As I try to follow a vegetarian Zone diet, my net friends are bombarding me with the dangers of soy and refer me to this source:

The Whole Soy Story by Kaayla Daniels

Her website calls it the worst food on the planet. I assume the truth is somewhere in the middle. Any comments anyone?

TIA,

kevino

I have heard this warning as well....don't really know wht to think. I've heard it said that the Japanese would be horrified to see how much soymilk and tofu some Americans eat daily.....don't know if that is true. I sense that moderation would be the key. I actually love tofu and soymilk, but have some concerns as soy can be goitrogenic. (inhibits thyroid)
There are debates on the web about this. Meanwhile I am using soy....

I've used soymilk in my oatmeal for 10 years or more. I understand it has isoflavones, a type of phytoestrogen that is 1/500 the potency of estradiol. (The Testosterone Sydrome by Shippen, MD) It's thought that the phytoestrogen can sit on the estrogen sites in tissue but not stimulate activity. So in that sense, it blocks the receptors and could prevent breast cancer or some forms of prostate cancer in men. Since asians have a fraction of the breast and prostate cancers that are so common in the west, I'm betting (hoping) that soy is a factor.

kevin

wow...here's hoping!

I did a medline search using phytoestogen + prostate and it came back with thousands of abtracts, the majority supporting the theory. One article suggests asian diet being mainly vegetarian, with little fish or meat but lots of soy is what prevents those cancers. So a Zone Diet is as close as I can come to that.

kevin

Hi Kevin!

Yes, it's the isoflavones that are the crux of the matter when it comes to discussions of soy. Dr Sears explains how to get around this as follows (from Page 226 of THE SOY ZONE).

"If you're concerned about overconsuming isoflavones, a good compromise is this: Eat one-third of your soy protein from soy products that contain no phytoestrogens. These products include virtually all of the soybean meat substitutes, and contain no phytoestrogens because they are made from alcohol-extracted soy protein concentrates. Traditional soy products (tofu, soy beans, soy milk, tempeh, soy nuts, soy flour, soy grits, and textured soy protein) have the highest concentration of isoflavones, and soy protein isolates have about half the amount of isoflavones found in traditional soy products."

Soy isn't my strong point, but I was wondering, isn't tofu and those imitation meat products actually an alteration of a food? I can't remember where I was reading this, but I remember someone warning about the dangers of consuming these "altered" products?

Tofu is made by coagulating soy milk and pressing the curds into blocks, just as cheese is made by coagulating milk (usually cow's or goat's) and pressing the curds into blocks.

Sounds like I have to do a bit of research, myself. I think there was something I read about the dangers of tofu, in particular. Just can't recall where I saw it!

Beware of "smear" science. There are several publications sponsored by the various meat industries that take obscure studies and explode them into an every case situation. One such study I read said that tofu caused Alzheimer's. Turns out this was based on a study in Hawaii in which the tofu was from some local source that was high in Aluminum...a popular suspected factor for increasing Alzheimers. Also, as a scientist myself, let me tell you that it is easier than you think to crunch statistics in such a way to make pretty much any data set suit your purposes, if you have some sort of agenda. If you are seriously concerned, seek out information from neutral sources or do some more in-depth research on your own by going to your local university library and delving into the subject. Even graduate studies at universities are questionable, though, because often times fellowships are sponsored by industries...just fyi. Anyway, mom always said, all good things in moderation. Sounds like good, unbiased advice to me.

I don't know if this has any bearing on the discussion, but I have been reading a book, "The Makers Diet". Basically, one of the principles of this diet is to eat foods in a more natural form.

Hydrolyzed soy protein is one of the foods on the "Dirty Dozen" list of foods to be avoided. This is what the author says:

"You may be wondering what hydrolyzed soy protein is all about. Have you ever substituted imitation crab for the real stuff when making a pasta dish for the family? Sprinkled imitation bacon bits on their salad? Ordered inexpensive sushi at a restaurant? All these foods, which are not part of the Makers Diet program, are forms of hydrolyzed soy protein.

Hydrolyzed soy protein usually contains a significant amount of genetically modified soy as well as compounds that closely mirror the dangerous MSG. Hydrolyzed soy protein is also a known excitotoxin, which means i has the potential to cause neurological disturbances. Its not fish or fowl, and it's not real food."

You may well have something there. I have read several articles about iodine in seaweed. It suggests that lack of iodine is the cause of much breast cancer in this country but the Asians who eat a lot of seaweed do not have the breast cancer.