There's a huge soy bandwagon roaring down the tracks. It's everywhere; 60% of prepared foods contain soy. Even some vitamins, too.

Can we talk about this?

Of course it's everywhere; it's the cheapest and easiest crop to grow. Farmers make some money. Food manufacturers get a little more profit. Certainly nothing wrong with that.

Except for one little detail: Soy can do a number on you.

Here's some of the information you need to calculate your odds:

1. Soy's loaded with oxalic acid, sharp-edged crystals. Think kidney stones-not to mention heart problems, immune deficiency, brain hiccups, etc.

2. Then there are the phytates. Whether you've heard about them before or not-or even know how to pronounce the name-they throw a monkey wrench into your ability to absorb protein or the minerals calcium, iron, zinc and magnesium. The endocrine system, which is what I worry about, lives on protein and minerals. No protein? No minerals? Your health goes downhill on ice.

3. And there's more! Besides sending mini-razor blades through your system whilst leaving you malnourished, soy is estrogenic, so called because it mimics estrogen-shutting the real thing out from its proper role and causing estrogen dominance-male or female. It can cause premature puberty in little girls, lifelong low testosterone in little boys, breasts in men and a closet full of symptoms in women. Estrogen is part of endocrine function, and when it gets out of whack, there goes the farm.

4. And still the bad beat goes on! Soy interferes with thyroid function. Big time. It alone can cause hypothyroid problems.

I could go on (and on) with a mind-boggling list guaranteed to get you indignant with everybody who promotes this stuff. But let me be fair and balanced here: Soy helps with menopause symptoms. The problem is the eventual cost, health wise, that you could pay. Using soy to get through menopause is a lot like burning down the house because you saw a mouse in the kitchen. Choose a different, less destructive path.

Of course, not all people pay soy's dire consequences. But then, most smokers don't develop cancer, either. How lucky do you feel?

No soy for you.