Barefoot Healthy Hippie

This article comes from a trusted source, Green Smoothie Girl

This is a good base article to start understanding soy better. I will be following it up with my own research and information in the coming weeks. One thing I can add to this article right now is there are some small girls, who have been fed soy products as a large portion of their diet (i.e. soy milk), who have developed prematurely. This includes menstruating before they hit adolescence and developing breasts early as well. I personally knew of a girl who got her period in the second grade, it scared the daylights out of her because no one educates their kids that young about things that should be happening years later!


The Danger of Soy Products

Myth #6: “Soy products are a health food (especially for women).”

As more and more data has emerged in recent years about the dangers of eating a diet rich in animal products, soy product offerings have exploded at health food and other grocery stores as a “wonder food.” They include soy protein powders and bars and meat replacements (hot dogs, burger patties, and more). America’s soybean growers have hit the motherlode and now sell waste products of the soybean as “soy isolate protein powder”: this food is refined, processed, and separated from the whole food. Even the whole food is problematic, and the danger of soy product must come to light.

We have been told the Japanese have lower rates of breast, uterus, and prostate cancer, and that is attributed to high soy consumption. Unfortunately, Japanese people (and Asians) have higher rates of esophageal, pancreatic, liver, and stomach cancers. Soy causes these cancers in lab animals. Also, the Japanese tend to eat fermented whole-soy products such as miso, tempeh, and tofu-not refined products made from soy oil and isolated proteins.

The isoflavones in soy cause toxicity in estrogen-sensitive tissues and depress thyroid function, causing decreased metabolism as well as other thyroid diseases. Soy products now in virtually everything at the grocery store (breads, spaghetti sauce, cookies, even canned tuna) contribute to the epidemic of both diagnosed—and an estimated 10 million undiagnosed—thyroid problems. Most thyroid problems are in women over 40, and soy’s thyroid-depressing effects are likely contributing to the rise in obesity.

Soy lowers testosterone levels in men and causes malnutrition, especially in babies and children drinking soy milk or soy formula. Dozens of studies show that soy causes reproductive problems, immune problems, and cognitive decline. Doctors and researchers including Andrew Weil, Mary Enig, Kaayla T. Daniel, FDA advisors, and many others caution against soy consumption.

Fact: Soy is not a good alternative to meat and should be avoided because it promotes disease. Of particular concern are soy formulas for babies, soy protein powders and bars, soy-based hormone creams for women, and anything that features “soy isolate protein powder” or other non-fermented, refined products. The danger of soy product is coming to light, but many operate under the assumption that it is a nutritious food, especially for protein.