How Healthy Is Soy Really?

The Bad Effects of Soy (1)

• Soybeans are high in phytic acid, present in the bran or hulls of all seeds. It's a substance that can block the uptake of essential minerals - calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and especially zinc - in the intestinal tract.
• Additionally 99% a very large percentage of soy is genetically modified and it also has one of the highest percentages contamination by pesticides of any of our foods.
• Among them are potent enzyme inhibitors that block the action of trypsin and other enzymes needed for protein digestion.
• In test animals, diets high in trypsin inhibitors cause enlargement and pathological conditions of the pancreas, including cancer.
• Soybeans also contain haemagglutinin, a clot-promoting substance that causes red blood cells to clump together.
• Soy also contains goitrogens - substances that depress thyroid function.

• Other problems associated with children of both sexes who were fed soy-based formula, including extreme emotional behavior, asthma, immune system problems, pituitary insufficiency, thyroid disorders and irritable bowel syndrome.

Soy: The Poison Seed (2)

• Contains Isoflavones (Genistein and Daidzein). In soy the isoflavones are built in insecticides. Isoflavones are estrogen like substances which have the same effect as the bodies estrogen. Cancer comes from having too much estrogen. Irritability and mood swings, fat gain from the waist down, fibrocystic breast disease uterine fibromas are all associated with estrogen dominance. Instead of helping prevent the bad effects of environmental or natural estrogen dominance soy isoflavones are now known to increase the bad effect of estradiol and estrone the two major bad guys of the estrogen family.
• Kills testicular tissue. In men it permanently reduces testicular function and lowers Lutinizing Hormone production. LH is what signals your testicles to work. This increases the probability of estrogen dominance in men with its hair loss, swollen and cancerous prostates.
• Male children fed soy formulas and soy products may not ever get to like girls. Dorris Rapp MD, the worlds leading pediatric allergist, asserts that environmental and food estrogens are responsible for the increase in male homosexuality and the worldwide reduction in male fertility.
• Isoflavones decrease thyroid hormone production. This can stunt children's growth and make the rest of us tired and fat.
• Female children fed the estrogens in soy formula and products hit puberty very very early sometimes as young as age 6 to 8!
• Pregnant women eating soy products may effect the sexual differentiation of their children. Studies show malformations of the reproductive tract or offspring born with both male and female sexual organs.
• Isoflavones decrease GOOD cholesterol (HDL).
• Soy contains Phytin, which takes essential minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium etc. out of the body before they can be absorbed.
• A 7000 man 30 year epidemiological study done in Hawaii shows soy is connected with a higher rate of Vascular Dementia (Alzheimer's disease).

Why Soy Can Damage Your Health (3)
A very thorough site with links to specific soy related articles such as:

• Newest Research On Why You Should Avoid Soy by Sally Fallon & Mary G. Enig, Ph.D
• Soy May Cause Cancer and Brain Damage
• Soy: Too Good to be True by Brandon Finucan & Charlotte Gerson
• High Soy Diet During Pregnancy And Nursing May Cause Developmental Changes In Children
• 20/20 Feature on the Dangers of Soy
• Response To Those Who Believe Soy Is Healthy
• Chemical in Soybeans Causes Sexual Dysfunction in Male Rats

Think Soy is Healthy? Here’s Why it’s Not as Good as You Think (4)
A very good site looking at soy and it's effects on:

• Cholesterol
• Animal Study Circular Arguments
• Phytic Acid "...in menstruating women and children the phytic acid in soy can be a serious negative."
• Osteoporosis
• Cancer "...it is wise to avoid large doses of isoflavones."
• Birth Defects "...increase the risk of birth defects by as much as 500 percent."
• Alzheimer’s Disease "...more than double the risk of later developing Alzheimer's disease."
• Soy Formula
• Genetically Modified Soy "...over two-thirds of the U.S. soy crop is genetically modified."
• Soy and the Asian Diet "...soy in the Asian diet is primarily fermented soy, NOT the highly processed soy protein isolate, soy isoflavones and so on that make up soy in the American diet."
• Soy Industry "...the edible oil industry is a multibillion-dollar industry..."

This site concludes that:
Consuming fermented soy is part of a healthy diet.
Some examples of products using fermented soy are natto, miso, tempeh, soy sauces, fermented tofu and soy milk.

Avoid nonfermented soy. Some examples of products using nonfermented soy include fresh green soybeans, whole dry soybeans, nuts, sprouts, flour, soy milk and tofu.

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References:
1. http://www.drwardbond.com/index.asp?cat=146742 by Dr. Ward Bond
2. http://www.life-enthusiast.com/enzyme/wong_soy.htm by William Wong N.D., Ph.D., and Member World Sports Medicine Hall of Fame
3. http://www.mercola.com/article/soy/index.htm
4. http://www.mercola.com/2004/apr/21/soy_health.htm by By Dr. Joseph Mercola


Given the current controversy about soy, I think it's wise as any health conscience person to err on the side of safety until conclusive evidence is brought forth either way.

I hope the following has helped open some eyes as to why soy might not be as safe as originally touted.