Over 10 years ago, my foray into veganism looked like this: Kale. Cashews. Agave. Nutritional Yeast. Almonds. Raw cacao. Hemp seeds. Almond butter. Smoothies. Cold pressed green juices. Seaweed. Algae. In a word, raw. Very raw. Yet, somehow I felt heavy—like I’d shaken a bag of cashews and coconut oil through my body. And, I packed on a few pounds to prove it. That’s not a knock on a raw food diet. Many profess it to be the ultimate detox. It’s alkaline. It purifies the blood. It elevates our brain chemistry. Pouring over raw food book after raw food book—from Gabriel Cousins to my favorite Matthew Kenney—I just couldn’t seem to get the nutritional balance right, especially being prone to over-indulging in sweets. And raw desserts, when done right, can blow any conventional counterpart out of the dinner party.

So, after two teeth-rattling winters—as I clutched my front door, frozen and feeling exceptionally hungry—I decided to take a break from the bowls of salads and pints of cashew ice cream and rediscover balance.

The first bold step? Tofu.

Now, when you’re on a raw food diet, tofu feels like the greatest sin on earth. It is, after all, from soy.

Couple that with the plethora of unverified reports that soy can lead to increased estrogen levels—breasts included—in men, and it’s no wonder our society has developed a soyphobia.

And yet, if you go back to ancient days, soy has been a staple of Asian diets for millennia. Purportedly, tofu was discovered some 2000 years ago in China and finally headed west in the 1960s out of an interest in healthy cuisine.

What the tofu?

For such a simple food, there’s a fair amount of mysticism around tofu. What, exactly, is this white abomination?

Fundamentally, it’s just bean curd. From soybeans, of course. The process of making tofu is similar to that of making cheese and is surprisingly simple in ingredients and process. First, the soybeans are soaked, dried and/or boiled to extract the soy milk from the beans. A salt-like coagulant is then added to curd the milk—separating the solids from the liquids. Traditionally, nigari—seawater—is used. However, in today’s mass-manufactured tofu, you’ll often find calcium sulfate or magnesium chloride, instead. The remaining soy curd is then poured and molded into blocks, forming a perfectly smooth custard—from extra firm, to firm to soft—depending on the amount of water.

Given the relatively simple makeup and few steps needed to make tofu, you can even try your hand at it yourself. While I haven’t yet taken the bold step given the plethora of quality, local tofus for the tasting in NYC—including my favorites from Fresh Tofu Inc. and Bridge Tofu—you can give it a go with this tutorial from HuffPost.

Before it makes its way on to your plate, it’s enriching to note that tofu is a good source of protein and contains all eight essential amino acids. What’s more, it boasts iron, calcium, phosphorous, zinc and vitamin B1, among other minerals. And, while I’m far from a calorie counter, it’s also a low-calorie food, with an average nutritional breakdown (depending on the brand and type) looking something like this—complements of Fresh Tofu Inc.

To Tofu or not to Tofu?

For such small bean at its origin and such an ancient food, tofu has received quite the notoriety. In fact, the damaging rapport it’s received is, perhaps, the very essence of our fake news epidemic. While the western world has shamed tofu into being a potentially harmful, breast-building and cancer-causing compound, the clinical science is lacking to support these claims.

Conversely, numerous studies have been conducted around tofu’s possible health benefits. Again, while lacking in full clinical validation, there is baseline evidence that soy is full of health benefits ranging from reducing breast and prostate cancers, to lowering cholesterol, to helping mitigate the effects of menopause.

As early as 1999, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the U.S. allowed companies to claim that its product “may reduce the risk of heart disease,” based on early research that soy protein lowered LDL cholesterol levels.

Yet, the overall confusion isn’t made easier when you look at the conversation around soy and breast cancer. Soy is often given slack for elevating estrogen levels. That said, phytoestrogens within soy are not the same as estrogen, and they could actually reduce the risk of breast cancer. According to a Harvard School of Public Health summary, some studies have shown a benefit between soy consumption and breast cancer, others have shown no association and a small handful have suggested that ‘concentrated supplements of soy proteins’ may stimulate the growth of these cells.

So, what are we supposed to do with all this contradictory research? My recommendation? Don’t obsess over it. Eat organic, GMO-free (this is key) soy and tofu, like everything, in moderation. And most importantly, listen to your body.

When I eat tofu, I feel good. My brain feels like it’s waking up and refueling. Not everyone has this experience. Tune in to yourself, and let the tofu do the talking.