Is Soy really Bad for us?

MadeInDR022
MadeInDR022 Posts: 260
in Food and Nutrition
I was hoping to escape carb-mania by eating some soy noodles but my boyfriend told me it wasn't a good idea...so I decided to do a little research and while most sources didn't really seem academic by any means, they all said the same thing...

http://healthtalkwomen.com/sarahs-column/oh-soy-bad-the-ugly-truth-about-soy/


Has any body heard/experienced/researched anything different??

Replies

  • BiohazrD
    BiohazrD Posts: 48
    Ridiculous. Soy is fine. It is a little harder for your body to digest, but it's not going to kill you.
  • MaraDiaz
    MaraDiaz Posts: 4,604 Member
    From what I read it is a natural xenoestrogen. Unlike xenoestrogens from pollutants, however, it doesn't stay in your body long.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenoestrogen

    No clue if it's bad to add natural xenoestrogens on top of the contaminants we are all carrying around already but the pollutants are some terrifying stuff.
  • WickedGarden
    WickedGarden Posts: 944 Member
    Ridiculous. Soy is fine. It is a little harder for your body to digest, but it's not going to kill you.

    funny, just read an article that said "when you are sick, eat easily digested proteins like eggs, chicken, and soy"

    in general, soy is fine in smaller quantities (2-3 times a week). Millions of people in Asia eat soy and they are generally not overweight.

    I would just make sure to eat organic (if you want to eat a lot of it), 90% of soy in america is GMO, and that's when you run into the 'soy is bad' articles and data.
  • summertime_girl
    summertime_girl Posts: 3,945 Member
    Soy is TERRIBLE if you have thyroid issues. I avoid it completely.
  • Fr3shStrt
    Fr3shStrt Posts: 349 Member
    Soy and I don't get along. It may just be me though. I have this weird thing where my blood pressure goes up when I am on birth control (I have to take the progesterone only kind). I noticed a few years ago when I started drinking soy milk that I was getting awfully light headed and dizzy. I think (in my totally unscientific opinion) that it had something to do with soy's affect on my hormones. But I could be totally wrong. That is just my experience.

    So, like anything... a little is probably fine. Just don't over do it. And listen to your body. If it doesn't like it it will let you know.
  • misskerouac
    misskerouac Posts: 2,242 Member
    There are articles to support both sides. The only thing I can say from my own experience is that when I was told to stay away from soy, I learnt that it is in EVERYTHING, from salad dressing, to peanut butter, to frozen chicken breast. I am intolerant to dairy so I do have a soy latte every once in a while but am really trying to stay away from it since I already do ingest it in some fashion daily as it just seems to be in everything.
  • LB2LL
    LB2LL Posts: 240 Member
    Ditto on avoiding GMO. Organic soy is the way to go.
  • Trueray
    Trueray Posts: 1,189 Member
    Soy gives me crazy gas and stomach pains. I use almond milk.


    Plus I heard all soy is not organic.
  • jojo52610
    jojo52610 Posts: 692 Member
    I am a Breast Cancer Survivor my cancer was Hormone Receptive and I read the same articles so I asked my Hemotologist he said for me in moderation only. So I had to stop eating my Edname for Snack every day .:angry:
  • NOLA_Meg
    NOLA_Meg Posts: 194 Member
    Soy can lower the threshold for seizures (increase the likelihood of one occurring) in patients with epilepsy, Alzheimer's, and other neurologic conditions. As an epileptic I avoid it.


    http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/naughty-nutrition/201210/soy-and-seizures-0
  • NOLA_Meg
    NOLA_Meg Posts: 194 Member
    Oh...and the hormonal issues and the increased risk for breast cancer are scary, too.
  • Bumbeen
    Bumbeen Posts: 263 Member
    WAPF has a lot of research on how soy is not that great for you. But the majority of peer reviewed literature shows that in general it's good. I still avoid it myself however....
  • TheMoonMuse
    TheMoonMuse Posts: 40 Member
    I think different people handle it well, differently :)

    I can't tolerate it, even in small quantities. Like Trueray, I get stomach pains and terrible gas. In addition, my entire body (face, hands, everything) swells up. It's gotten to the point where I have to check all my ingredients. I know exactly which breads, soups, corn tortillas, ect that I can have. It makes buying new foods a PITA for sure :)

    I can handle soy lecithin but only moderately, as in one product every couple of days.

    It is a bummer too because I love edamame.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    This site has some good information on soy.

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/protein-full-story/

    From what I've read, natural soy products like soy milk, tofu and edamame are good, but stay away from concentrated soy supplements. There is a lot of conflicting science about soy out there, but most of the studies that had negative results used soy supplements rather than natural soy products.
  • Cbandelier
    Cbandelier Posts: 217 Member
    Unless it is traditionally prepared (fermented).....yes it is bad for you.
  • gatx
    gatx Posts: 179 Member
    My sister is a breast cancer survivor. She had pro-estrogen breast cancer. She was a heavy milk drinker and switched to soy milk. The soy milk was GMO as most are. She also was on the pill for 15+ years from high school. Her doctors (and my primary) agree that although there is no definitive proof by way of studies yet... they have seen an increase in pro-estrogen breast cancer patients who eat a lot of GMO soy and were on the pill.

    Meaning, if you happen to have a predisposition for pro-estrogen cancer (not sure if they can test for it) and introduce a lot of estrogen to your body you *may* speed up the development of pro-estrogen breast cancer. So my doctor recommended that I avoid GMO soy and I am no longer on the pill. (Again, no studies to prove this... but her doctors in another state and my doctor here both had the same recommendations for me... I am not going to argue!)

    If I do have soy I go for organic and I try to read labels and avoid GMO soy products. I have NO idea if I am at risk for pro-estrogen breast cancer... but I'd like avoid it nonetheless! :)

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