The following is part of a Facebook conversation that was initiated by the article by Dr. Mercola "What's So Good About Tofu" found here: https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/09/16/what-s-so-bad-about-tofu.aspx?fbclid=...

Having enjoyed a vegan lifestyle for many years, my experience is that the nutrition that provides the most value to my well being is what I call Low/No P.A.S.S. or Low P rocessed, No A nimal, Low S alt, Low S ugar. Tofu fits that criteria (providing it some leeway on its processing), however an additional characteristic of the food I enjoy is that it is fiber dense and nutritionally rich. Tofu does not tick the fiber dense box.

That being said, I did experiment with a 12 week training cycle that included a high amount of tofu and other soy-based products (up to 6 servings a day). My training regiment was heavy resistance training that required a higher than normal amount of protein which the soy products delivered. The results were that my health deteriorated to a point at which I sought medical advice. Fatigue, muscle aches, fever and general malaise were the prominent symptoms. During the medical testing I decided to cut soy from my nutrition entirely. Within 3 days all symptoms were gone.

Because the impact of eliminating soy was so immediate and significant, I attribute the negative effects to hormonal disruption, possibly related to thyroid disruption, however, as the article points out, each the GMO element of soy and the processing element of the tofu may have contributed.

Currently, I do not ingest soy in any form and continue to enjoy the vitality, energy and well being one could expect from a healthy plant based diet.

Because I monitor each my body weight, body fat percentage and lean muscle mass percentage I am able to share that despite the significant decrease in daily protein intake post soy there has been no corresponding decrease in strength or lean muscle mass.

Tofu does indeed provide a meat-like experience that may be desirable for those attempting to transition to a plant based diet, however, in the long term, and as the article describes, the long term use of processed soy products may be detrimental to the health goals often associated with a vegan nutrition plan.