Here is a copy of another soy myth I responded to:
"Maybe the estrogen in soy is why girls are reaching puberty at an earlier age."
It is not from the use of soy. This problem has been going on for a long time, and long before soy became popular. The earlier puberty in both boys and girls has actually been linked to the actual estrogens in beef, chicken, and cow's milk. 60 Minutes did a great story on this exact topic several decades ago. They reported primarily from
Estrogens are given to farm animals to fatten them up and increase milk production. When we consume these meats and dairy we ingest these hormones. These estrogens in turn cause problems such as cancers, weight gain, thyroid dysfunction, blood clots, etc. These are all well known side effects of estrogens.
Phytoestrogens on the other hand DO NOT increase the estrogen load on the body. These estrogen-like substances are actually 200 to 400 times weaker than the estrogens produced by our bodies. They lock up estrogen receptors, which in turn protects us from the dangerous effects of our own estrogens and the much stronger pharmaceutical and environmental estrogens.
Flavonoids and other similar compounds, such as DIM found in broccoli, have similar effects. If you really want to avoid estrogens and estrogen-like substances you need to stop eating, stop drinking, avoid plastics and rubber-like compounds and avoid any environmental exposure. You are being exposed to more estrogen activity each day from these other sources than you can get from eating 10 pounds of soy each day.
I know that you don´t follow Weston Price much but they have some good information about soy
How can incorrect and misleading information be "good"? Let's address their claims:
http://www.westonaprice.org/Soy-Alert/
Confused About Soy?--Soy Dangers Summarized
Phytic acid, which is found in grains and seeds, has a higher affinity for heavy metals than it does beneficial nutrients. The other half of the phytic acid myth is that it robs the body of nutrients. If we think about it the phytic acid will already be bound with minerals the plant picked up from the soil. So let's say it is already bound to calcium, but it has a higher affinity for mercury. So how does it bind to the mercury if it is already bound to the calcium? There is only one way. It would have to release what it is bound to in order exchange it for something it has a higher affinity for. Put simply it is not robbing the body of minerals as some people claim.
It should also be noted that phytic acid is sold as a great anti-cancer agent called inositol hexaphosphate (IP6).
So being that phytic acid is found in so many of the foods we eat why is it that the Weston Price Foundation is only targeting soy? Sure looks like they have a clear anti-soy at any cost agenda to me. In fact looking at their site I see the foods they really promote are beef and dairy, industries that are financially threatened by the popularity of soy. Ironically the few plants they promote as being good such as nettle and cabbage (sauerkraut) are phytoestrogen sources!!! Maybe we should follow the Weston Price Foundation money trail back to see what their financial interest is in bashing soy so we know why they have this strong anti-soy agenda.
Trypsin inhibitors are also found in a variety of plant and animal sources including beans, egg whites and human colostrum. So does the Weston Price Foundation also advocate not breast feeding since human colostrum contains trypsin inhibitors?
And why do they fail to mention the fact that trypsin inhibitors can be inactivated by fermentation, cooking and even stomach acid? Again this makes it look like they have an anti-soy agenda so strong that they will lie or mislead the public to make their point.
In addition the studies showing adverse effects of trypsin inhibitors were in animals such as rats, mice, hamsters, guinea pigs and chicks, not humans. In these animals the trypsin inhibitors caused problems. But when tested on dogs, calves and pigs there were no adverse effects. Keep in mind that pigs have systems very similar to humans.
These myths have been disproven so many times. I address the fertility issue here: http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1542259#i
As for the myth that soy promotes breast cancer: http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1536933#i http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1505384#i http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1536939#i http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1447069#i http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1443251#i
And why is it that most of the herbs used to treat cancer are phytoestrogen sources? Simple, because they DO NOT raise estrogen levels, they antagonize the stronger estrogens.
Again very misleading. first of all the goitergens are inactivated by cooking and fermentation. And again it is ironic that they bash soy for having goitrogenic glucosiniolates. But at the same time they promote sauerkraut that is made from cabbage that contains a goitrogenic glucosinolate called sinigrin. I cover their deception more here: http://curezone.com/forums/fm.asp?i=1530386#i
As for their claim that soy increases the risk of thyroid cancer the studies say differently: http://www.encognitive.com/files/HIGHER%20SOY%20INTAKE%20LINKED%20TO%20LOWER%...
As for their claim of increased thyroid autoimmunity I could find no studies verifying this claim.
Again misleading. If you want true B12 you have to look at meats such as beef. The B12 found in plants are analogues. But there is no proof that they deplete B12 from the body. To the contrary the fibers in plants feed the intestinal flora that in turn produce B12 for the body such as Lactobacillus reuteri .
Another misleading comment. The only study I could find on this showed a case of a vitamin D deficiency in an individual infant receiving soy milk not fortified with vitamin D. The problem was not that the soy was depleting vitamin D from the infant, but rather the soy milk was low in vitamin D to begin with. Being that most soy milk is fortified with vitamin D and most adults also get vitamin D from other sources such as the sun, fish oils and plants this is not really an issue. So the only reason for their false claim would be to mislead the public.
Heating of any protein source, such as the beef they promote, can denature the proteins. Or do they eat their fish and beef raw?
If lysinoalanine( LAL) is so toxic then why is is a normal component of our body's tissues?: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf981000%2B "LAL has a strong affinity for copper and other metal ions and is reported to induce enlargement of nuclei of rats and mice but not of primate kidney cells. LAL, LAN, and HAL also occur naturally in certain peptide and protein antibiotics (cinnamycin, duramycin, epidermin, nisin, and subtilin) and in body organs and tissues (aorta, bone, collagen, dentin, and eye cataracts), where their formation may be a function of the aging process."
To claim LAL is toxic in humans just because it is toxic to rats is just outright misleading. Using the same principle we could claim that chocolate is deadly to humans since it will kill a dog. Apparently the Weston Price Foundation has not figured out how to differentiate between rodents and humans.
If LAL was toxic to humans then they ought to avoid meats as well since LAL can form from the heating of proteins.
As for nitrosamines, they can also form when meats are cooked, and can be found in dairy products as well. Yet the Weston Price Foundation promotes both meats and dairy.
Actually they should have said glutamate, which is also found in the meats and cheeses they advocate eating. You might find this list of glutamic acid levels interesting since the foods they advocate eating are higher in it than soy: http://www.credencegroup.co.uk/Eclub/Eclubsearchable2/220405/CTM%20-%20Soy%20...
Both Blaylock and Mercola are cheeseheads, and continue to eat large amounts of fish and chicken. If their claim that soymilk is bad because it contains four times the amount of glutamic acid as does human breast milk, conclude what you will about their advice after reading the amounts of glutamic acid in hundred-gram portions of animal products: human milk = 0.17 grams
All plants contain aluminum. Being so common in the Earth's crust it would be impossible for the plants to not pick it up. Then cattle eat these plants picking up the aluminum that ends up in the milk and beef they recommend consuming: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10067727 http://www.longevinst.org/nlt/newsletter6.htm
So all the claims they made about soy were either misleading or outright lies. How do you consider this "good" information? In my opinion this shows the Weston Price Foundation completely lacks credibility. |
That was a good response.
I'm glad to see someone sticking up for the soybean.
Having said that...I'm not a fan of soy flour or sprouted soybeans (My own personal opinion - no science to back it up.) Actually, soy flour might be okay for some people. I'm just not a fan of sprouted products. In addition, I'm not a fan of tofu.
But I'm a great fan of some of the products that can be derived from soy. For example, lecithin can be a powerful product. Also, soy sauce can add an incredible amount of favor to certain dishes/products.
(Since I've brought up soy products) I don't understand why you recommend taking lecithin without qualifications. I remember reading this from one of your previous post.
To make lecithin they use two different chemicals to extract it. Because of this there is heavy chemical residue on lecithin products which is not good...not good at all!
I believe that you should only recommend organic lecithin. (Note: For others reading this - organic lecithin can't be produced with chemicals.)
Thanks, I was getting really tired after all that and overlooked it. I will correct it.
i know alot of vegan bodybuilders who rely solely on soy as their protein source whether as a food or as a supplement i.e isolate etc and have no side effects.
Yes, and they avoid the antibiotics and hormones often given to the cattle as well as the uric acid and lactate trapped in the meat and the uric acid formed from its breakdown. In addition beef presents the problem of possibly getting too much iron if eaten in excess since heme iron is more readily absorbed than plant irons, and men and non-menstruating women in particular do not have a normal means of ridding the body of excess iron.
When I used to race eating beef would totally wipe out my energy after just a few days. So tried to avoid it as much as possible.
The body is not designed to eat large amounts of meat. I have heard numeorus times that it takes about 3 days for a piece of beef to break down in the digestive system. Again the diet of our early ancestors was primarily plant material, not meats. In fact, if all our ancestors ate was meat then what was feeding their beneficial intestinal flora since they feed on fibers?
In this case, I will write to the Weston Price Foundation. Can respond to your arguments
If they do respond tell them to back their claims with some solid evidence. I checked their site and I could not find one listed reference to their false claims, which right there says a lot more than I ever could.