soy confution- is it healthy or not?

[mmd32]

^ i agree with that, but i read that the reason people in asia dont have problems is that they east a lot LESS of everything, and they dont eat it for every meal.

Except the Okinawans, in my second link above. They eat an average of two meals everyday, and are famous for being the healthiest, longest living people on the planet, along with the highest soy consumption. The list of health benefits they have is pretty impressive.

I still stick with soy is fine, as long as you aren't powering it 24-7, in highly processed form (fake meats, etc). But that's true of ANY food product.

[shamelesslyahippie]

true that

[Avian Flight]

Is it just me or does this guy not site any of his "facts" that he pulls from "experimental studies"? He spits out dates and everything but there's no references to the actual papers or who conducted the studies except for the initial quote he based the article on. I'm a biology major and I don't trust anything that's reported second hand. People can (and often do) purposely misreport information based on studies that don't prove anything. I would want to read the original papers and understand what the researchers think first.

On another note, soy based baby formula? Now that just sounds like a bad idea to me. Baby's need their mother's milk - it contains all the nutrients and antibodies they would ever need and it's biologically designed to benefit the baby. Why would anyone want to feed a newborn formula? I digress..

I love soy and soy products but of course too much of a good thing can be bad. 

[Inara]

My personal concern with soy is that I seem to be allergic to it , but if you're interested in going vegetarian, there's plenty of options besides soy for your protein. (trying desperately not to launch into my health-food store manager sales spiel... )

[mmd32]

On another note, soy based baby formula? Now that just sounds like a bad idea to me. Baby's need their mother's milk - it contains all the nutrients and antibodies they would ever need and it's biologically designed to benefit the baby. Why would anyone want to feed a newborn formula? I digress..

Let me preface this with the note that I bf'd my two kids for 6 consecutive years, and that I am pro bf'ing all the way, for all the reasons you stated. But I also can think of a million reasons why someone would need to feed their baby formula, ranging from unable to lactate, to adoption, to babies of crack addicts who mainline their drugs through their milk, to moms of kids who are so allergic to everything that the moms themselves are literally starving from lack of anything they can eat that doesn't pass through the breastmilk...etc etc etc. Add in the soy formula for the poor babies unable to digest cows milk formula, and end up projectile vomiting everything that goes in, at best, and bleeding internally at worst. Formula is a tool, to be used wisely, not held in contempt as something only an idiot would use.

Education re BF'ing is a GOOD thing...making the poor moms who can't feel like shit because they give formula is not. I agree that giving formula for convenience is a pretty lame reason (and whoever thinks formula is "convenient" over bf'ing is in delusion! ), but going so far as saying soy based formula is a bad idea, because mom's milk is best, is a big stretch. Formula has it's place in the world. It's the formula COMPANIES that are evil (google "Nestle" and "formula" if you don't believe me )

Sorry, rant over!!

[Avian Flight]

On another note, soy based baby formula? Now that just sounds like a bad idea to me. Baby's need their mother's milk - it contains all the nutrients and antibodies they would ever need and it's biologically designed to benefit the baby. Why would anyone want to feed a newborn formula? I digress..

Let me preface this with the note that I bf'd my two kids for 6 consecutive years, and that I am pro bf'ing all the way, for all the reasons you stated. But I also can think of a million reasons why someone would need to feed their baby formula, ranging from unable to lactate, to adoption, to babies of crack addicts who mainline their drugs through their milk, to moms of kids who are so allergic to everything that the moms themselves are literally starving from lack of anything they can eat that doesn't pass through the breastmilk...etc etc etc. Add in the soy formula for the poor babies unable to digest cows milk formula, and end up projectile vomiting everything that goes in, at best, and bleeding internally at worst. Formula is a tool, to be used wisely, not held in contempt as something only an idiot would use.

Education re BF'ing is a GOOD thing...making the poor moms who can't feel like shit because they give formula is not. I agree that giving formula for convenience is a pretty lame reason (and whoever thinks formula is "convenient" over bf'ing is in delusion! ), but going so far as saying soy based formula is a bad idea, because mom's milk is best, is a big stretch. Formula has it's place in the world. It's the formula COMPANIES that are evil (google "Nestle" and "formula" if you don't believe me )

Sorry, rant over!!

okay.. but I never said that they were idiots... and I never meant to  make anyone "feel like shit".. so I apoligize if that's how I sounded. But you don't need to make me feel like shit for being uninformed and making a mistake..   

you know what, I don't want to start a fight, so just forget I said that.

[mmd32]

okay.. but I never said that they were idiots... and I never meant to  make anyone "feel like shit".. so I apoligize if that's how I sounded. But you don't need to make me feel like shit for being uninformed and making a mistake..   

you know what, I don't want to start a fight, so just forget I said that.

Aw. Now *I* feel like shit. I shouldn't have gone off like that. It just happens to be one of my hot points. I have had good friends tell me about being in tears over comments like that, and being made to feel like unfit mothers, because they had to give their kids formula...members of the bf'ing militia walking up to them and telling them some gawdawful thing just because of what they see, without even bothering to find out the whole story, and stuff like that. It just hits a raw nerve, and I am sorry I went off like that. I really should've just kept it simple. I'm sorry.

[trisarahtop]

I think it's important to make your own decisions, but it is important to note that even if soy is great for some people, it might not be great for you. I used to have a lot of soy in my diet, and for for several months I was not in top health. It turned out that the soy I was consuming was, actually, affecting my thyroid and just plain not very good for me.

1-2 servings a week won't be a problem for anyone though, unless they have an allergy or something. Don't just eat tofu at every meal - who eats the same thing for every meal anyway? I would encourage you to try seitan (gluten) as well, and various other meat replacers. There's more to not eating meat than tofu.

[future!]

the key is FEMENTED soy! unless you're menopausal, unfermented soy (in large doses) is not that great.
so go tempeh!

[gonegreenie]

I agree with a lot of the comments about how the soy is prepared and processed and how much you consume. You definitely want to watch out for a lot of the soy "meat alternatives" out there...many have multiple forms of MSG which is horrible for EVERYONE. It is certainly bad if you are allergic to it, and if you only eat the ultra processed kind all the time. There are some brands that are "commercial" that are pretty good-minimally processed, organic, etc. I have had to turn to soy substitutes for all dairy products in my diet because I can't eat the dairy versions. But to be honest, there are several soy "dairy" items that I wouldn't touch if I were starving because of the preservatives, and the fact that some of them make me sicker than if I ate the real dairy!
Soy is like everything else-maybe not right (or safe) for everyone, and you should know what is in it and how it could affect your body. Also every soy product is not created equally-taste/preparation/nutrition/ or otherwise.
Knowledge is key especially when it comes to our health.