dangers of soy??
Posted by lime green on Sep 22, 2007 · Member since Apr 2007 · 634 posts
someone i know posted this link on the facebook. i can't really figure out whether this is reputable or not. the site is run by a private corporation, but it seems to be a little conspiratory
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/index.htm
any thoughts?
does anyone have information on soy that comes from a reputable medical journal or news source?
Who gains from this? The meat industry. I don't believe it.
So a bunch of people out of the blue decided to go against soy? :D ;D
the company that maintains the site is an "environmental consultancy". that might be what they call a PR firm in New Zealand...?
the company that maintains the site is an "environmental consultancy". that might be what they call a PR firm in New Zealand...?
Soy is a food product not part of the environment in my book but I could wrong to.
Someone told me soy is bad for people with low thyroid. Has anyone got any sound information on this, for or against?
I was so disappionted to find "SoyOnlineService" when I was googling something else...
Being a veg*n person from the same country as this site... I couldn't believe how biased it was against soy products! Obviously the argumentative information was sourced from the meat industry. It didn't specify organic or not organic, it was just ANTI SOY. Admittedly, I don't know a lot of details about the health benefits of soy, but some of the arguments against it made me laugh out loud.
For instance: "Myth: Soy foods are good for your sex life. / Truth: Numerous animal studies show that soy foods cause infertility in animals. Soy consumption enhances hair growth in middle-aged men, indicating lowered testosterone levels. Japanese housewives feed tofu to their husbands frequently when they want to reduce his virility."
Hee hee hee! ;D ... What?!
Someone told me soy is bad for people with low thyroid. Has anyone got any sound information on this, for or against?
"Soy may decrease the absorption of thyroid medication"
Yabbit, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2001. I had half of the thyroid removed because of cancer & the remaining half kicked into overdrive....loosing hair, heart palpitations, could not get a good night sleep for years & extreme weight loss even though I was eating healthy. My Dr. would change my thyroid meds until my bloodwork was within the healthy limits & the symptoms disappeared, all except the weight. It wasn't until I became vegan & was eating more soy, that I finally started to gain weight...& keep it on. I am at the point now where I have to limit the amount of soy that I eat because even if I am within the caloric intake limit, I will gain weight. So there is some truth to the statement above. My GP & Otolaryngologist are both aware of my diet & both are happy that my bloodwork & weight are stable. I really don't know if soy is good or bad for people with thyroid disease, so I err on the side of caution & consume very little.
Confused? here's another link that still won't answer the question http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/soya.asp
I don't believe that soy is bad for an otherwise healthy person. The stuff that is in the link above is most likely put there by the meat & dairy industry.
I think eating too much of anything would be bad for you. I just make sure that soy isn't the only thing I eat as far as protein-rich entrees and such (for example, not eating tofu everyday). Most of these studies, especially the experiments, involve consumption of more soy than is almost humanly possible to eat, or else it's an amount of soy that would obviously make someone sick.
I am not a doctor or anything; that's just my two cents. :)
Someone told me soy is bad for people with low thyroid. Has anyone got any sound information on this, for or against?
"Soy may decrease the absorption of thyroid medication"
Yabbit, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism in 2001. I had half of the thyroid removed because of cancer & the remaining half kicked into overdrive....loosing hair, heart palpitations, could not get a good night sleep for years & extreme weight loss even though I was eating healthy. My Dr. would change my thyroid meds until my bloodwork was within the healthy limits & the symptoms disappeared, all except the weight. It wasn't until I became vegan & was eating more soy, that I finally started to gain weight...& keep it on. I am at the point now where I have to limit the amount of soy that I eat because even if I am within the caloric intake limit, I will gain weight. So there is some truth to the statement above. My GP & Otolaryngologist are both aware of my diet & both are happy that my bloodwork & weight are stable. I really don't know if soy is good or bad for people with thyroid disease, so I err on the side of caution & consume very little.
Confused? here's another link that still won't answer the question http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/soya.asp
I don't believe that soy is bad for an otherwise healthy person. The stuff that is in the link above is most likely put there by the meat & dairy industry.
I also take daily medicine for my low thyroid output. I do limit the amount of soy in my diet. For protein I try to hit the whole grains, legumes and dark greens. I agree that soy is much healthier than milk!
There's a big difference between soy protein isolates, which are used in some mock meats and are heavily processed, and tofu, tempeh, and miso which preserve the vital nutrients found in soy such as tryptophan, manganese, iron, selenium, omega 3 fats, B vitamins, copper, vitamin K, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Soy is a super food, but a varied diet is key for optimal health and all foods should be eaten in moderation.
There's a big difference between soy protein isolates, which are used in some mock meats and are heavily processed, and tofu, tempeh, and miso which preserve the vital nutrients found in soy such as tryptophan, manganese, iron, selenium, omega 3 fats, B vitamins, copper, vitamin K, potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium. Soy is a super food, but a varied diet is key for optimal health and all foods should be eaten in moderation.
Excellent point. I would hate to give up tofu entirely! Variety is the key.
someone i know posted this link on the facebook. i can't really figure out whether this is reputable or not. the site is run by a private corporation, but it seems to be a little conspiratory
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/index.htm
any thoughts?
does anyone have information on soy that comes from a reputable medical journal or news source?
No, but I can tell you that if you eat soy that has not been properly fermented that it is basically like ingesting 100% estrogen and that's dangerous for men and women....Also, about 80% of the world's soy is genetically modified and God only knows what that is doing to us....I would stay as far away from soy as possible....Atleast don't give it to your children....
someone i know posted this link on the facebook. i can't really figure out whether this is reputable or not. the site is run by a private corporation, but it seems to be a little conspiratory
http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/index.htm
any thoughts?
does anyone have information on soy that comes from a reputable medical journal or news source?
No, but I can tell you that if you eat soy that has not been properly fermented that it is basically like ingesting 100% estrogen and that's dangerous for men and women....Also, about 80% of the world's soy is genetically modified and God only knows what that is doing to us....I would stay as far away from soy as possible....Atleast don't give it to your children....
The estrogen in soy is plant estrogen - animals don't process it like our own estrogen. Anecdotes abound of men growing breasts and women with mutineering ovaries, but these are largely unsubstantiated claims.
re: thyroid stuff. I have had an underactive thyroid since childhood, and have been eating soy products since...well, childhood. I have asked doctors and dietitians about this and none were concerned. My thyroid condition is and has been controlled for years, which might have something to do with it - if someone was unaware that they had hypothyroidism & weren't being treated for it then it might become an issue, but in that case I think the condition itself would be the larger problem, compared to whatever soy might do.
Also, wanted to echo what was mentioned about plant vs. animal estrogens. All mammalian steroid hormones have the same basic structure, meaning mammalian estrogen (which is present in pretty high levels in milk) would bind to human estrogen receptors much more readily and strongly than plant estrogens, which have a bit of a different structure and can only bond weakly.
I looked around the site a bit and while the group of folks running it claim not to be funded by industry, I'm willing to bet many of them are already tied to animal agriculture, even if they aren't getting money from it to make the site. Also, many of their "soy facts" (dangers of soy, soy & infants, etc) seem to be the same as those found on the Weston Price "foundation"'s page, which is generally considered a load of crap (and I think it has been found that the dairy industry is involved in this one.) While I do appreciate that people want truths exposed, and I think it's important to look at any industry (including plant food industry) -based facts or research with a critical eye, I also feel that sites like this should be taken with a grain of salt. Not to say that scientific studies can't be purposely skewed, but I'd more readily believe a site that referenced its information better and got it from reputable sources, and told the WHOLE story instead of picking out parts that favoured their bias. Also on this site: veganism kills baby...the story we've all heard about that equates veganism with starvation. ugh.
PS re: plant estrogens and phytic acid - these substances are present in OTHER plant foods besides soy, like nuts, seeds, other legumes, and pretty much ANY plant food. So I question why people attack soy specifically and why I have never ever seen anyone make the same claims about other plant foods...could it be that someone is benefitting by spreading this information about soy in particular? Probably. Just sayin'.
I'm not going to claim to know anything about this... I'll continue to eat it no matter what to be very honest, because I have a special relationship with tofu :P
but, I DO know that soy can be difficult to digest, especially in those who already have touchy digestive systems. So I guess that could be a "danger"
Besides that though, I don't pretend to know much else about the benefits or dangers of soy.
PS re: plant estrogens and phytic acid - these substances are present in OTHER plant foods besides soy, like nuts, seeds, other legumes, and pretty much ANY plant food. So I question why people attack soy specifically and why I have never ever seen anyone make the same claims about other plant foods...could it be that someone is benefitting by spreading this information about soy in particular? Probably. Just sayin'.
Tino, I say this all the time! lol
If lentils had been the legume that was chosen to be a meat replacer and milk replacer, (yummy vanilla lentil milk! Delicious lentil dogs!) you can bet that the meat/dairy industry would be doing studies about lentils and the dangerous estrogen in them! and people would believe it. and blame their man boobs on lentils.
What a coincidence! While urgently trying to avoid doing some of my nearly-due paperwork today, I came across a fabulous link about this very topic. It's got a lot of information, that seems to knock the tofu-fear-ball right out of the park...
http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/3476771.htm#children
I think the whole thing sounds like B.S., like the equivalent of "milk is good for your bones!" myth... I'm no M.D. or anything, and I guess it's possible for some individuals to have specific food sensitivities to soy, like people can be allergic to strawberries or something... But I haven't seen any convincing data supporting the massive "soy scare" that's been reported (by sources of unknown affilitation), & there seems to be a lot of data NOT supporting it... so... yeah, I think I'll go have some soynuggets with creamy tofu-dill dip, or something... mmmmmm, soy!
PS re: plant estrogens and phytic acid - these substances are present in OTHER plant foods besides soy, like nuts, seeds, other legumes, and pretty much ANY plant food. So I question why people attack soy specifically and why I have never ever seen anyone make the same claims about other plant foods...could it be that someone is benefitting by spreading this information about soy in particular? Probably. Just sayin'.
The reason that soy is not healthy is because it has phytic acids, which reduce the absorbtion of many vitamins and minerals(something we all need to be healthy) It also contains anti-nutrients aka enzyme inhibitors needed for protein digestin and amino acid uptake.....It contains Haemaggluttin which causes red blood cells to clump together and inhibits oxygen uptake and growth to cells which also increases the risk of heart attack.....It contains Trypsin inhibitors that can cause pancreatic anlargement and eventually cancer....That is just to name a few things that other plants and most legumes and nuts dont contain....Look into it you may be surprised.....
I'd be interested to see the data on all that, as well as info about who funded the research you refer to... Also, the research I've seen about the 'dangers' of soy primarily addressed heavily processed foods-- an unscientific way to obtain meaningful data to generalize to ALL soy foods, in my opinion...
I certainly am no expert on this, and would like to see more info (from objective sources!)... knowledge is power, after all, and I like to read! But it sure seems like there's a lot of soy-chompin' veg*ns about who are in pretty good health; the well-researched position papers for the American Heart Assn, American Diabetic Assn, etc. don't say "we recommend a vegan or vegetarian diet EXCEPT FOR SOY," and it seems like most of the research published in peer-reviewed journals such as JAMA & the Journal of Clinical Nutrition supports health benefits of veg*nism even without soy excluded... Unless I'm mistaken, many subjects of the China Study ate large amounts of soy, and lived long and vigorous lives...
I'm just sayin', I think the bulk of the research that I've come across doesn't seem to support soy concerns... I'm willing to read more, and I definitely think that 'too much of anything is too much'-- it seems reasonable to expect that if you eat soy & nothing else, you're gonna have problems... but that goes for any food! I'm always interested in learning more, but so far what I've read seems to be more like an advertising campaign for meat & dairy folks afraid of losing market shares... post any good links you know of, though, and they can add to the roundness of this discussion. Thanks!
I'd be interested to see the data on all that, as well as info about who funded the research you refer to... Also, the research I've seen about the 'dangers' of soy primarily addressed heavily processed foods-- an unscientific way to obtain meaningful data to generalize to ALL soy foods, in my opinion...
I certainly am no expert on this, and would like to see more info (from objective sources!)... knowledge is power, after all, and I like to read! But it sure seems like there's a lot of soy-chompin' veg*ns about who are in pretty good health; the well-researched position papers for the American Heart Assn, American Diabetic Assn, etc. don't say "we recommend a vegan or vegetarian diet EXCEPT FOR SOY," and it seems like most of the research published in peer-reviewed journals such as JAMA & the Journal of Clinical Nutrition supports health benefits of veg*nism even without soy excluded... Unless I'm mistaken, many subjects of the China Study ate large amounts of soy, and lived long and vigorous lives...
I'm just sayin', I think the bulk of the research that I've come across doesn't seem to support soy concerns... I'm willing to read more, and I definitely think that 'too much of anything is too much'-- it seems reasonable to expect that if you eat soy & nothing else, you're gonna have problems... but that goes for any food! I'm always interested in learning more, but so far what I've read seems to be more like an advertising campaign for meat & dairy folks afraid of losing market shares... post any good links you know of, though, and they can add to the roundness of this discussion. Thanks!
I could pull up some links but in the end it's all information and most will except info as long as it doesn't have the possibilty of interfering with ther life style....Google(Andrew Weil soy dangers) you should find a plenty of doctors that are not working for the dairy industry....I assume but I really don't know....
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