What is the deal with nama shoyu and agave, etc.?

[sosiesmom]

I'm reading that 100% raw folks minimize or do not use nama shoyu, agave, or miso? What gives? I feel like these foods, in moderation and when incorporated into recipes, are fine. What's the thinking behind eliminating them? And if you no longer use these, how did you get rid of them from your diet?

I love miso soup (I know Alissa's recipes incorporate miso sometimes) and would hate to give it up.

[rawpriestess]

Well, I think you are listening to the purists, (nothing wrong with that)

Miso is not a raw food, it is pasturized, although you CAN get some miso that isn't, I use chickpea miso and love it, but use it sparingly, I've had the same 1 pound conatiner for over 4 years, still good, but that is how much or little I use of it, same with my red miso, have had it for years, in the fridge, seems to be great when I do choose to use it.

nama Shoyu is raw but it is made from Soy beans, and some people just don't do soy, but in either case, they both have naturally occuring MSG's which are NOT beneficial to our bodies, and make us CRAVE more of the food.

they are considered exitotoxins much like, salt, vinegar, garlic onions, etc.

so if you like them, then eat them, if you don't like them then don't;.

I don't do much salt, but I occasionally do use Nama Shoyu when I am eating a spring roll, but that's about it,

I used to LOVE Braggs, so much so, that I thought I might have an addiction to it, so I tried to STOP using it, and it wasn't easy, so I figure if a particular food has that much of a hold on me, then I better stop using it.

So, again, I don't use these foods much, well, let me rephrase that, the processed ones, I do use garlic every week, and onions almost every day. LOL

but anything bottled or processed, I pretty much don't use anymore, but that is just me, as I progress on my raw path, I eat less and less processed food and more and more fresh produce.

[Dimond]

I use raw agave and won't be giving that up. How else can I make my yummy ice cream? :rolleyes:

[michaeldwyer]

I have heard that Bragg's Liquid Aminos has naturally occuring MSG, but I didn't think Nama Shoyu did??? Is that really true? Also, do you know where I can get official documentation that says Bragg's has MSG?

Lastly, does Nama Shoyu need to be refridgerated?

[LightLover]

There is an interesting article on fermented soya on the following website, but don't buy the product offered there, just buy "natto" in your healthstore.

( I think that there is no unprocessed soyaproduct at all, even nama shoyu is
processed, I think steamed, only not pasteurized afterwards!) :rolleyes:

www.mercola.com/forms/cardioessentials.htm

Mercola has sometimes very good information, but he diesn't sell the whole product, but just a part, because that delivers more mony

[Sharon in Colorado]

I use chickpea miso and love it, but use it sparingly, I've had the same 1 pound conatiner for over 4 years, still good, but that is how much or little I use of it, same with my red miso, have had it for years, in the fridge, seems to be great when I do choose to use it.




Good to know RP, I've also had a couple containers of "live" miso in the fridge for years, and wondered if it was still good to eat.

Recently I received an E-mail with this quote:


"By admitting that a food has an extended shelf life we are openly admitting that this food will not support life of any kind, not even hardy microorganisms". ~ Dr. Douglas Graham

This has made me wonder about stuff that I have and occassionally use such as "raw" agave nectar, coconut oil, tamari, etc.

When I buy fresh produce and keep it on the counter, it goes bad if not eaten. In the fridge it lasts a little longer yet still goes bad.

To think that some of the condiments I use being health-promoting at all would be to deny that the fact that they have a questionably long shelf life.

So as I use these items, I do keep that post it note in the back of my brain. Hopefully one day I will not feel the need to use them at all.

[sport]

my miso says "unpasturised fermented soya bean puree"

[sport]

Sharon,
I received that email as well and gave it some thought but then realised that you have to look at the word "extended".
This means extended beyond what nature intended. Some things have naturally long shelf lives and we can take advantage of that but things that are meant to go off should do exactly that.

[Sharon in Colorado]

I agree and there are other things that have naturally long lives like nuts and seeds and fruit when dry. Also apples, which are commonly put in cold storage in the fall to sell to consumers all year long. Then there are the many root vegetables which can sustain long lives in the proper conditions.

But I guess comparing the above to a processed product is like comparing apples to bottles of stuff.

[sport]

I agree that you can not compare but I was just trying to make sense of his comment because it had me perplexed for a while.

[michaeldwyer]

Also, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar and others are natural perservatives. I am OK with that. :)

I realize that Nama Shoyu is processed and someday I will be completely away from processed stuff, but for now I sometimes use it.

I bought Nama Shoyu and it lasted a long time in the cubbard (couple of months). then when the summer came and it was warmer in the house, the Nama Shoyu tended to not last as long. I am not sure, but I think that is what happened or I just had a "bad" bottle.

Anywho, does it need to be refridgerated?

[Raw Jewelrylady]

Also, lemon juice, olive oil, vinegar and others are natural perservatives. I am OK with that. :)

I realize that Nama Shoyu is processed and someday I will be completely away from processed stuff, but for now I sometimes use it.

I bought Nama Shoyu and it lasted a long time in the cubbard (couple of months). then when the summer came and it was warmer in the house, the Nama Shoyu tended to not last as long. I am not sure, but I think that is what happened or I just had a "bad" bottle.

Anywho, does it need to be refridgerated?


I have always refrigerated my Nama Shoya-along with anything that comes in a bottle like almond butter-tahini, etc.

Lana

[LightLover]

I think the only raw soyaproduct is "natto"But the taste is not so nice either, just have a look at google+pictures... :eek:

[Lay-Lay]

I am not opposed to using any of those things. I have just ran out and haven't bought any in the last several months and well I haven't missed them. Chickpea miso, now that sounds good. Is it raw or not. Can I make it?

[michaeldwyer]

I refridgerate my tahani, nut butters and others, but I never put braggs liquid aminos in the fridge. Hence, I thought it wasn't necessary to put nama shoyu in the fridge. hhhhmm, seems like you are all suggesting I do.
I also buy braggs raw apple cider vinegar. I never put that in the fridge, because it is vinegar and it lasts a very very long time. Do any of you put this vinegar in the fridge?

[jaurequi]

As far as I know, Nama Shoyu and Miso are living foods, but not raw foods, since they have at an initial stage, been cooked (the soya bean, in this case). If something is living in your refrigerator it doesn't make sense that it is not life-supporting as Graham states. There are live enzymes in some unpasteurized foods.

Best,

[maryonherway]

Sharon, I just found this new product at QVC (on-line shopping for those of you not already hooked). It's call E.G.G. and it looks like one of those plastic Easter eggs that you can open and put stuff it and it's about the same size as a regular egg. It has perforations in it. Inside is a little packet of stuff that absorbs the ethylene (?) gas that fruit & veggies give off as they ripen (that's why putting avocados in a closed brown paper bag on the counter works - the ripes one give off the gas and help ripen the others). Anyway, you put one of these in each veggie bin and it absorbs that gas and keeps your food from continuing to ripen after you put it in the fridge. It greatly extends the life of your goodies and it's cheap - about $13-14 for 3 of them (plus shipping and handling and tax) but you can recoup that in longer-lasting produce in no time. They come with a years worth of extra packets that you use every 4 months to replace the older ones. Such a deal! Easy, cheap and your food lasts longer. AND it does not give off any gases or chemicals or anything, just absorbs the ethylene gas (or whatever it is).. anyway, didn't mean to go on so long, but I just had to share that because I'm so impressed with mine that I just ordered another 3 to put on the shelves, since I don't have enough bins to hold all the produce.
Hope that's an idea that you can use.

[Sharon in Colorado]

Hey Mary thanks for sharing that. My main obljective was to use that as an example. Produce just goes bad if left out and not eaten yet the "raw" or "live" condiments can last 6 months at least. It is a perplexing thought, don't you think?

[Coriander74]

I keep my raw almond butter, tahini, flax oil, Braggs ACV, and agave in the fridge (as well as various nuts, seeds, etc).

The agave goes in there because I have an ant phobia and go to measures to make sure I don't get a trail in the kitchen. *shudder*

[lissomllama]

Some of those foods are not completely raw and most of them are unhealthy in certain ways and processed.

Personally, I wont touch soy based products because soy is a phytoestrogen, it causes hormonal imbalances and is linked to many estrogenic cancers. \

I don't use agave nectar because it is usually bottled and some bottled stuff is generally not raw due to the bottling process AND I get more than enough sweetness from fresh, whole raw foods.

I make my own tahini by grinding raw sesame seeds into a paste. I don't use the jarred kind because I've contacted the companies and they said that their tahini and other nut butters were heated due to the canning process and the grinding mechanisms that grind the sesame seeds get hotter than 115 degrees fahrenheit.

I don't use miso because it simply isn't raw. It is technially a living food due to its fermentation process but most types are somehow heated and even the raw ones go through heat for the canning or jarring process and are processed.

I don't use the bragg's stuff because it isn't raw and it is processed.

I don't use cashews because they aren't 100% for sure raw.

I don't use oils because I can get enough oils naturally from raw nuts and seeds and many oils aren't raw.

I don't often use cacao because it has caffeine and caffeine is not generally healthy.

Just because something is raw, does not make it healthy. I make all sorts of great raw foods without these things because I don't need them. I don't make any exceptions. I don't want to even allow the shaddow of a doubt of eating something heated. I may be a fanatic but that works for me.

As for eliminating these things, it is just like eliminating regular cooked foods. In fact, Many of these things I never even tried because I read up on their being questionable from the start and I didn't want to start eating them if they weren't good for me or weren't 100% raw.