WHEN soy burst onto the Western food scene in the early 1990s, the possibilities for the bean seemed boundless. The protein-packed legume had potential to prevent breast cancer, increase bone mass, alleviate hot flashes. It seemed to lower cholesterol, and thus to help prevent heart disease.
Millions of dollars were poured into research, and technologists plopped soy into every food imaginable. They ground it into burgers, hot dogs and sausages (Tofurky was born). They processed it into cheese, milk and ice cream. Manufacturers added it to baby formula, and baristas foamed it into lattes.
Purists consumed soy in its traditional Asian forms -- as tofu, \o7tempeh\f7 or \o7edamame\f7 -- while hard-core health nuts sought out soy protein powder or isoflavone-packed supplements.
But 15 years later, with ever more soy products available in the grocery store and conspicuous soy consumption a cultural shorthand for "Hey, I'm health-conscious!", the tides are turning against the Asian wonder food.
Call it the "soy backlash."
A crop of books and articles are now warning about the dangers, not benefits, of the bean.
Soy now has its very own tell-all, penned by a certified nutritionist: "The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America's Favorite Health Food."
It's being tracked by an international watchdog group, the Soy Online Service, whose mission is to "uncover the truth about soy" and inform consumers about "the plethora of criminal and dangerous lies that issue from the soy industry."
Soy, we are warned, can do terrible things should we overdose on tofu or soysauge, suggests the men's magazine, Best Life: "Grow man boobs! Shed muscle tone! Boost estrogen! Saps your sex drive!"
These reactions are extremes. But even mainstream scientists are pulling back on once-heady health predictions for the bean. New research is showing that soy is not the magic bullet researchers once hoped it might be.
Yet these scientists also see soy's fall from grace as the latest casualty in Americans' endless -- and unrealistic -- search for a single substance that can change your life.
"It's just food!" says soy guru Mark Messina, an adjunct professor of nutrition at Loma Linda University in California, who has written books on its health effects and consults for the soy industry. "We are talking about diet here. Not the fountain of youth."
