Tofu:Good for the skin??

Hi everyone,

I was talking a friend at work and telling him about the skin problem along with the weight loss of 85 pounds lost now. Only 25 more to go!! Anyway, he told me that he heard that tofu was good for that. He said that as he understands it; it is not only good for a high protien source, but it is supposed to have certain nutrients in it that nourish the skin and help it to tighten and look better. Has anyone else ever heard of this? Has anyone else ever tried it eating it daily during their weightloss? I did find a news article on the internet about a lady who lost weight and had no skin sag who said that she believes that eating tofu had everything to do with it. She said that she ate 3 oz. with something per day. Any input on this would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Jan 

So the nutrients that soy (tofu is soybean curd) has that may impact the skin positively are the phytoestrogens.

Now the studies are contradictory, but essentially phytoestrogens can bind weakly to our estrogen receptors in our bodies with not completely understood results. We do know that estrogen promotes wound healing, so (while no independent studies prove this) it is presumed in the beauty industry that phytoestrogens have similar properties to estrogen for skin healing and smoothing.

VERY IMPORTANT: If there is a history of estrogen positive breast cancer in your family, then you would be encouraged to stay away from all soy products including tofu.

Furthermore soy seems to function very differently in premenopausal vs. postmenopausal women. In fact, for post menopausal women there seem to be more benefits than drawbacks: studies indicate notable reductions in colon cancer and osteoporosis for those who regularly consume tofu and other soy products.

One of the other issues with soy is it is now used as a staple in our diets in North America. In traditional Asian diets, it is not a main staple of the diet at all. If you eat any packaged, frozen or processed foods at all, then you are already consuming more soy than those eating traditional Asian diets (where most of studies on the benefits of soy come from).

So, if you do decide to eat 3 oz. of tofu, then try to avoid other sources of soy and of course stay away from it altogether if family history of breast cancer is a concern. 

Hi Hedgren,

How wonderful it is to run into someone who is so knowleadgable about this. As far as I know there is not a history of that in the family. However; from the sound of all that, it would be something worth a try. You know how it is during major weight loss and trying things to satisfy the curiosity, even when it may just be here-say. I live life now eating healthy and exercising every day. I am going to try tofu for a couple of months for the trial. Also, it is amazing to me that so much goes into this one product. I can't thank you enough for your reply on this one. I really appreciate it.

Jan