Are soy products really bad for you?

I've been a vegetarian for almost a year now, and I eat a lot of soy products- specifically MorningStar Farms.

Well, recently, I informed somebody of this and they told me that I am obviously unaware of how unhealthy soy is for you. They told me to look up "is soy good or bad for you" on Google, and sure enough, I got tons of results stating that it is not any good for me. This page in particular frightened me quite a bit: "http://www.optimumchoices.com/Soy.htm"



Are there any vegetarians that disagree with this? Do you guys use different meat substitutes? Any tips? I love my soy and I love being a vegetarian, but I'm definitely a little unsure now.... :/Are soy products really bad for you?
There is so much hype about soy. There are people that say it's good for you, and people say it's bad. Personally what I do is keep the soy to a minimum, and when I do buy it buy Non GMO soy.
It depends. I agree that processed and refined soy products ( textured vegetable protein, soy protein isolate, "mock meats and soy "cheese"eg Tofurella,) and soy milk made with soy protein instead of whole minimally processed soy beans, are not healthy and it is best to avoid or severely limit these so-called "foods". Traditional soy such as tofu, miso, and tempeh plain soy milk made with just soy beans and water are fine in moderation. I eat some tofu and miso a few times a week.Are soy products really bad for you?
processed soy isn't good for you. in asia they eat a LOT of soy and live to be quite old and healthy. that's because it isn't processed.



check out this story for more info:



http://articles.nydailynews.com/2010-04-鈥?/a>



try organic soy. due to the phytoestrogens, if you're prone to breast cancer or male you should limit to 1-2 times a week. otherwise you can eat it more often. also, be aware phytoestrogens are in a lot of other foods, not just soy. do some research on it if you need to.
many say the phytoestrogen in soy products could cause issues:

possibly cancer, or hormonal issues

many also say its fine.



the issue is more with your choice of Morningstar farms, which is heavily processed, and even if not made by soy, likely not good for you. Your best option would be to avoid fake meats, or at least only consume them occasionally.Are soy products really bad for you?
Research have down that if eaten in high doses it might cause some cancers and hormonal imbalance.



But if taken in moderation it should be fine.

Like they said to much of something is not good for you
Most of what I have read said it is good for you. It is good for the heart. Phislosphyidylserine (I'm not sure if this is the correct spelling) is made from soy and it is used to help people with memory problems.
some doctors say that it's ok, if you eat soy 2-3 times a week (preferably 2)..but I think it also depends on amount..=)
You're right to be concerned. Everyone is different. Some people have very serious reactions to soy. It's one of the most allergenic foods in your supermarket. #3 or 4 of the top ten allergenic foods, I think. Apparently you're not allergic, but neither was this guy, yet he grew man boobs and developed serious sexual/emotional problems from drinking a lot of soy milk: http://www.menshealth.com/nutrition/soys鈥?/a>



If you read the entire article, you'll see this is not a rumor or myth. His medical case was documented by his doctors and published in peer reviewed medical journals. And just giving up soy hasn't reversed the damage to his body.



If you eat a lot of soy, be sure you're not iodine deficient. Besides fertility/sexual problems, soy can damage your thyroid gland, especially if you're iodine deficient and many people are. A serving or two of soy a week probably won't hurt you, but don't build your diet on soy burgers, soy hot dogs, tofu, soy milk, soy protein bars, soy drinks.....Personally, I don't directly eat soy. But it's almost impossible to avoid. It's used as fillers in bread, in pastries, cake mixes, almost all boxed, processed food contains some soy. (But that's all in your link, too.)



Health agencies in many other countries (France, Germany, Israel) have issued warnings about soy consumption....especially for young people. The American Academy of Pediatrics has officially recommended cow's milk formula (not whole milk) for infants over soy formula. Some equate raising a baby on soy formula with feeding her/him five birth control pills a day. Those hormones can't possibly be safe for a developing child.



Humans evolved eating meat. We still get some nutrients (protein, iron, zinc, DHA) from animal sources than from veggie sources. And, of course, some nutrients better from veggie sources than from animal sources. We do best on a balanced diet: some meat, some veggies, some fruit, restrict processed grains and sugar. Good luck.....
Let's just say, there are NO real studies that soy itself is bad for you. It comes from a bean, just like other beans. Supposedly, the main problem with soy is how and what it is processed with. I'd just stay away from fake meats, because there are plenty of additives in them that could possibly be bad for you. Buy some vital wheat gluten, herbs, and vegetarian broth. Make seitan (fake meat) our of this. This way you know what you put in it, taste a lot better than store fake meats, and saves you a **** load of money.

Like I said, there is no real proof that soy itself is bad for you. People have claims, but they also don't tell you what else they eat. Dairy and meat products were also shown to have similar effects that supposedly soy does, but no one brings that up. People are really ignorant about things like this, especially the people who type articles on how bad soy is, but continue to eat bad foods themselves. Asians told a couple people off on their blogs, and said they've been eating soy since they were born and don't have these health problems.'

All these articles and blogs you read are coming from Westerners, which eat a lot of unhealthy food. To call out something as small as soy for being bad for you, is very hypocritical. I will accept that soy is bad for you after most of the people who say soy is bad put their cheeseburgers and steaks down. I can't tell you how many times I've seen omnivores in here say "stop eating your nasty dangerous soy, and eat a damn cheeseburger". Eating that cheeseburger really contradicts why you're not eating soy.
"The soybean is the most nutritious of all beans.

Rich in high-quality protein, it is one of the few vegetarian foods that contains all eight essential amino acids that cannot be synthesized in the body and are vital for the renewal of cells and tissues."

"Soy is one of today's healthiest foods. Rich in minerals, particularly iron and calcium, it is also low in saturated fats and it is cholesterol free. It has the ability to help reduce osteoporosis, blood pressure, and blood cholesterol, and there is evidence to suggest that it can help reduce the risk of cancer."

"Although soybeans and products are nutritionally beneficial, they are also common allergies and can provoke reactions such as headaches and digestive problems. Avoid eating excessive amounts of soy, and always cook sprouted soybeans before use."



All of the links below are different, and have scientific research and experts behind it.

http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vegdiet鈥?/a>

http://www.veglov.com/2011/07/settling-s鈥?/a>

http://www.veglov.com/2010/05/is-it-safe鈥?/a>

http://www.veglov.com/2010/08/soy-comple鈥?/a>

http://www.veglov.com/2010/05/another-in鈥?/a>

http://www.veglov.com/2010/04/should-wom鈥?/a>

http://www.veglov.com/2011/06/all-about-鈥?/a>



I have tried several name brands of mock meats - Morningstar, Tofurkey, Boca, Gardein, Quorn, etc.

Try Quorn - not made from soy - if you want: http://www.quorn.com/
Yes I disagree with it, because I have access to scientific journals and training in epidemiological statistics so I can read what they say and understand which of them are reasonable and which aren't. If you go to the option in google and choose "scholar" when you search "soy+health" you'll find page after page of scientific articles describing how soy is linked to reduced risks of cancer, diabetes, obesity etc. There are however a few anti-soy organisations such as the Weston A Price foundation, the stuff I've read on their site is unscientific and not of the same standard as the material you find in peer reviewed journals.

On the other hand, there are lots of agro companies who make lots of money out of soy so I am also careful to check who funds the research which says it provides health benefits. I'd say about 80% of the articles I've read are unbiased (ie recieve no funding from soy industry) and about one in five will feature one or more scientists who has been paid by them. But I've never seen any reasonable peer reviewed info on soy indicating it is harmful.

If anything, the foods you eat will harm you not because of soy but because of the fat, salt or preservatives in them. Those processed vego foods are fine once in a while, but limit your intake of them. A study in the UK looking at vegos since the 1970's has found the vegos in their sample are getting higher rates of bowel cancer than the meat eaters when all previous research indicated the opposite. There are a few explanations for thsis, one is that they are not still vegetarian but another is that the availability of processed vego foods has increased greatly since the study began. It ay be that the vegos are just eating mroe of this stuff and that is causing their cancer, but the study design is not able to identify this because they asked the wrong questions when the study was initiated.

EDIT: ignore daisy's lies. she is one of the hysterical anti-soy people I referred to above. Their claims about a man who was feminised being caused by soy are a classic example of a type of logical fallacy called "misleading vividness", where a statistical anomaly is used as an example of common or possible outcomes. There is uncertainty around whether soy was even the cause of this guy's situation, it could have been genetics or some other cause. But when somebody is dishonest and trying to manipulate you, they tend to focus only on what they want you to think rather than explain all possibilities in order for you to be able to make up your own mind. Just be aware that there were several billion other people consuming soy at the same time as this guy who haven't had this reaction.

Add to this the statement "Some equate raising a baby on soy formula with feeding her/him five birth control pills a day. Those hormones can't possibly be safe for a developing child." There is evidence that soy can be harmful to infants, but this is not exactly relevant to your question. And who provides daisy's opinion for her in the first place? She has never provided a source, so you can assume the "some" are not scientists or health professionals.

For some facts about soy, you need refer only to scientific findings:

"Iodine deficiency greatly increases soy antithyroid effects, whereas iodine supplementation is protective. Thus, soy effects on the thyroid involve the critical relationship between iodine status and thyroid function." -Doerge and Sheehan. Goitrogenic and estrogenic activity of soy isoflavones. Environ Health Perspect. 2002 June; 110(Suppl 3): 349鈥?53. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles鈥?/a>

Soy consumption can influence the sex hormones, reducing both estrogen and testosterone and increasing other hormones, however it is important to understand what this means. This does not lead to androgynous effects in physiology or behaviour. See these references for details:

Knight and Eden, A Review of the Clinical Effects of Phytoestrogens. Obstetrics %26amp; Gynecology, 1996;87:897-904. http://journals.lww.com/greenjournal/Abs鈥?/a>

Nagata et al., Effect of Soymilk Consumption on Serum Estrogen and Androgen Concentrations in Japanese Men. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev March 2001 10; 179 http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/10/鈥?/a>

Habito et al., Effects of replacing meat with soyabean in the diet on sex hormone concentrations in healthy adult males. Br J Nutr. 2000 Oct;84(4):557-63.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11103鈥?/a>