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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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[–] maxmalrichtig@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 2 months ago (1 children)

See, here is where I would immediately be skeptical about the article:

enzymes that make the digestion of protein incredibly difficult

Enzymes are protein structures and are therefore very susceptible to heat. (I.e. when you would cook an egg and it turns "white" this is proteins beeing degenerated by heat)

You would NEVER eat raw soy (or other legumes thereof). They should always get cooked thoroughly. And in tofu production, you would also cook the soy milk in the process.

I'm not 100% knowledgeable about these specific proteins, but it sounds like big strawman to me from the getgo.

[–] mambabasa 2 points 2 months ago

Thanks, that helps a lot.