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Does tofu exacerbate depression? (self.vegan)

submitted 2 months ago by mambabasa to c/vegan

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A family friend who's a psychiatrist told us that tofu can worsen depression. I'm skeptical, but a web search revealed the following:

Even though soy is packed with lean protein, it's also packed with trypsin and protease inhibitors—enzymes that make the digestion of protein incredibly difficult. Soy is also high in copper, a mineral linked to anxious behavior, and loaded with oligosaccharides, which are known to cause flatulence. (Link, TW: meat)

The article also says tempeh is better than tofu in this regard, so that's good since I like tempeh more than tofu (harder to source though). I wanted to ask here who are more along in life.

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[–] protist@mander.xyz 22 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

I'm by no means an expert on this subject, but that article you linked is not trustworthy. It tells you to try fermented versions of soy instead of tofu, ostensibly to avoid the anxiety-inducing effects of tofu, and then later says fermented foods cause anxiety. It also gives a reason tofu causes anxiety as it contains compounds "that make the digestion of proteins incredibly difficult," but no rationale for how that causes anxiety. It also says copper is "linked to anxious behavior," a dubious claim, again with no source.

I'd ask your psychiatrist friend for some literature on the subject.

[–] mambabasa -1 points 2 months ago

Good idea thanks