Estrogen and soy

cedarstars

I have been vegetarian for about 5 years now. Ive been trying to lose 10 pounds for over a year now and CANT lose anything! I recently tried to eat meat free gardein products to get in some protein. I noticed i’ve been bloated, less motivated, not urinating regularly and breasts have been swollen. Is this because I have been eating 2-3 soy prroducts a day for two months? How can I get it out of my system so my estrogen regulates and I can lose weigh?

pinggolfer96

What are your calories at? Have you tracked and adjusted, any lifestyle changes?? This is something blood labs would help answer and your doctor

fr33sia12

cedarstars wrote: »

I have been vegetarian for about 5 years now. Ive been trying to lose 10 pounds for over a year now and CANT lose anything! I recently tried to eat meat free gardein products to get in some protein. I noticed i’ve been bloated, less motivated, not urinating regularly and breasts have been swollen. Is this because I have been eating 2-3 soy prroducts a day for two months? How can I get it out of my system so my estrogen regulates and I can lose weigh?

I've been eating soy products for years with no problems and it certainly doesn't stop you losing weight.

mywayroche

Go to the doctor. Not urinating regularly, especially if drinking enough water, is a sign of kidney damage.

doittoitgirl

I doubt a couple of soy patties every day for a couple months would cause ALL the problems you mentioned. Go to the doc asap. Not urinating is a big problem and could be caused by a bunch of different(not so pleasant) issues.

TavistockToad

cedarstars wrote: »

I have been vegetarian for about 5 years now. Ive been trying to lose 10 pounds for over a year now and CANT lose anything! I recently tried to eat meat free gardein products to get in some protein. I noticed i’ve been bloated, less motivated, not urinating regularly and breasts have been swollen. Is this because I have been eating 2-3 soy prroducts a day for two months? How can I get it out of my system so my estrogen regulates and I can lose weigh?

see a doctor

AnnPT77

See your doctor.

I've been tracking the estrogen/soy issues for nearly 18 years now, as a vegetarian breast cancer survivor whose cancer was estrogen-fostered. Oversimplifying, soy is estrogen-like in some ways, but almost an anti-estrogen in others. For my initial few years of survivorship, all the major cancer research organizations considered the research conclusions ambiguous, and advised survivors of estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer to consume minimal soy just to be conservative. As I understand it, over the last few years, there's been more research, and the advice is now that reasonable soy consumption is fine for my sub-population. "Reasonable" seems to mean up to a couple of daily servings is quite clearly OK, and there isn't enough evidence for amounts beyond that, because that level of consumption isn't common enough in US BC survivors to evaluate statistically, but there's no affirmative reason to believe more is not OK. This conclusion may or may not generalize.

Nonetheless, the symptoms you're experiencing, at the consumption levels you report, are not something typical of women consuming that amount of soy. Perhaps you're sensitive . . . but those can symptoms of other conditions, so going to your doctor is the best idea.

P.S. It should be possible to get adequate protein as a vegetarian (not sure about vegan or full plant-based, as I'm ovo-lacto) without any material amount of soy. I did it for a decade or more. Without getting into a long disquisition about it, I'd suggest dropping the fake meats (which often are higher in calories than they need to be IMO, as well as frequently soy based) and looking for simpler sources like lentils or black beans, which can be used in many of the same types of dishes. Chickpea, pea, or lentil pastas could also be useful. That's all without getting into dairy or eggs. If you tolerate gluten, seitan would also be an option.