Can anyone enlighten me on Soy?

[Mikey0709]

I have heard good reports - and bad reports? Is this old news? Bad for Men? Bad for children? Used in place of hormones for women?

Can anyone sum this up for me - - for a novice?

Is it ok? Only in moderation? or is this false info!

THANK YOU!!! I appreciate any input.... and i'm mostly thinking in the terms of soymilk, edmame, etc....

[AnnieW625]

You are going to get so many different responses on this. I don't like the taste of edamame and don't care for the taste of soy milk so I don't have those in my diet. I have tried soy yogurt, but prefer regular yogurt, if the last thing on Earth was a banana, or soy yogurt I'd probably eat the yogurt though. My daughter has been drinking organic soy milk since she was 18 mos. old because cows milk caused her nose to run like their was no tomorrow. We tried rice milk first and she didn't like it. I don't have any issues with her consuming soy milk, and edamame. I don't buy edamame because I don't like it, but I know she's had it at daycare, We have tried soy cheese and honestly the stuff is vile and I don't like the taste. We do eat tofu every so often and Tofutti brand products when we are with our vegan friends and I have no issue with that either. I use soy sauce sparingly for cooking Asian foods. That is probably not much help but that's where we stand on soy. I haven't done any vast research on soy though.

[daisymommy]

From what I have read, it is not safe to consume on a regular basis. Yes, it acts just like estrogen in the body. So that means giving boys estrogen--not good. And more estrogen than the female body needs or can handle, which increases your risk of breast cancer.

Other countries such as China & Japan for example do consume soy, but in much smaller quantities that many people here in the U.S. do today. Also, the way it is prepared in other cultures is different than it is here in our processed products, which makes it harder for the body to handle.

So, if my kids go to someone else's house and they are having chocolate soy milk and my kids want some, fine. But I would not buy soy milk, burgers, cheese, etc. to feed to my family on a regular basis. And I definitely would do everything humanly possible to avoid feeding my baby soy formula. And don't forget, unless you buy organic, soy is genetically modified! (for more information on the dangers of that, do a search for the discussion we had here recently).

Great article here:
http://mothering.com/food/whole-soy-story#

Links coming as I find them...
Soy formula: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12919490?dopt=Abstract (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12919490?dopt=Abstract)

Quote: (FYI...soy is a phytoestrogen plant)
Evidence from studies of various animal species has demonstrated that ingestion of high levels of phytoestrogens can produce adverse effects on reproductive endpoints including fertility. Studies in laboratory animals have also shown that exposure to high doses of phytoestrogens during development can adversely affect brain differentiation and reproductive development...
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9888630

[Mikey0709]

THANK YOU!!!! This is exactly what i was looking for - - and new i could count on you guys for a quick summary!!!!

[elbenn]

I have read that consuming soy in its original form is okay, like edamame, but it's not as good in the processed form, like soy proteins added to protein bars, etc.

[AnnieW625]

Thanks for posting that article DaisyMommy. One thing particularly caught my eye in the article was when they were talking about soy allergies and they mentioned bed wetting. DD1 is almost 5 and in many cases still soaking through a pull up, and while I have a feeling it is purely coincidental all of her earache issues started after we started the soy milk at 18 mos. old. . Maybe I will try some almond milk and see if that works as she has no nut allergies.

[BabbyO]

I can't tell you much about soy, but I will say this. When DS was diagnosed with the dairy protein allergy I cut out dairy. A few weeks later the ped recommended also cutting out soy since many people with the DP allergy develop a soy allergy.

I dropped a TON of weight when we eliminated soy. I'm not convinced that its because it is good or bad for you, but because it is so common so many processed foods. I'm convinced that cutting soy out forced me to cut lots of other junk out of my diet regardless of whether soy is good or bad.

That said...we still limit DS' soy intake because its one of those things I believe we haven't seen the long term effects of having it in so many of our foods.

[essnce629]

Women who eat lots of soy also have increased fertility problems. One of my best friends is a vegetarian and eats a ton of processed soy food-- burgers, sausages, tofurkey, etc, etc. When she was 25 she started trying to get pregnant and after a few months of charting and extremely wacky cycles I found an article about soy and infertility and told her to cut out as much soy as possible. She did and eventually got pregnant. Who knows if the soy was her issue, but it just doesn't sound like soy products processed to the max to look and taste like meat could be healthy in any form! She insists that it's way healthier than meat, but I disagree. She also has super high blood pressure! If eating soy, I would only do it in it's pure form-- tofu, edamame, and soy milk-- and only organic since non-organic soy is genitically modified. We eat edamame in our house, but that's pretty much the only soy. DS1 drinks almond milk since he was dairy-free for 3 years and no longer liked cow's milk once he was allowed to eat dairy again.

[daisymommy]

Too much estrogen in the body will cause weight gain and weight-holding. And then it gets to be a vicious cycle. Too much weight, and your body produces too much estrogen.

That is why there is all the news about young girls now days being overweight and obese, and that causing early puberty. It's all intertwined.

And yes, I was a vegetarian for a number of years, and oh-boy did that ever do a number on my body! Thyroid and infertility problems galore. It wasn't until I went back to an omnivore diet, cut out all soy, and consumed only organic milk & hormone free meat that I was able to conceive.

[wellyes]

On the other hand - it is worth noting that the scary data about soy seem to always come, in one way or another, from the Weston A Price Foundation - not an unbiased, or even really credible, source.

See http://www.edenfoods.com/articles/view.php?articles_id=80 and http://www.care2.com/causes/real-food/blog/enjoy-soy-dr-debunks-scaremonger-stories-says-soy-beneficial-for-people-and-the-planet/ and http://unreasonable.org/node/1642

[JElaineB]

On the other hand - it is worth noting that the scary data about soy seem to always come, in one way or another, from the Weston A Price Foundation - not an unbiased, or even really credible, source.

See http://www.edenfoods.com/articles/view.php?articles_id=80 and http://www.care2.com/causes/real-food/blog/enjoy-soy-dr-debunks-scaremonger-stories-says-soy-beneficial-for-people-and-the-planet/ and http://unreasonable.org/node/1642

I wouldn't think Eden Foods is too credible of a source, since they sell soy milk. And I don't think the Weston A. Price Foundation are quacks. Now I know Sally Fallon Morrell has a few ideas I don't agree with, but the foundation supports eating traditional foods (real, whole foods, properly prepared), based on the work of Dr. Weston Price, who wrote Nutrition and Physical Degeneration (http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/price/pricetoc.html). In a traditional foods diet, fermented soy is generally considered ok in small quantities, but not large quantities of unfermeted soy. I agree with that, I don't think soy is a something most people should be eating a lot of.

[ahisma]

I'm vegan, so I've read a lot about soy. I'm still undecided. I agree, a lot of the anti-soy information comes from very biased sources. Many vegan chefs who I respect greatly have decided that they are comfortable with soy. I'm still on the fence, and have been for several years.

Anecdotally, I can say that I used to eat a lot of soy and had serious infertility and endometriosis issues. Whether there is a causal relationship for me - who knows.

My approach is to eat it in moderation. I don't buy soymilk, or any soy "meat replacers". I drink almond or hemp milk. Tastes better anyway;)

I do eat tofu once in a while, maybe 2-3 times a month. I drink soy in my coffee if I get a latte (rarely).

I feel more comfortable with the more natural / direct forms of soy (i.e. tofu) than I do the processed forms (i.e. gardenburgers, "meat" crumbles, etc.).