy protein, ingredients found in many processed foods like veggie burgers.

So what are you to do if you are a vegetarian and have concerns about eating too much tofu?

• If you eat tofu, use it in moderation and not as your main source of protein.
• Look to beans and legumes as a healthier protein choice.
• Combine a whole grain and a legume at each meal to get a complete protein.

For more information on complete proteins, read an old That's Fit post about hummus and protein.