Where's Davedrum?  He'll help.  But check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weston_A._Price_Foundation .  Fallon is against vegetarian diets, because her WAP Foundation is funded mainly by family farmers, so there is some bias.  You can go to www.pcrm.org for veg-friendly nutrition info.  I agree with Humboldt, in that too much of any one food is not a good idea.  I do eat tofu, tempeh, and soy milk.  But I also consume whole grains, beans, rice milk, flaxseed, etc.  I really don't think that it's anything to worry about if you eat a variety of foods.  

I guess all I want to say is what was already said. Too much of anything isn't good. I think that soy is getting too much of a hype. It's not a miracle food or anything. If you have a sluggish thyroid, a soy allergy, or estrogen related problems, then that might be a special scenario, but other than that, I wouldn't worry about it unless you are eating a ton of it. I sometimes go weeks without (obvious) soy products, but usually I have maybe a soy yogurt a day, or some soymilk in baking or on granola. Every once in a while I'll buy myself a block of tofu, but that's rare.

Unrelated to the topic, but in case other people use Chip Group vital wheat gluten... I called them about the source of their gluten and it's grown and processed in either the U.S. or Austrailia.  I don't know if any of the rest of you had concerns about your vwg following the pet food recall.

According to Christiane Northrup, MD, phytoestrogens have nothing to do with the sort of estrogens the human body produces, they are NOT estrogen.  She said that there are SOME components of soy phytoestrogens which connect with human estrogen receptors, but definitely not the way that human estrogens does.

What intrigues me about this soy argument is the lack of thought behind it.  When one eats dead cow, they consume a LOT of estrogen and of a type much closer to that of the human body.  Consider the hormone replacement drug Premarin (it derives its name from PREgnant MARe urINe).  It is horse urine collected under truly cruel conditions and given to women to replace their own estrogen.  Cattle are not that far off of horses and I can't see why eating their flesh which contains estrogen would be beneficial over a phytoestrogen, as it IS the real thing.  Estrogen from cows is present in dairy products too. And pig meats and even chickens.  Anymore, many farms routinely give cows hormones to stimulate milk production and I don't care what they say, these are also present in cow's milk.

When I started to think about soy versus animal protein, phytoestrogen versus actual mammalian estrogen, I laughed at the ignorance of this soy-estrogen argument!

There are a couple of things a woman gains from going vegan.  One, because she CONSUMES less estrogen, she is reliant on what her body produces.  Often, this leads to a lengthening of the menstrual cycle, which means fewer cycles over her reproductive life and thus less of the ebb and flow of estrogen and other hormones that happens over the course of her cycle.  This is known to DECREASE breast cancer.  Because, overall (though not true for many of us) vegans tend to carry less body fat, and women's bodies store estrogen in fat, they have fewer estrogen-related problems.  More body fat, more estrogen storage and more effects from that estrogen.  Weigh less, store less, another known influence over breast cancer.

All I can say about tofu or any other soy product or any kind of food, is use in moderation.  I once ate enormous quantities of tofu because it was cheap and easy to make into almost anything, including desserts.  I didn't care for beans then because I felt that they were "too heavy" and I had trouble with my stomach (not to mention the gas).  Over the last 30 yrs or so of dabbling in vegetarianism and now veganism, I have come to love beans because they are cheaper than tofu and help to stabilize my wacky blood sugar better than anything else and I don't find them heavy anymore. So, just because one cannot or chooses not to eat tofu, doesn't mean they need animal products.  Also, be prepared for your tastes to change over time with regard to vegetarian/vegan diet.  You might not like something now that you may come to rely on in the future. 

This is one of those things...lately all I hear from the US is "soy is bad" (not on here), and here in Spain they talk it is like some kind of miracle food for menopausal women. I do know I like it and it is way cheaper than meat, but in my case I have to watch soy simply for the reason that my body processes it far too well and I pack on weight when I get too much soy--especially soy milk, for some reason. I gained 2 pounds from drinking a quart of soymilk over 4 days.
Balance is the key.

soy is a dangerous, dangerous thing. one simple bite could ruin your life forever!

Yeah, that is what happened to me.  One simple bite and I was HOOKED.

You know...I did read an article a while back (not sure where it was from, a friend emailed it to me) that said feeding too much soy to little boys may turn them into homosexuals.... ::) :D