Whats your take?

I'm kind of new to the CC forums, so hello everyone!  I thought I would throw this out for discussion...

 There seems to be a lot of research appearing on the use of Soy and Soy products recently.  Some saying that it can be harmful to consumers who weren't raised on it.  (I guess the science behind it says that if you weren't raised with soy and consume it as an adult it will raise certain hormones and which can potentially lead to cancer).  

 Now, as a vegetarian (who wasn't raised on Soy but not consumes it all the time as an adult) I'm more than a little concerned by this research.  So I was wondering if you guys were thinking about this too, and if you've modified your diets to cut down soy products??   

I recently saw a show with a (vegan) doctor on it, and she said most of the problems stem from people eating heavily processed soy products. She said tofu, tempeh etc. aren't the problems because you are eating the entire bean, whereas a lot of foods use the soy protein isolate. The isolate is missing the additional nutrients found in the whole food that aid in digestion and assimilation. In Asia, they eat soy as a whole food. Here in the states is where they try and take something good for you and ruin it by trying to isolate what they think are the important nutrients in a food.

I've heard a lot of bad things about Soy Milk.  They say it can make womens periods iregular.  They also say don't feed it to babies, they say one baby bottle is equivelant to 8 or so birth control pills (from the amounts of estrogen in it).  And of course large amounts of estrogen do not benefit men.  That's my little tid bit.  :o) and welcome new comer!

I only eat soy proteins without soy isolate. Or at least, I try to. The only thing I'll eat on occasion is soy protein powder; but only if I'm low on protein for the day. Otherwise, I stick to tofu and organic soy burgers.

I think a lot of people are blowing it up to be this big thing when, in reality, it's all hype. I love soy and eat some at every meal and have yet to find any ill-side effects.

Original Post by meggymouse:

I've heard a lot of bad things about Soy Milk. They say it can make womens periods iregular. They also say don't feed it to babies, they say one baby bottle is equivelant to 8 or so birth control pills (from the amounts of estrogen in it). And of course large amounts of estrogen do not benefit men. That's my little tid bit. :o) and welcome new comer!

Totally bull. No disrespect to you - just whoever 'they' are. Do you have ANY idea what 8 birth control pills at once does to someone? It's not pretty or pleasant, trust me. I've drank much more than one baby bottle equivilant of soy milk in a day with no ill effects. I'm also on birth control and have had no complications arise from consuming both.

The whole 'soy is bad!' business is nonsense, imo. Eat a balanced diet (which can include soy) and you won't have problems. Eat nothing but processed soy crap and you'll be screwed health-wise.

I'm wondering are the Boca products considered processed soy products.  This is the first I have heard of the dangers in eating soy.  What is the best type of soy to eat?  Very confused by this post.

Original Post by meggymouse:

I've heard a lot of bad things about Soy Milk. They say it can make womens periods iregular. They also say don't feed it to babies, they say one baby bottle is equivelant to 8 or so birth control pills (from the amounts of estrogen in it). And of course large amounts of estrogen do not benefit men. That's my little tid bit. :o) and welcome new comer!

 Oh that's entirely wrong. If that were indeed true, it would be a federally regulated substance! And they would prescribe that as the morning after pill!

Original Post by superheitz:

I'm wondering are the Boca products considered processed soy products. This is the first I have heard of the dangers in eating soy. What is the best type of soy to eat? Very confused by this post.

Eat your Boca, tofu, soymilk, whatever, but eat it in moderation, just like everything else in life. Include beans and other protein sources in your diet as ways to get protein and you should be fine. The only cases where I think soy might start to be a problem is if you consume an extremely large amount, such as eating a lot of tofu plus drinking soy protein powder shakes mixed into your soy milk. 

iirc, fermented soy products (e.g., tempeh, miso, etc.) are more digestible and nutritious, but I don't know if that really affects estrogen.

I have a theory that the reason why men in Asian countries have less facial hair than western men is because of their soy-rich diets.

I can't handle soy milk, the same thing happens to me when I used to have dairy happens when I have soy milk, just nto as severe. when I used to drink milk, eat yogurt, etc my ears would clog up, sinuses clog, scratchy throat. When I have soy milk, my ears clog and sinuses clog too, so I stay away from soy milk, I usually make my own sesame or almond milk, it's so good!