How much is too much soya (milk)?

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Yogi_Carl
Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I used to regularly drink 1 litre skimmed cow's milk a day as an easy protein fix without pushing up fats and carbs.

The question is can I drink a litre of soya milk (I know it is higher in fat - not a problem) a day wihout risking ill health? I have read around things like soya affecting hormonal balance and not sure what kind of levels we are talking about.

Any views please?

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  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,786 Member
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    Interesting that no one else touched this one. I know there are some people out there who really dislike all products soy, mostly because of the "plant estrogen"/ isoflavones they contain. I haven't seen any convincing research that shows that soy products act like estrogen in the human body. If someone out there can show me a peer reviewed study, I'm willing to give up soy.

    It would be allowed by me because it can be made at home (never done so myself). It's a similar process to making almond milk, though a few more steps are involved. I can think of worse things to drink.

    I avoid soy powder, TVP, and all "facon bacon" products. They are so highly processed, I consider them junk food.

    I also try not to eat food as a specific nutrient, although, mfp can make this difficult at times. My motto is: eat food you like, that makes you feel better after you eat it, gives you energy, and makes you look great. If soy milk does that for you, go for it.
  • Yogi_Carl
    Yogi_Carl Posts: 1,906 Member
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    Thanks for your reply Yoginimary.

    The research I have found so far has been much in soya milk and soy products; favor as a healthy protein source and the hormonal imbalance theory to be largely unfounded.

    Rats fed with soya were found to have large amounts of estrogen in their systems, but rats apparantly produce a naturally high level of estrogens anyway so are not a viable research model for humans - no surprises there!

    My own findings upon myself are that even skimmed milk leaves me feeling over-fed and bloated whereas a glass of soyamilk is refreshing and a good way of maintaining protein needs without meat.

    I guess until I read a reliable source against soya I'll continue to use it.
  • mushroomcup
    mushroomcup Posts: 145 Member
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    Not a peer reviewed study, but this guy made headlines a while back for having grown breasts after drinking a lot (a WHOLE lot) of soy milk. I found an article which talks about it here:

    http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/soys-negative-effects

    I feel like with pretty much any food, if you eat a TON of it every day, you're going to have issues. If you're worried about it, you could always test your hormone levels with the doctor, yeah?
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
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    I've benen drinking a glass or two a day for seven years, and have had no ill effects. For the most part, unless you are a pubescent girl, it's not really an issue unless you drink an absolutely crazy amount of it.

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