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What's Wrong With Soy?

5K views 50 replies 12 participants last post by  silva 
#1 ·
Hello all!

So I'm currently going vegan but I keep reading things about people saying "dont drink soy milk or use soy based vegan margarine etc" But why? I'd like to know what's wrong with soy and why is everyone saying it;s bad? (I'm allergic to all nuts so almond milk isn;t an option)
 
#2 ·
Soy, like most things, in moderation should be fine. People have been eating it for ever. Look for organic or Non-GMO, if it makes you feel better, but unless you're sensitive to it, you should be fine.
 
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#3 · (Edited)
Look here: http://jacknorrisrd.com/response-to-not-soy-fast/ for a summary of health situation re soy

Keep in mind that 1 or 2 people out of a thousand have an allergy to soy, and in very minor cases that can be severe. Source: http://jacknorrisrd.com/category/food-allergies/

Small amounts of soy are almost certainly safe for most. To be extra cautious, eat a mix of food (lentils, peas, beans) for legume needs rather than just soy.

Moderate to large amounts of heavily processed soy may even be safe, but no-one can really say for sure how much is too much.

For what it's worth (not a lot), I've been eating soy quite regularly, but not excessively, for about 7-8 months and I haven't noticed any issues.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Diet/exercise websites, YouTube videos, and internet forums are not reliable sources of nutrition information.

Mainstream health organizations have concluded that soy foods (but perhaps not soy supplements) are healthy.

The American Cancer Society makes this statement regarding soy foods:

"When concerns about soy are raised, they generally focus on findings from rodent models of cancer which tend to use isolated soy compounds like soy protein isolate or high doses of isoflavones (compounds found in soy). However, soy is metabolized differently in humans than it is in mice and rats, so findings in rodents may not apply to people. (See: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16614407 for more on this.)(Setchell, AJCN, 2011). There is no evidence in the medical literature that soy protein isolate is bad for humans, compared to other forms of soy. Soy protein isolate is often used as a supplement in randomized studies of the effects of soy on health and none of these studies have shown harm.

Most of the studies suggesting benefits of soy consumption in people have measured how much soy foods people are eating, including tofu, soybeans, and soy milk. These foods are more commonly eaten in Asian countries. In the U.S., purified forms of soy are used in the food supply, including in energy bars and soy hot dogs. The few US studies that have measured these forms of soy do not suggest harm.

More research is needed to understand the relationship between specific forms of soy and doses of isoflavones on cancer risk and recurrence. We also need to learn more about childhood exposure to isoflavones and risk of cancer. Until more is known, if you enjoy eating soy foods, the evidence indicates that this is safe, and may be beneficial (but note that miso, a fermented soy product, is high in sodium.) It is prudent to avoid high doses of isolated soy compounds found specifically in supplements, as less is known about their health effects. As for other "hidden" sources of soy proteins, the evidence to date does not suggest harm or benefit. However, if you are concerned about these products, you can choose to avoid them."

Link: http://blogs.cancer.org/expertvoices/2012/08/02/the-bottom-line-on-soy-and-breast-cancer-risk/
 
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#5 ·
There is nothing wrong with soy. Soy is just like beans. I call beans a power food. You know in the army soldiers are served with beans. In war, beans make the soldiers strong and not hungry.

The problem with soy is allergy, but you can say that for all food. BUT I see you are from Canada, and I hear over there Monsanto is the leader (i know it is in the USA, so most probably in Canada too). And that means soy is most likely GMO. And if soy is GMO then allergy and other problems will pop up. You know Monsanto is not really looking to promote health, they are going after money.

So try to find soy from Europe or Asia.
 
#7 ·
And if soy is GMO then allergy and other problems will pop up. You know Monsanto is not really looking to promote health, they are going after money.

So try to find soy from Europe or Asia.
It is easy to find non-GMO soy. Whole Foods Market is just one source. Natural Foods stores and co-ops normally do not carry any GMO foods.
 
#6 ·
Supposedly:
The undesirable side of Soy :- Soybeans contain large quantities of natural toxins including enzyme inhibitors that block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion. These inhibitors can produce serious gastric distress, reduced protein digestion and chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake. If this was true, then I would have a huge vitamin deficiency as I drink soy milk twice a day, eat tofu almost daily, and my Vegan meats tend to be soy based as I can't have Gluten.

I wouldn't worry about soy intake because the studies were largely done on animals, did not test Vegans to test the "proof" and were not very logically thought out. If soy caused impotency then why is China and Japan have such a huge population?

Iceland used to highest for Breast Cancer, but that changed as they are now ranked 6th, and Belgium is 1st, followed by France and Denmark. The highest incidence of breast cancer was in Northern America and Oceania; and the lowest incidence in Asia and Africa. (According to wcrf dot org as of 2012.)

BTW, my mom, who avoided Soy, got Breast Cancer, but survived it. I, ate Soy as if it was going out of style, did not get Breast Cancer. However, I think that the amount of Vegetables you eat, does help here for many forms of calcium - broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables are some examples.
 
#9 ·
I think I've once seen tofu and a soymilk that wasn't labeled as non-GMO. The GMO soy is used in animal feed and processed soy ingrediants, AFAIK.

Soy has been the bane of meat and dairy industries as it's such a viable alternative. Every anti-soy article is affected by such groups as Weston Price, which supports those industries.
The research that soy is bad for cancer has long been refuted, and now is known to help prevent cancers. Unfortunately, the adversaries still cling to spreading the misinformation.

I buy non-GMO soybeans for home made soy milk, purchase soy milk, miso, and tofu and tempeh I eat once or twice weekly. All labeled non-GMO, some organic. I have things like tofurky sausage, meatless meatballs which have undisclosed soy ingredients occasionally.
 
#44 ·
Normally, any store that is a Natural foods store, or any product that is trully organic will normally not be GMO. in the USA, it is illegal to label a gmo food as being organic. Anything from Ireland or New Zealand will always be non-gmo.

I found a link that might help. They have a list of 7 apps that help people avoid GMO foods.
7 apps for finding non-gmo foods.

As long as you are strict Vegan, it will be easy to avoid GMO foods. It is the vegetarians that can not avoid indirect GMO - the cheese being made from milk from a cow fed GMO grains, for example. This is because of the loophole in the laws in Europe.
 
#11 ·
There is nothing wrong with soy. For some people with thyroid conditions, soy can interfere with absorption of thyroid meds so people need to be careful with timing of when they consume each. Also, it isn't the soy in vegan margarine that people are upset about, it is usually the palm oil as palm oil is an issue as far as destruction of certain wildlife that depends on the palm tree. Others think that soy contains estrogen like hormones. Soy is a phytoestrogen, much like many other plant foods. It can act on the same cell receptors as estrogen compounds, but it is NOT a hormone in the sense that estrogen is. The effects of soy phytoestrogens are generally found to be protective and healthy also, not harmful. But there is a huge myth that soy is estrogenic and has hormonal effects. The same people who propogate this myth (like the idiots who say it will cause men to grow bigger breasts) seem to think dairy is perfectly fine, when in fact dairy itself contains actual animal hormone compounds in it, not to mention traces of antibiotics given to farm animals. Sighs.

There are other plant milks besides soy and nut milks. There is rice milk, hemp milk, and flaxseed milk. There is also a new pea protein milk called "Ripple" that just came out, and coconut milk (is that considered a nut?). Rice milk is also easy to make yourself. I've made my own flaxseed milk many a time too.
 
#12 ·
Several years ago, I thought I had developed a soy allergy, first in soymilk, soy protein isolate, then in tofu. Soy sauce and so on were fine.

Then I read about carrageenan becoming a common digestive irritant, and I wondered why some almond milks had the same effect as the soy? and when I bought cargeenan free soy, I can eat it fine! Silk is talking it out of its products,ans Almond Breeze and others are carrageenan free
 
#15 ·
You're listing the ingrediensts of one particular brand--and not even listing the brand!
There are many soy milks with organic soy beans and filtered water.
You can buy soy beans and make your owm, which I do. I also sometimes purchase cartons of soy milk like the one you have listed and have no ill effects
 
#17 ·
Taste.
I buy it as a treat. I use for tofu shakes, pudding, coffee drinks
Yes, I could add things to my own but part of 'treat' to me is convience

Peoples ideas of healthy diet, and desire for it, vary a lot.,
My basic diet is healthy, but I do include foods that aren't
 
#22 ·
Xenoestrogens are found in plastics, pesticides, and chemicals used in health and beauty products. Any of the potential endocrine disrupters in soy are too weak, and any adverse affects would need ridiculously large amounts consumed. That's why the studies have been corrected.
I have yet to find any article that warned of soys dangers that wasn't linked to the meat or dairy industry. Like Mercola, and Weston Price

Here's an unbiased study
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1480510/

Like any other food, the more minimal the processing the better it is Eat tofu, soy milk, tempeh, edaname, miso, and natto if you can
 
#30 ·
We're not just disputing Mercola, we've been telling you those finding are flawed, and reputable sources have updated the results.
I don't have time to post links, but you can look at the breast cancer site for one

So where did you get your reseearch?
 
#32 ·
#41 ·
Again, if the anti-soy claims are valid why can't the people taking that stance provide some valid link to the research? Some site that doesn't have a money trail to the meat industry, or isn't just completely wack?
Whatever you feel about the ACS it's research is validated
 
#47 · (Edited)
Yeah, 'validated' by sick people who only desire to line their pockets with more money instead of offering legitimite treatments that actually rid people of disease.
You are promoting a treatment that has not been proven through randomized control trials.

There is no mighty conspiracy to prevent non-drug medical clinics from operating in the United States. There are several dietary-therapy medical clinics that are fully permitted to operate in the United States. Dr. John McDougall and Dr. Dean Ornish both use a low-fat vegetarian diet to treat and reverse heart disease and type 2 diabetes. They are allowed to do this, because a low-fat vegetarian diet has been proven to treat and reverse heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Even the "evil" capitalist health insurance giant, Kaiser Permanente, has published its own vegan nutrition manual: https://share.kaiserpermanente.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/The-Plant-Based-Diet-booklet.pdf . Page 2 of the manual says, "Do you want to improve, stabilize, or even reverse a chronic condition such as heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes or high blood pressure? . . . then a plant-based eating plan may be for you". Kaiser Permanente is allowed to promote a vegan diet to reverse heart disease and diabetes, because it has been proven to work.

The Gerson Clinic, on the other hand, is not allowed to operate its clinics in the United States, because Gerson's own particular treatments have not been shown to satisfy its claims.

Last post from me. You haven't provided any studies from peer-reviewed journals. All of your "proof" has come from rabidly anti-vegan organizations.

.
Regardless of where it's posted doesn't make it any less true. The only place a cure has to be proven is with the patients, not a crooked medical industry who has no interest in cures in the first place.
 
#50 ·
Following varying opinions given in this thread, the opening poster seems to have decided that it's ok for her to continue eating soya products. That would be my view also, after munching soya for nearly 30 years.

Maybe it's a good time to close the thread as it appears nothing novel/useful is being presented now?

Lv
 
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