Vegan and Soy

I've recently switched to a vegan diet because of family health reasons.  I was wondering what everyone's opinions are about the dangers of soy products.  I've been searching online for recipes anad such, and I keep coming upon all these links that talk about soy not being good for you.  I'm not really sure what to  believe, and I would like some opinions.  Is soy okay? Okay in moderation?  how much is too much? Are there certain kinds of processing that make soy dangerous?

Any opinions are appreciated!

I might look this up as well, because I have no answer for you.

But I would guess.. It's better than dairy and meat at any rate!  And with everything, you should eat it in moderation. Get your protein from many different sources and don't just eat the same thing over and over again.

I've done a lot of research on it, and while I don't have any references for my opinion, I generally feel that it's fine in moderation.  I would try for two servings a day or less.  I've been eating/drinking it regularly for a couple years, and never experienced any adverse effects.

I have tried researching a lot on the effects of soy, but much of it has left me with conflicting results, so it's hard to really say. I guess research on the effects of having too much soy is still ongoing.

Even so, I don't think having soy in your diet is bad at all, unless you are allergic to soy. Obviously, everything is better eaten in moderation, no matter the food type. Soy is a good subsitution as a meat alternative for many things. But also, when it comes to soy products, much of it is frozen foods, which should be kept in moderation anyway.

And I don't really believe in a lot of what they report about the adverse effects of soy. Some of it is too outrageous (e.g. eating too much soy makes you gay!) I also read about the recent controversy of soy lowering a man's sperm count. There is a good article talking about that in VegNews (Nov/Dec 2008 issue, the most recent one!), if you are curious to see whether or not it affects sperm count!

Hope that helps some.

I ran into the same problem when I became a vegan.  I was in college studying biology at the time, so it's typical that now that I'm out of college I've forgotten all of the specifics. 

But, in a nut shell, soy contains chemicals that strip your body of calcium if it is consumed in an un-fermented form.  Tofu, soy milk, etc all fall into this unfermented group.  Knowing this, I at a lot of Tempeh.  Besides being much more flavorful, it's better for you.

Hey,

Soy is something I feel strongly about, mainly because it has been messed with by the soy farming industries so much.

Soy is one of the most heavily sprayed crops where pesticides are concerned, so if you decide to consume soy, make sure you get organic, which surprisingly is hard to find.

Also, most soy has been genetically modified to make a crop that's easier to raise and hardier. The problem is, when we genetically modify crops we potentially create something our bodies don't recognize as food as well, or we mess up the balance of nutrients and their bioavailability.

Even natural edamame contains large amounts of natural toxins, also known as 'anti-nutrients', that block the action of enzymes needed for protein digestion. Some, however, beleive these toxins actually have an anti-cancer affect on the body, which is where a lot of the controversy on soy comes from. However, soy also has phytoestrogens, as we all know, which could be good or bad depending on your age and sex, and haemagglutinin, which causes blood clots to potentially form, and goitrogens, which suppress thyroid function.  

What it all comes down to, however, is this: Soy's not the worst thing out there. It really depends on how clean you're currently eating as to whether or not you really need to worry about soy. If you're not eating clean, don't worry about soy, place your worries on refined sugar and trans fats and all that other bad stuff. That's more pressing than the soy issue. However, don't think that overly processed soy products (i.e. soy hot dogs, soy maceroni and cheese, soy this, soy that) is any better than the crap it replaces.

honestally i think that it is moderation if your going to go vegan what i suggest is switching to rice milk and what not to keep comsumption at a lower level but it is still vital to have...what you should be more conserned about is not just soy but the rest of the protine and what not your going to have to supplement more and more