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Soy problems

There is no other natural food that is so controversial than soy. Soy is a healthy food that is rich in antioxidants, protein and minerals. It may help improve your heart health, reduce your risk of certain cancer and alleviate menopausal symptoms. But others claim that soy is unhealthy and should not be eaten unless in fermented form. Two well known soy bashers are Dr. Mercola and Dr. Fallon. They have written many anti-soy articles which have been widely circulated. They claim that soy is full of toxins, promotes cancer, causes Alzheimer and lets your brain shrink! Their cases are mainly built on a few animal studies in which rodents were fed extremely large amounts of soy isoflavones.

Soy allergy

About 0.5% of the population is allergic to soy and should avoid its consumption. Luckily, symptoms of soy allergy are mild and life-threatening allergic reactions, as can happen with peanuts, are extremely rare.

Soy and cancer

Some experimental studies using rodents or cultured cells show that soy components may increase the risk of cancer. But all epidemiological and clinical studies involving humans demonstrate a protective effect of soy.Countries with a high consumption of soyfoods have a far lower cancer rate than in those countries where their use is less. Especially the effect of soy on breast cancer risk is still an ongoing debate, but more recent studies show that soy is safe and actually reduces this risk.

Soy and the thyroid function

Soy contains compounds called goitrogens that interfere with thyroid function. Around 1950 there were indeed several cases of goiter in infants fed with soy flour based formulas which were not fortified with iodine. Today formulas are always fortified with iodine and no cases of goiter have been reported in babies fed with these formulas. After a review of medical literature the FDA found no proven evidence that soy would harm the thyroid.

Soy and acne

There is only one scientific study that mentions a link between soy and acne: a study at The Chinese University of Hong Kong found that "the intake of dairy and soy products was significantly associated with a lower incidence of acne". But why do some people write on our forum that their acne gets worse during periods when they eat more soy products? Maybe they belong to the small group of persons that are allergic to soy and develop acne-like conditions.

Soy and gout

Is soy safe for gout patients? In 1998, a Japanese study by Yamakita and co-workers of Hyogo College of Medicine found that eating tofu is a safe for gout patients. One 2004 study by Hyon K and co-workers found that a moderate intake of purine rich vegetables is not associated with increased risk of gout. Protein rich foods tend to contain higher levels of purines but the proteins seems to lower the serum uric level, especially vegetable protein. The Mayo Clinic recommends eating more plant-based proteins, such as beans and legumes.

Comments

Soybean has many organic acids. These acids are the main cause of ill-effect in soybean. So cook properly till these organic acids is minimized.
Guest - 24/10/2013

DO WE NEED TO BOIL THE SOY MILK AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET?
Uma - 06/11/2014

acne vulgaris

I m suffering from acne vulgaris that arise due to period disorder as my Dr.said...so is it because of less estrogen production in my body???I m also suffering from less Brest size..so can i take soy milk?? Is it work?
rizwana - 10/03/2016

implications on testosterone

Let's just ignore that massive negative implications soy has on testosterone production in men.
Rich Piana - 21/04/2016

SOY MILK VS MILK

Hi Everyone...

I am trying to conceive my first child and have read some info about soy milk having an negative impact on conception. Just wondering if any of you conceived while eating soy milk, or soy yoghurt etc? Thanks!
Denmanlovevictory - 09/04/2018

Soy problems

We consume alot of soy foods and have never had any health issues!!
LoraineRoberto - 08/07/2018

Alluminum in soy

Is alluminum in soy really a problem? It is difficult to find alluminum levels of soybeans and foods in general. According to Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases (http://www.ars-grin.gov ) these are some alluminum levels (ppm): cucumber 21000, lima bean 3000, tomato 1700, peach 1050, asparagus 700, onion 385, grapefruit 330, spinach 270, potato 255, orange 165, cauliflower 150, haricot bean73, strawberry 70 , SOYBEAN 60, banana 35, eggplant 16, peanut14, cashew 2.
Jorgen - 13/12/2020

Alluminum in soy

Aluminum content depends greatly on food sources and of course it varies depending on whether the food is organic as most pesticides contain aluminum and where in the world your beans (or any food) are coming from. Also yes, so unprocessed soy has low content aluminum, however when its processed it often becomes condensed and can elevate aluminum levels to a dangerous level.
With regards to the other veggies if you are growing them in your own back yard organically you can be sure they take up less heavy metals, how many people grow and process their own soy? The problem is that it has compound neg. effects so that your body becomes weakened and less able to metabolize or flush out toxins. Plus with other foods we usually only have them in our diet here and there whereas highly processed soy is found in almost everything without our consent and in toxic ways (eg. msg which is disguised with aprox 46 different names including "natural flavor").
I am very glad you are doing your own research, keep up the good work and continue to make informed choices. I think no matter what it is the public should be informed and that there should be laws/policies in place so that we are all informed not only of the benefits of some foods but also with regards to the risks!
PS. To say I am not biased against soy would be a partial lie, I think it has its benefits (I eat miso soup weekly), however I feel it has been mistreated and abused and the soy products out there I feel are dangerously over consumed and that that shroud of misinformation out there is very fishy and it deeply concerns me.
I have to admit I am very angry with the world health organization for supporting such a corporate food take-over and for them focusing only on the positive aspects of soy instead of telling the whole truth. In general it has caused me to loose faith in such organizations. More and more nutritionists and other health professionals are speaking out about soy and I believe that soon the truth will be reviled and powers that be will be held accountable...I can only hope...
So eat soy safely (miso, tempeh and traditional tofu!) and emjoy!
Bless!
dreamingwaterwoman - 13/12/2020

Soy or cow's milk during pregnancy

May I check what are the benefits of Soya bean milk verses cow's milk for expecting woman? Is it safe for pregnant lady to drink lots soya bean milk? What are the benefits?
Pin - 18/08/2022

Soy or cow's milk during pregnancy

Pin, there's absolutely no need for a pregnant woman to comsume either cow's milk nor soy milk. However both could be part form part of a well balanced diet. We recommend to consume daily about 1 or 2 cups of soymilk. It's not wise to overconsume one particular type of food, even if it contains health promoting components.
Rob - 18/08/2022

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