What's the deal with soybeans, dangerous hormones?

Question

I heard a rumor that soybeans (uncooked?) can cause the wrong kinds of hormones to be released into the body.

I also hear and read conflicting information about what kind of protein you can get from soy. Some have said you can get the complete protein and others disagree.

Anyone who knows the FACTS on the soy and its products (tofu, etc..)

Let me know, please.

Thanks!

Answer 1

AS part of a balanced diet I'm sure its fine but see the following links

http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2000/aug...

Answer 2

Soybeans contain estrogen, so if you are a guy or have had breast cancer, this can be bad for you. That is what people mean by hormones. Soybeans are a major sorurce of protein - larger than red meat actually. If you look it up on any medical websites you will find that. It is not necessarily dangerous, try something like rice milk or oat milk.

Complete protein? you can't get a complete protein from meat either, you have to eat things like nuts and vegetables.  Its not something to worry about, everyone gets enough if you aren't hungry. If you don't have enough of something your body will be hungry until you are satisfied with that nutrient.

Answer 3

If you eat too much it can be bad for you but you should be fine..

I found this website it might help:

http://www.soyfacts.com.au/

Answer 4

The dangerous hormones are in dairy. Soybean hormones are just very little and are not dangerous, but actually good for you.

Answer 5

Basically, some unusual findings came up in research about soy.

But when the research was repeated by other groups the findings did not hold up.

Some people have been preoccupied with the weird findings and have ignored the research that contradicts the ideas they want to believe.

No reputable health care professionals or health care organizations are supporting the outrageous beliefs about soy foods.

Most of the people making the claims have no real credentials in healthcare or nutrition.

If soy products are so dangerous, why haven't they been taken off the market or why aren't there any warning labels like they have for liquor and tobacco products?

Soy allergies are pretty common, but that doesn't necessarily mean soy is automatically bad for everybody.

Dr. Mercola has been sued by the FDA for making unproven claims about food supplements he is selling.

http://www.quackwatch.org/11Ind/mercola....

Answer 6

It's the Weston A Price/Mercola duo, as well as Soy Online out of New Zealand, dairy and meat interests and even hemp companies (I was very disappointed by that one) smearing soy. The first two are a bit whack, advocating for eating organ meats including sneaking them into the family meals and putting into raw milk to give to infants instead of formula. This is based on the meandering ponderings of a dentist looking at the teeth of dead people around the world and hypothesizing on the health based on the imagined diet.

Here are a few sites countering the wild claims:

http://www.vegsource.com/articles2/fuhrm...

http://www.compassionatecooks.com/all_ab...

http://www.compassionatecooks.com/blog/2...

Along with an article explaining the benefits for men of consuming soy:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn...

One of the many claims spread against soy include issues with thyroids (which regulate a lot of our hormones) Most of these come not from soy but from industrial chemical contamination (which is getting in a lot of our water and foods especially fish) and include perchlocate (rocket fuel and a fertilizer in some countries where we get produce and grains which meat animals eat) and PCBs (which were a Monsanto product they dumped all over and which are persistent and add up with exposure).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perchlorate

http://www.mindfully.org/Industry/Monsan...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn...

However, many of the mainstream meat alternatives, besides being owned by huge conglomerate corporations (Kellogg's and Kraft) that drive the demand for huge amounts of factory farmed meat and dairy (as well as soy and other vegetation, from other countries even including China and those in South America under questionable conditions), utilize soy protein isolates for their products. Isolates are basically a by-product of soy oil production (now a by-product of manufacturing animal feed). The soy used in those are rarely organic which means likely GMO and are incomplete soy, which means after the oil is extracted you get defatted soy which is further broken down to basically the protein and has little resemblance to the original plant, devoid of most of the original nutrients. These are essentially animal feed (not necessarily good for them but promotes quick growth as time is money) and are the least healthy of the soy products (and ironically increasingly added to meat products, even whole muscle -- and Special K protein water --  to increase the protein content and extend the meat to lower the cost and increase the profit).

http://www.allbusiness.com/manufacturing...

Veg*ns tend to eat more whole and organic soy products which are very healthy and a nice addition to a healthy diet even if you aren't a veg*n. But, a diet can also be healthy without it if you don't care for it or are allergic. There are a lot of other healthy beans, nuts, seeds, etc., to take the place of soy products.

Some of the whole food soy products are tofu, soy milk, miso, tempeh, tamari, etc. Some manufacturers that use organic beans and the entire bean are Organic Valley in their soy milk (which is thick and delicious) and Tofurkey products (also hexane-free).

Soy is indeed a "complete" protein as are other plant-based foods such as hemp, quinoa and chia to name a few however, that "complete" idea is also another protein myth.

http://www.stevepavlina.com/blog/2005/09...