Soy Milk; is it bad?

Tyscheff
Tyscheff Posts: 21
edited September 27 in Food and Nutrition
My mother is drinking and buying a lot of soy milk (vanilla and chocolate flavored). I have grown to like this and I'm searching the web on if it's healthy or not. I'm seeing both positive and negative things...

Help me! Thank you!

Replies

  • needamulligan
    needamulligan Posts: 558 Member
    I have the same concerns. My teenaged kids like almond milk. It comes in both sweetened and unsweetened varieties. That may be a good alternative. We have also tried rice milk without the same success. I'd ove to find out what the rest of the folks out there think about soy milk!
  • amyakj
    amyakj Posts: 21
    I love soy milk but i love Almond milk more. They are both good alternatives to dairy if you have a sensitivity to it. Also both are lower in calories than reg. milk. Soy milk is not bad for you....some ppl could actually argue that reg. milk is not good for you. Go ahead drink up you have nothing to worry about :)
  • Tyscheff
    Tyscheff Posts: 21
    I don't have a problem with regular milk at all! I just would like to mix it up sometimes
  • arhzon
    arhzon Posts: 150
    I love soy milk but i love Almond milk more. They are both good alternatives to dairy if you have a sensitivity to it. Also both are lower in calories than reg. milk. Soy milk is not bad for you....some ppl could actually argue that reg. milk is not good for you. Go ahead drink up you have nothing to worry about :)

    Regular milk is bad for your cardio endurance, that's all I know. It does have good nutrients, (like Vit D and protein), so it's kind of a give and take. Sorry, I don't actually have an answer for the question that was asked.
  • SassyStef
    SassyStef Posts: 413
    I don't have a problem with regular milk at all! I just would like to mix it up sometimes

    Coconut milk is also another great alternative to mixing it up :wink:
  • amyakj
    amyakj Posts: 21

    I think that could go along with any food. Seriously in the u.s. everything is processed with something unless it is organic. and you can get organic soy milk. I bet you could look up almost any food and find an article similar to this for everything. You have to be as careful buying any types of milk as you are buying anything else. just read labels and be smart.
  • PirateJenny
    PirateJenny Posts: 233
    I would be careful to read the labels when it comes to ANY milk substitutes.

    Some varieties have high amounts of sugar and artificial additives and are not as healthy as others. I find even the unsweetened varieties to be sweet enough and they contain far less sugar and fewer calories.

    I would look for enriched, unsweetened varieties and avoid brands that contain high amounts of additives (in my opinion, commercial brands like Silk etc.)

    As to the health benefits of soy, that is a subject that you are going to hear MANY conflicting opinions on. I would do a little independent research and use your common sense to decide if it is something you want to include more of in your diet. The health benefits are also thought to be different for men and women, especially menopausal (and post) women.

    I eat soy (in tofu and edamame) for protein but use unsweetened almond milk for cereal and cooking because I like the taste and consistency much better than soy.

    Good luck!
  • PirateJenny
    PirateJenny Posts: 233
    double post...
  • Mimigurken
    Mimigurken Posts: 27 Member
    Soy is a xenoestrogen - meaning it mimics estrogen in the body and can really mess with your hormones. Soy products in general are best to avoid. There is rice milk, almond milk, coconut milk as other non-dairy options - some with really good texture and flavor. The reason you're not supposed to microwave food in plastic containers is because they contain xenoestrogens (xeno - meaning foreign literally and not the kind of estrogen your body uses correctly) - and then seep into the food - and can affect female hormones - in their production and function (this is both in women and developing girls) .
  • hbrekkaas
    hbrekkaas Posts: 268 Member
    We researched and read everything we could find on soy milk a few years ago when we found out our daughter had a dairy allergy, and we re-read everything again when we discovered our son has a dairy allergy too, but we never did get a clear answer out of it. There is so much conflicting advice when it comes to soy.
  • icramirez
    icramirez Posts: 40
    I was just watching something on this on the History Channel last night and they say that 80 percent of all soy milk in the U.S. contains genetically modified ingredients so now I think its bad!
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