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Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Posts: 8
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So, I was researching and came across a video speaking on sunflower seeds (one of my favorite) and estrogen. Of course, I began to research this subject.
An estrogen imbalance may lead to increased risks of breast cancer in women or "man boobs", increased cancer in men . A few vegetables linked to estrogen properties: sunflower seeds and flax seed. Research, research, and research everything !! ![]() |
If you type in Google Scholar and then in that search engine type in "soy" or "phytoestrogen" you will get all kinds of real studies both positive and negative and everywhere in between on these compounds. Here are just a few I pulled up:
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/1...0#.Va4Nt_lVhHw http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...99508033330502 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/1...0#.Va4Og_lVhHw http://www.sciencedirect.com/science...31938414001401 Phytoestrogens like soy and flaxseed are actually antiestrogens in the way that they compete with some of the same cell receptors as human estrogens, hence their protective effect against some forms of breast and other cancers. Phytoestrogens are in many foods, even some beer and wine, legumes, cruciferous vegetables, nuts/seeds, some grains, and soy. If you were to try to avoid phytoestrogens, it would leave you with quite a restrictive diet. And as Silva said, highly processed soy is what is found in omnivore diets consisting of processed cold cereals, crackers, processed commercial bread, grain and soy fed farm animal meat (including farmed fish), traditional mayonnaise and salad dressings, boxed meals like Stove Top Stuffing etc. Fermented and organic soy has been consumed for thousands of years in some countries and has not been an issue. Many vegans on this board (and elsewhere) have also thrived on beans, grains, nuts/seeds, vegetables and fruits for years and have not been adversely affected but live healthy lives. I would rather consume organic soy in tempeh or tofu or miso any day...or flaxseeds or cabbage... than consume the antibiotics and hormones and suffering in dairy and meat . |
Interesting, though soy (IMO) is the only really concerning source of phytoestrogens. No one consumes sunflower seeds or flaxseeds in the same quantities/frequency as soy products. The reason soy (more specifically, highly processed soy) is such a hot topic is because (some) people eat the stuff morning noon and night every day for years and years. Soy milk and soy sausage/bacon for breakfast, a soy burger with soy cheese for lunch, soy chicken breasts and more soy milk for dinner, soy ice cream for desert.... you get the picture. No one eats flax and sunflower seeds 24/7.
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I might be wrong on this but I think many Asian countries eat tons of soy with no problems.
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Too much of a good thing, no matter what it is might have some harmful effects, but it doesn't mean we have to avoid them. It means we have to be reasonable. Vitamin A can be toxic, but you don't see many people getting on the bandwagon "the dangers of carrots".
We need to be reasonable in our eating and our reporting. |
AFAIK only vitamin A from animal sources is toxic. The vitamin A in plants is inactive or slightly different or whatever and our bodies only take what it needs and passes the rest. Animal source A is taken in by the body whether we want it or not. I learned this when I found out I was getting way too much vitamin A and I looked up toxicity.
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How exactly does one define 'no problems'?
Traditionally they consumed relatively small quantities of mostly fermented soy products and some soy oil. Reports of historic high consumption are overstated based on misinterpretation of farming statistics. 100 Years ago asian countries grew lots of soy, true, but when reading an agronomists travelogue from that period I was surprised at how they used it. Contrary to modern net lore, soybean oil can be extracted by traditional means, this they did to obtain cooking and lamp oil, as well as a fuel to manufacture lampblack ink. One farmer was observed using pressed soybean paste to waterproof baskets for carrying water, but otherwise the pressed soybeans were used as a slow release high nitrogen fertilizer, not food. Asian countries now eat loads of soy, a habit they got from the west. Asian countries now have skyrocketing rates of heart disease, diabetes, cancer, bad eyesight, allergies, you name it. I wouldnt suggest that the cause of that is soy, but I also wouldnt say they have no problems! [Any homesteader types might want to read the above linked free book, its not veg*n but its shockingly close for a book from 1911 and only a slight modification makes those traditional foodways and agronomies vegan] |
I was not talking about soybean oil. I was talking about things like Tofu and Tempeh mostly. Tofu is used traditionally in Japanese cuisine and I think in Chinese cuisine. Tempeh was used in Indonesia (I'm not sure if it is now and was considered a cheap food since meat was too expensive. When I said they had no problems, I meant the men aren't walking around with man boobs or have girl voices which a lot of anti-vegan people says soy does. The Asian cuisine I am most familiar with is Japan and they have traditionally ate tons of soy products. A traditional breakfast in Japan used to be Miso soup, miso is made by fermented soybeans.Their traditional breakfast was usually steamed rice, miso, okayu, natto,and some kind of boiled fish. Natto is another traditional Japanese food which I see almost nowhere in the west is made from fermented soy. They also have been eating edamame since the middle ages before really any western influence in their food. They definitely ate soy. Also it could be that they are eating more processed food now than before and junk food, there are now tons of fast food places in Asia. KFC is hugely popular in Japan. I think the dangers of soy are often overstated, I don't eat tofu or tempeh everyday but I hate when people ask what it is or made of and they tell me I'm going to die of breast cancer because soy is so "dangerous". I even usually only drink almond milk because my mom tells me that soy milk is dangerous and will give you cancer because it is soy.
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estrogen , estrogen imbalance , seeds and estrogen , sunflower seeds |
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