Ballantyne, DelMonte, Terrible Dessert, and Some Potentially Troubling News

1st :D

niceee blogggg… will look out for soy in the future ;)

Phew! I remember reading that Soy protein aides estrogen synthesis and thus unfit for large consumption by men. It sounds equally dangerous to women and children…

I guess this implies ‘more research required’.

Thanks for this enlightening article!

So, I knew a bit about soy being bad but now I got a more detailed picture, which is good.

I was a bit concerned when I started noticing soy lecithin used in so many products, such as protein powders. So since the content is smal, I shouldn’t be concerned with its presence at all?

What about small contents of soy oil (I noticed the pre-minced garlic I bought had that – ugh, can’t they just put the garlic in the pot and be done with it?!)

Thanks!

Mat

While having organic edamame occasionally may be okay, I would like to caution people about NON-organic soy, as well as processed soy products. Any benefits that may be derived from traditional soy, are not going to be found in overly processed soy products (soy protein powders, etc.). It’s the same as whole grains vs. processed white flour. The more a food is processed, it becomes less of a food & the nutrients it originally possessed are destroyed & then to make up for it, synthetic vitamins & minerals are added back. Also, soy is one of the main crops that are genetically modified (GM/GMO), which is an even bigger concern. Soy, corn, canola & cotton crops are predominantly GMO unless certified organic. And sugar (sugar beets) is another popular crop that can be GMO. Check out: http://www.organicconsumers.org/ for more information on GMO crops.

The reason no-one knows about these problems is simple; The Billion-dollar lobbying machines of the Agribusiness giants coupled with the Mainstream Media (often controlled at least in part by the “food” conglomerates). It is not in their interest for you to be told the truth, or anything like it.

It is a myth that unfermented soy products (Tofu, Endamame etc) are consumed in large quantities in the far east. The most I’ve ever seen in a real Japanese restaurant is a tiny sliver of Tofu in a bowl of Miso soup. Endamame themselves are mostly considered inedible in Japan. The only historic use for large quantities of Tofu in the Far East was to lower the libido of Buddhist monks, due to the high phytoestrogen content! Race ipsa loquitur!

Something Joel hasn’t mentioned which should definitely put anyone off soy consumption, is that pretty much all US-grown soy is now GM and it is (I’m told, not being American myself) pretty impossible to verify that a sample isn’t GM due to the lobbying against truthful food labels. Roundup-Ready Soy should be a big concern for anyone eating soy, as the only definitive studies into the safety of GM crops have been published by – you guessed it – the companies promoting and producing these products. As the GM technology is patented, it is nigh-on impossible for any truly independent testing to be carried out or published. What is being said now though is that the bacterial genes used in the GM processes can become incorporated into your own gut bacteria when the products are eaten, the end result being that your own body produces organophosphate weedkiller and poisons you from the inside out! One of the side effects of GM “food” consumption is thought by many to be the mysterious Morgellon’s Disease, which is on the increase and was hardly ever reported before the GM “revolution.”

A very informative if somewhat scary read for anyone interested in protecting their health from the fraudulent GM technologies is William F Engdahl’s “Seeds of Destruction.”

It is an interesting position on Soy that people are now taking. For someone who has used soy and still uses it, I am a little concerned, and this is not the first time I have come across this information about soy. However, in relation to casein, not long ago, a medical doctor came to our church group, and took a talk to a group of us guys on mens health.
Most, or probably all of us, due to our religious affiliation to the Adventist church, are vegetarian. I’m not sure how many of us use soy though. I get the impression that most vegetarians in the SDA community are lacto-ovo-vegetarian, [vegetarians that use eggs and milk products].

I use Soy milk daily though, with cereal breakfast, and at other meals. I also mix it with protein powder that is milk based. [Yes, I know that does not make sense, but the combination does taste really great].
I seem to have come over conflicting opinions though, on the internet, in relation to soy, and bodybuilding, and I did do a search on testosterone levels, and if soy really does affect it. As for myself, I am not really having that much problem in putting muscle on.

I did bring this topic of soy up and the questions about it relating to testosterone etc, with the doctor giving the talk, and he did make a comment that we just don’t go overboard with soy – in other words – balance.

A few other areas of mens health were touched on. He then presented us with a book called the “China Study”. To my surprise, in this book “casein” was shown to cause cancer in rats/mice [can't remember which animals were used]. And the book emphasized a plant based diet. [which would mean not using eggs and milk products in a vegetarian diet]. I use a protein powder that is based on whey, and also has casein in it -that was what made me really sit up and take notice of what the doctor was saying.

Casein caused cancer to the animals in the study – this is a real concern to me now. I am looking at other plant based protein, and I did come across something called Sun Warrior Brown Rice protein which looks promising.

I also came across a comment by Jason Farrugia in his muscle building course, in relation to his knowledge of the China Study, and from what I remember, he also was recommending a plant based diet.

Does anybody have any more knowledge or research about the soy topic?
Also any more on the China Study? It would be good to know more if anyone can share.

Thanks for posting an interesting topic Joel. I really enjoy the many topics you have posted about.

best,

Steve Martin
Queensland
Australia.

Wow, what an article.
I read that soy was good at preventing prostrate cancer a while back and promptly added soy milk for my husbands use on his cereal in the morning as he has a prostate problem but not cancer.
Shall have to now explain to him that I shall nolonger be buying it after a struggle to start in the first place.
Just think I could have been making matters worse.
Thanks so much for the advise.

Yvonne UK

Hi Joel,

How do I know if I’ve been ingesting soy after all there years, it’s like sugar, it appears to be in everything we eat? I also thought that the type of soy that we’re accustomed to eating, wasn’t any good and that the real thing was actually much better for you and eatin regularly.

Finally, something worth saying :). I knew there was a reason soy milk tastes that bad! And I think I read somewhere that the production process of soy products destroys what good qualities the soybean ever could have had.

Wouldn’t touch it with a barge pole. I like my testosterone just how it is thank you.

It is not only the research which is frightening. I also find there is a head in the sand attitude by a lot of vegetarians(my wife included). I don’t know if it is all the slanted advertising and reporting or the almost religious belief in soy based foods but any suggestion it is not good is taken as a personal criticism.

This is why being very selective in what you eat is essential. To much of the food supply is being contamiatied with chemicals, overly processed and GM. Your health depends on quality food. The purer the food the better. Organic and knowing the source of where your food comes from is very important. Yours in health.

I had no clue that soy was capable of that… thank you for this info!

I found out the hard way that soy milk depresses thyroid function – so I quit drinking it & now drink lactose-free milk. Fermented soy products are considered less harmful, but I’ve not eaten any recently.

As for Colin Campbell, he is a vegan bigot & a food Nazi. The main difference between the diets of people in rural China & the western world is WHEAT. Nobody in China eats it! Now I object to anyone telling me what I should eat until they have read “Eat Right 4 You Blood Type” by Peter J D’Adamo.

Unfortunately soy is an additive found in all kinds of foods. Its become llike sugar. Its everywhere. Most protein bars in fact are made with soy. Even if you made a conscious effort to minimize your soy intake, it’d still be there.

I’ve been using Soy Milk in cereal and oatmeal for more then 10 years 2-3 times a week. I have not noticed any side affects. I am confused. Should I completely exclude Soy Milk from my diet?

This is very interesting.  I am newly pregnant, picked up a cook about nutrition recently (which has been a topic of discussion inour family all year due to some health problems I have dealt with).  I have read many this year and all seem to say the same things about milk.  The Casein protein is simply bad for us and our bodies don’t digest it right.  Not only did it cause cancer growth in studies (practially everything does) but it promoted and aided growth of all stages. I also read that by age four virtually every person quits makin the enzyme used to digest milk.  (we are the only species on earth that drinks another animal’s breastmilk.  And baby cows gain undreds of punds their first year.  The natural growth homones in the milk are extremely high, and then they put in Bovine Growth Hormone and TONS of antibiotics.  There is so much junk in milk it’s ridiculous.  I think it’s only like that here in America, but I also read that we drink more milk than almost any other nation, and we have among the weakest bones, most fractures, osteoporosis, etc.  And the only countries worse off were the ones that drank more milk.) All in all, milk is definitely not good for you.  I read that soy protein is good if it’s organic and in moderation.  I also read that most milk studies have been done on humans and most soy studies have been one on animals, and may have different results if done on humans.  I also wner how many of these studies are done with organic milk or organic soy?  During and even before all this research, our family cut back on dairy, using only organic yogurt and powdered milk for cooking, and my asthma almost disappeared.  Also, my three-year-old boy has IBS-type symptoms, and tummy aches a lot, and we finally linked it to the milk.  Now that he’s using minimal milk, his bowels are normal.  We use a lot of rice and almond milk too. But we do some smoothies and cereal with the soy because it tastes beter.  And we love edamame, although we don’t overdo it.We don’t eat more than a couple servings of meat a week.  Until it’s out, then it’s gone.  So we haven’t bought any soy-based products yet, but we are on the lookout for a good tasting alternative to meat to have here and there.We want to do what’s healthiest and best for our family, and I agree that all things in moderation is the biggest factor with soy (among many other things), but I wonder why all these studies are on soy and there’s nothing on milk?  I have personally seen major health improvements in our family since cutting milk out.
What are some good alternatives for someone who doesn’t want to do milk or meat proteins?

Hey Joel,
I became aware of the soy/estrogen connection years ago and have avoided it ever since. The last thing I need is a food product that encourages estrogen production. I’m always looking for natural ways to boost testosterone production. How about a blog about that next? (Or does that exclude too many of your readers?)
Bob

Joel,

Timely and interesting article. I just visited my Dr for checkup 2 weeks ago. I am going through an induced menopause due to cancer therapy , and I asked my Dr about some of the “natural” herbs to take to help with the night sweats and other symptoms. He repeated to me exactly what you say in this article, that these contain soy, which will raise estrogen. For me, definately not good,as some breast cancers are estrogen receptive and therefore, we do not need increased estrogen, so limit the soy. Thank you for your study of this. This was information I was totaly unaware of.

@Roman – Here’s an article about it from Men’s Health. I read about this a few months ago, when it was published: http://www.menshealth.com/bestfoods/food_features/Is_This_the_Most_Dangerous_Food_for_Men.php

It’s a very interesting read. It’s also about a guy that had high Soy intake and side affects he was having, without even knowing they were side affects.

Personally, I don’t see the need for all these substitutes….Milk and Whey work perfectly well and taste great. I avoid heavy Soy due to the recent potential side affects and simply because I think it’s stupid to substitute milk.

The Ploy of Soy! There marketing is fantastic but the actual science behind the “health” of soy is nothing short of lies. Soy Milk and all Soy products are in direct competition with another so called “health” food cow’s milk. Not anything good to say about cow’s milk either unless it’s RAW, unpasturized and un-homogenized. If you havn’t noticed Soy is in everything! If it’s processed and has a ingredients list than it’s almost a guarantee that soy or a soy derivitive is in there. Why? Because it’s cheap! Same thing with corn, corn is in everything as well. There is a lot of profit to be made off these crops which is why they are heavily pushed by the Agriculture industry and the FDA… Why do you think the majority of the Univ Dietetic programs are funded by GENERAL MILLS? Now you no why you are told to eat 9-11 servings of grain products a day! The other reason SOY is so big is because it has no cholesterol and is low in fat. Plenty of studies have shown that the chinese have a lower risk of heart disease and incorporate soy into there diets. What no one tells you is that the Chinese have a high rate of Colon cancer, just wanted to throw that in! Statistics are a mother! A study can show what ever they want as long as they know what outcome they want the study to have… This is important for you to know when you here that studies are “scientific”. Whenever you see “studies show” follow the money trail, a conflict of interest won’t be far behind. “They” have done the same thing with the Lipid Hypothesis Theory. Basically, take the Gov and doctors advice with a grain of salt and don’t ever rely on anyone but yourself when it comes to your health. It’s sad to say but you’re really on your own.

Do Soy beans have nipples? NO! So how can they produce milk? The Chinese don’t drink Soy Milk? They also don’t eat Soy hot dogs, Tofurkey, Soy Ice Cream and any other processed crap labeled as a health food because it has soy in it… The Chinese use Soy as a flavor enhancer mostly added to soups for flavoring. The Processed food industry left that part out when they claim that the Chinese lower rate of heart disease comes from there high consumption of Soy. Also, when the Chinese do eat Soy, it is the Lacto-Fermented form. Soy prepared in this manner actually does have some health benifits.

If you’re looking for Milk alternatives I would suggest Goat, Coconut, Almond or Hemp Milk. I know Three of these four don’t have nipples either but they also are not nearly as damaging than Soy…

Thanks for this info. There’s lots of confusion out there about soy and this helps clarify things.

Soy seems to be in about all of the protein bars….so what CAN we eat For GOD’S SAKE! This is getting more and more confusing. Could you also focus in or have a focus topic with some of us older lifters (like 55 +). I still go at it pretty hard but now need to know what stuff (food and vitamins) are going to do me the most good. Oh, also thanks for all the topics you do cover…keeps me searching for what is the best available.

I hate the taste of most soy products, and consume mostly animal protiens (and fats). People do lose the ability to digest milk early in life, but so do most animals (hence the new “cat milk” in shops). Inability to digest milk is mostly from low milk intake. If you consume dairy products frequently your body will produce the enzymes necessary to digest it (not always but in most cases). The major problem with milk is the artificial hormones added. That said, soy which is ususally GM and which produces its own phytoestrogens is much worse. I have a friend who consumed a lot of soy milk (and other products). On my advice, he swapped most of his soy products for similar animal products/protiens and went from 340 lbs to 210 in about 18 months with no other major changes to his diet!

@Nathan – There are different types of Soy. If I recall, the bars have soy isolate, while the milk is actually a different type of soy protein.

I don’t have any of my items in front of me to label them correctly, but, like Whey, there’s about 3 different types of soy supplements that get added. One or two of them are okay, leave the last one being the “killer.”
But, again, as all have say, all in moderation. The key here though is what is the moderation? 100g of Whey for working out is considered /low/ but 100g of Soy protein could be “lethal” for men.

what does soy have to do with bodybuilding I don’t understand that can you tell me joel

@Neil – Great elaboration on the GMO problem. Thanks!

My doctor told me 3 years ago not to eat soy products. She said that most foods in their natural state are good for you. But to stay away from anything processed and that is what they are doing to soy processing it into a meat like product which is not natural. I am glad to hear that you don’t recommend most soy products. I had a pediatrician tell me once that children had more allergies to soy than to dairy. So I guess the word is finally getting out. Thanks for the good word.

Thanks man for this great info. I tried soy milk few days ago, but I didn’t like it, this will alert most of us .

the lobbyists actually went through a lotta shit to make soy this ‘health food’ it is today. donald rumsfeld had some hand in these lobbys i do believe. it was once considered an anti-nutrient in asia.
these are just a cpl points i somewhat remember reading about a cpl years ago when i discovered soy wasnt all its cracked up to be.
i stay away from it altogether.

I do use soy as I’m Vegetarian, but its not my sole source of protein. I use much greater quantities of Gluten (wheat protein) as well as Whey and Eggs. Gluten tastes much better than soy.

—–That said, there’s no reason to become soy-phobic either; you can still enjoy some edamame with Sir Ballantyne and Playa Wince from time to time if you so choose. The sheer amount of testosterone that that Vince guy exudes is enough to make up for Craig’s plate of tofu any day.—–

This paragraph made me laugh because I read Vince and Craig’s stuff a lot :)

I have heard that the only type of “Safe” soy to eat is fermented. Do you know anything about this. My understanding is that it stills contains the right enzymes or bacteria etc to make it digestible by our bodies whereas normal processed soy does not.
I’m not sure if it being fermented has the same impact on the estrogen production. Could you do another post covering fermented soy?
I think it is a similar thing to raw milk and pasteuried milk. The pasteurization process removes the digestive enzymes making it not easily digested by our bodies. I recently had to give up eating/drinking all dairy, wheat, gluten, meat among other things, and the Naturopath recommended Soy for protein. I have refused to eat it based on what I know (which is exactly what you wrote about) but I was considering trying some fermented soy so any further info would be appreciated as it is very confusing. Thank You

Just think of this, when a farmer wants to fatten up any type of animal they feed it soybeans…

Cindy, you are correct. You can search NaturalNews for soy-related articles to confirm.

GREAT POST. JOEL!
I enjoyed all the comments on it so far. This is quite an important subject to talk about, and it can get very confusing.

There is huge controversy on this subject, which has been going on for some time now.

I believe that, in order to correctly evaluate all the available data, there is a piece of information which we may be overtlooking here, and that would definitely be a VITAL factor in solving this controversy, and I sure many of You will agree with:

What kind of soy are we talking about here? ORGANIC or TRANSGENIC? Were the studies mentioned done on subjects consuming transgenic soy? I strongly believe it to be so, therefore I am not at all surprised the results were so alarming, but only surprised they are not worse actually, because that stuff is NOT fit for human consumption; For what I understand, this is the ONLY kind of soy that is being massively produced in the US nowadays, and it is in hidden in LOTS of the products we consume every day!

In my personal experience, (with my Family, my Customers and myself – and I am talking about a group of approximately 50 people of both genders, going from 3 year old kids to a few teenagers, several people in their 20′s and 30′s, up to myself, a menopausal 52 year old and my Dad, who is a 73 year old cancer survivor), we have found all kinds of unwanted features and reactions coming from ANY transgenic soy-based product -and we have tried several!! -which not only taste and smell terrible, but have caused in us
a number of problems which are quite evident and measurable even without the need of any complex studies.

I firmly believe the grim results in these studies do come from the subjects studied consuming Transgenic Soy.

On the other hand, we -the group of @ 50 people mentioned above- have consumed (on a daily basis and some of us for up to 4 years now) four different products which are manufactured ONLY from NON-GMO SOY, (not genetically manipulated) and I must say that we all can not but rave about the advantages and benefits we are all enjoying.

So maybe, just maybe, all this is just a matter of Organic vs Genetically Manipulated stuff. Worth looking into, really.

And again…WE LOVE YOU JOEL, your are simply THE BEST!

You are spot-on about phytoestrogens. Research has indicated that the only healthy form of soy is ‘fermented’ (most commercial soy sauce is NOT naturally fermented) The people who were studied for the health benefits have been using it for hundreds of years, and even then it is only a very small part of their diet.
They never drank soy ‘milk’, which would stand next to margarine as one of the most unnatural foods ever. The number of chemical processes needed to get ‘milk’ from soybeans sounds more a leather-tanning operation, only more complicated.
Thanks Joel, for exposing some of these ‘health food’ myths, and getting the truth out. Hopefully, people will start thinking about what they are putting into their bodies (like corn syrup) and stop believing the propaganda TV ads which tell blatant lies.

Originally Posted By JimUnfortunately soy is an additive found in all kinds of foods. Its become llike sugar. Its everywhere. Most protein bars in fact are made with soy. Even if you made a conscious effort to minimize your soy intake, it’d still be there.

The clue should be additive. I’m fairly sure there isn’t any soy in my rump steak or my farm eggs or my cream. Remember food doesn’t come in wrappers and have long lists of ingredients. You’re thinking of frankenfood.

Alan.

Re: The China Study – this is the most scientifically sound book I’ve ever read regarding nutrition. Irrespective of the details, the message that we should be consuming foods in a relatively unprocessed form makes sense. Highly processed soy foods aren’t going to be good for you, and there’s no long history of processed soy foods being consumed anywhere. Fermented soy products do have a history of consumption, and the difference that makes to their nutritional value is huge.

In China, they do consume wheat – it’s what they make their noodles out of. In some parts where they don’t consume any wheat and only eat rice, there have been various nutritional deficiencies linked to this practice, because rice doesn’t have anything much in the way of B vitamins, but wheat does.

Regarding the consumption of milk, really, it’s just plain not good for you. It has been linked to the growth of cancerous cells, the onset of diabetes and multiple sclerosis, not to mention the fact that the vast majority of adults on the face of the planet are lactose intolerant to varying degrees. But there’s no reason why soy milk would be good for you either. From the perspective of Chinese medicine, they both have a similar effect on the body, and that isn’t a good one.

In The China Study, they compared rural populations in China with people in America, focusing on the nutritional differences. They made sure to study people who had similar levels of physical activity; Americans of Chinese heritage to account for genetic variations; they really covered as many variables as they could; they were upfront about where their funding was coming from; and they kept going with these studies for at least 20 years, if I remember rightly. They found that of the (I think) 6,000 people studied in China, there were almost no cases of cancer or heart disease.

They were not comparing strict vegans with meat eaters, they were comparing rural populations who didn’t eat much in the way of processed foods or animal products (basically because they weren’t wealthy enough) with people who consumed your ‘average Western’ diet. They also weren’t comparing impoverished people with rich people.

Unsurprisingly, they found that people who consumed a whole-foods plant-based diet were healthier. As far as I know, the Chinese they studied didn’t give a hoot about vegan politics or anti-vegan politics, but they didn’t consume milk or soy milk either. They probably didn’t consume much cane sugar either, which is also thought to be related to cancer. See Dr Mercola’s website – http://www.mercola.com – They didn’t eat much meat or highly processed food. To think you could be healthy because you don’t eat meat but you do eat potato chips all the time… I don’t think that works.

They also had really low incidences of arthritis and osteoporosis. And there were NO cases of protein deficiency either, despite the fact that they were almost vegan.

Anyway, I liked the book! But I think it’s good to not be too dogmatic. A whole-foods plant based diet has gotta be a good idea, without the politics.

Joel,

What about items like Cliff Bars? They have soy protein, so I take it a regular intake of them would not be good for me?

Dan

Originally Posted By DanJoel,

What about items like Cliff Bars? They have soy protein, so I take it a regular intake of them would not be good for me?

Dan

Ask your self this, did I pick this from a tree, did I dig this from the ground, did I kill it?
If the answer is no then it’s NOT real food, don’t eat it!

Alan

Hi all,

So let me clear this up… i can’t eat soy milk because it will affect my T levels but instead i can use milk? here is a email i sent to my clients last month:

You may have seen the massive advertisement campaign in the US, led by many celebrities asking ‘got milk?’

This is basically a drive by the dairy authorities to boost sales of this well known ‘healthy’ drink. Before you reach for that next glass of ice cold white stuff, read the following facts below:

- Cows milk is designed to make baby cows fat… and it does.

- Humans are not genetically suited to cows milk

- Humans need the enzyme lactase to digest lactose found in milk, however before the age of 4 we lose around 95% of this enzyme.

- Undigested lactose encourages the growth of bacteria in our intestines (nice), Bacteria creates an acidic environment, which is a breeding ground for all cancer cells

- Humans are the only species that consume another mammals milk

- Ask yourself ‘why cow’s milk?’ answer because it’s the cheapest to produce. (try getting a liter of gorilla milk out of a gorilla!)

- The dairy industry is a multi-billion dollar industry based on brilliant marketing and addictive tasting products.

- A study following 72,000 women showed milk to have no effect on protecting bones

- Countries with the highest milk consumption also have the highest rate of hip fractures in women

- Cows milk has one of the lowest absorption rates of all calcium sources

- Milk is high in calcium, but it is not an efficient source for it

- According to The china study (4 decades of nutritional research) dairy can cause heart disease, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, MS, Alzheimer’s and prostate, rectal and colon cancer.

- Dairy is also linked to acne, anemia, anxiety, arthritis, ADD, headaches, heartburn, indigestion, IBS, joint pain, poor immune function and ovarian cancer

- Casein, which makes up 87% of cows milk, promotes all stages of the cancer process

- According to research, men who drink milk have a 40-60% increase risk of prostate cancer

- The dairy industry is a for-profit, commercial business run by shady authorities

- The American administration under George Bush knew the facts behind Dairy consumption and yet targeted schools and military for extra sales!

- Cows are now injected with bovine growth hormone

- 50 years ago the average cow would produce 2,000lbs per year – now it is nearly 50,000lbs

- Monsanto, the company behind growth hormones for cattle also own Nutrasweet. (what nice people they seem?)

- On receiving BGH, half the cattle become infertile

- One cow in the US, was tested to have 120 different drug treatments to make it fit to continue milking, many of which are banned antibiotics for humans.

- Infected fecal matter can make its way into milk supplies – that fecal matter contains over 1 trillion (yes 1,000,000,000,000) paratubercolosis bugs per gram! (yummy)

- Virtually 100% of cheese products in the US has detectable pesticide residues

- Consuming high amount of dairy block iron absorption, contributing to iron deficiency

- Brussels sprouts have 30 times more absorbable calcium than milk

- Soy milk, rice milk, oat milk and almond milk are great replacements for cow’s milk

There are more, but I will stop now. Got pus? Got cattle faeces? Got hormones? Then you definitely ‘Got milk’

(Sorry if that spoiled your ice cold glass of milk… but its for your own good)

all the points were from a book called ‘skinny bastard’ and all have credible rescources and studies behind them.

Sorry for the long post but for every argument in the diet/fitness industry there is a counter-argument, but what people fail to realize is that everyone is different, so whilst one diet suits one will not suit another. The truth behind being healthy and in shape is:

- Eat good quality food (not too little, not too much)
- Avoid sugar
- Train atleast 5 hours per week

Simple eh?obviously there is a bit more to it than that, but if we all did the above, then there would less arguments about the consumption of so-called wonder nutrients like soy!

@Steve Martin –
I, too, have been reading about the ‘China Study’ – and have become concerned about one of the chief take-aways: that the more meat you have in your diet, the greater your chances of developing ‘diseases of affluence’: Cancer, heart disease, diabetes. As far as casein goes, China Study author T. Colin Campbell stated in an interview that he considered casein a powerful carcinogen. He also says that worrying about single dietary factors is a waste of time: the main thing is to eat a plant-based, rather than a meat-based diet.

I think your last statement really sums it all up – moderation is the key. Thanks again for a great post

So how much soy is too mch soy?

While I agree excess soy for some may not be recommended, keep in mind it is helpful to post menopausal women who are not producing the amount of estrogen that younger women are. Declining estrogen levels in older women make life miserable for a majority – everything from hot flashes, poor sleep quality, thinning bones, higher cholesterol and burning fat. I’m only 47 and already have experienced these problems even though I eat healthy and work out. It wasn’t until I added flax and soy milk (3x week) that I started feeling like myself again. It is amazing what our diets can control in our bodies.

KC — just wanted to tell you that phytoestrogens such as soy isoflavones are capable of binding to estrogen receptors (ER) to downgrade the effects of excess estrogen when levels are high, or to exert a weakly pro-estrogenic effect when levels are low. An interesting note in the research is that phytoestrogens do not seem to cause cells to proliferate as steroid estrogens can under certain circumstances.
By weakly binding to estrogen receptors soy isoflavones (such as daidzein, shown R) can block negative effects of excess estrogen; alternately, when levels decline, they can “stand in” for estrogen (estradiol molecule, shown L) to moderate negative effects of low estrogen.
This effect is partly attributed to isoflavones’ higher affinity for estrogen receptor beta sites than estrogen receptor alpha sites in body tissues. The theory is that soy’s benefits are seen in the body tissues that are higher in estrogen receptor beta sites, like the bones and brain, but it does not cause unchecked cell growth in the tissues that are higher in estrogen receptor alpha tissues, such as the breasts and uterus.
IN other words — the estrogen that soy produces is actually a weaker version than your body’s natural estrogen, and therefore, is not dangerous. I just wanted to let you know in the event you start suffering from terrible side effects from induced menopause. You can read about this on WomentoWomen.com.

I am officially scratching edamame from my Japanese all u can eat list of foods I can eat. I like to keep my sperm thank you.