Soy Protein fights belly fat??

Whewf! I’ve gotta tell ya Joel, I took one look at the email that came about this blog post and my jaw hit the floor. I thought – What the heck? How could he possibly say that soy is GOOD for belly fat loss? Who stole Joel?!
Glad it was a teaser :)
My youngest son is 9 years old and I can tell when I go to his class functions which children were fed soy formula as babies and which weren’t. In fact, the difference is ENORMOUS. There are 2 girls in his class who were fed soy formula from birth, the rest were not. The 2 girls look like they are at least 15, well into puberty, the rest of the girls in his class look like regular little 9 year old girls who haven’t even glimpsed puberty yet.
What kind of health issues are these poor kids going to have as they get older? What kind of emotional issues are those poor girls going to have to deal with living as children in the bodies of young women? How is a body that grew and matured far faster than it was ever intended to going to fare into adulthood? It’s so sad and so hard to talk to the moms who realize NOW what feeding something to their babies that they thought was a good thing has done (both moms are now aware of the dangers of soy products – too little too late).
It angers me to think of all of the parents out there struggling to do what is best for their children only to find out they’ve been duped into causing them potential harm.
Keep up the good work Joel!

@ dylan:
Hey Dylan, it’s interested but most westerns (North Americans) are allergic to milk, wheat, and soy. But their are plenty of alternatives. You can always replace cow’s milk with nut milks, coconut milk, or rice milk and they all taste delicious.

As far bread, if you go to places like Trader Joes or Whole Foods they sell bread that doesn’t have any wheat, gluten, HFCS or any of those other crap ingredients they like to add to our food.

I hope that helped.

Eat Well,

James

I recall reading also that the estrogen-like compounds in soya decrease testosterone levels in men – a double whammy in that testosterone is such an anabolic (fat burning) hormone.

I am an older guy so naturally testosterone levels are reducing – I stay as far from any soya product as I can.

You scared me first! When I’ve seen email I thought you are insane, but was so curious what you camw up with, so I’m glad of my curiosity because I know now, you’re fine :)

Isn’t there a benefit though for FERMENTED soy versus non fermented? I seem to recall reading that the fermentation process helps break down those isoflavones or something like that. Can anyone clear up the difference in quality between fermented soy and non?

also @shira – Cow’s milk being unhealthy for most adults is a result of the feeding, breeding, and raising of the cows. Also the pasteurization process kills some of the helpful bacteria naturally found in milk. The lack of these bacteria MAY be the cause of intolerance in so many people.

Just a nugget of info I’ve picked up from following either Mike or Isabel… or both.

@ dylan:
I am lactose and gluten intolerant and avoid soy like the plague, as Joel said. (Read Dr. Mercola on soy).
I use cold processed whey protein made from raw organic milk. Some brands (Isagenix JayRobb) have very little or no lactose. You can also add some lactaid.
JayRobb has an eggwhite protein powder, but it is healthier to eat whole eggs.
I also use coconut products, including organic coconut oil, coconut flour for baking and coconut sugar. Tropical Traditions is a good source on the net.
Invest in good probiotics and take some psylium to support the gut. You may find your intolerances easing off that way.

Greetings Joel,

Another thought provoking article, a couple of years ago I used to consume quite a large amount of soy based products in the mistaken belief that they were healthy. I was even advised to use soy/soya by a nutritionist. It was only when I came across an article in M%$s H*£&th magazine(product placement sorry) which basically warned men against the over consumption of soy as it promotes the female hormone estrogen which in turn promotes fat storage and can lead to the development of the dreaded man-boobs that I wised-up.

To paraphrase the adage alittle bit of the wrong knowledge can be a dangerous thing, even from the well intentioned.

Regards
Michael

ps I’m still fighting the good fight against man-boobs.

Regarding shira’s comment – why would cow’s milk be bad for adults? I would think it would be a good source of calcium especially for women – and there are a lot of people who will drink skim milk and make healthy milkshakes before they will touch cheese.

Okay. Soy is bad. Gluten is bad. Milk is bad. Once you realize that, your life will change completely. You won’t feel bloated anymore, you won’t be tired after eating and you’ll feel… alive. Have you ever heard about an animal who drinks milk after childhood? No? I hope so since no animal does that. It’s illogical. I don’t even understand why we started drinking milk in the first place! For calcium? Artichokes, asparguses, bamboo shoots, beans, collards, etc. contain a lot of calcium. As for gluten, if it was that good, it would not cause your immune system to create antibodies to attack its components (mainly gliadin) and, on a long term, hurt you. Finally, soy has components that prevent proper protein digestion, that are a nuisance to the thyroid, that stop the good absorption of minerals and increase the estrogen hormone.

And sadly enough, those three bastards can be found in pretty much everything you find at the grocery store.

However, I’m happy to say that there are more and more gluten, casein (a protein of milk and cheese), lactose and soy free foods you can buy. I, for instance, only drink almond milk (which is really good!), and eat rice cereals, gluten free bread, lactose free cheese (with moderation, since it still contains casein) etc.

Anyways, good article. :)

I’ve been following the soy controversy for quite a while now. So here is my issue and questions. There is a small segment of people out here that soy seems to help with weight loss and without the development of cancer, at least in the folks I know that use it. The people are post-menapausal women. I have sopped using soy milk on the advice of many sport fitness folks and as it is, for the most part a GMO, although there is natural soy available, My weight loss has stopped completely about three weeks after I stopped my consumption and I have actually put on a couple of pounds. Our bodies are completely different and do not respond to 90% of the health data provided by sports nutritionists. Are there any weight loss gurus who have tapped into the complete chemical changes of the bodies of post menopausal woman and how leptin, insulin, glycogen synthesis, decreased estrogen, non-existent progesterone etc., affects weight loss and that added belly fat that comes with those changes? Anybody?

I am shocked! does my daily soy milk shake contribute to my belly fat? I find that I am losing fat everywhere but below the navel!
Joel, do you have any idea how many dieteticians recommend soy to pre-menopausal women? I did not have a belly when I began drinking soy milk five years ago (and eating those bland soy nuts and tofu)…. luckily, I have so far escaped the family fate of breast cancer!
The carton of organic soy milk in my fridge is going into the trash today!

My doctor has told me to stay away from soy because of the estrogen like effects. I used to have a protein drink that I liked but had to switch about five or six years ago to whey. It’s interesting that a lot of the dietitians I have talked to about my being a vegetarian tell me to drink soy protein.

Great article. I’ve been reading more about soy. Unfortunately I used a Soy protien drink instead of my regular brand. Been exercising/working out like regular and suddenly a weight gain over 2 weeks…damn no wonder why I felt bloated. Thanks for shedding light on the subject. It is amazing though the articles out there saying how great it is for ya. Again thanks. I guess I have to do another phase of your XFLD…lol

Good catch Joel.

It is quite sad, how many people are miss-lead out there whether it comes to building muscle or losing fat. No wonder so many people just end up giving up, they get too confused with the next ‘fad diet’ or next magic pill.

I TOTALLY agree Joel. Soy is also one of the most GMO’d foods around..how can that be good for you? In my opinion, any soy product other than tempeh and miso is bad news and should be avoided completely. Thanks for the informative info. More need to hear this!!!

@ dylan:
Try almond or brown rice milk………unsweetened. :)

Interesting post Joel. I too am confused about the soy “dilemma”. I know soy increases estrogen levels but are organic soy just as detrimental? How do you account for the Japanese and other Asian cultures who live many healthy years with a diet dominant in soy products? The research I’ve read have shown Asian women to have the lowest rates of breast cancer…perhaps genetics have a large role in this as well?

Ah! I have heard many times how bad soy is for you, but I’m vegan so I do tend to eat quite a bit of soy… (soy milk, tofu, edamame, etc…) Does anyone know of any good substitute?? :(

Flo

Joel,
I think you may need to expand on this blog! My daughter, 12, does not drink milk and loves soy milk! I have not seen an increase in her weight and/or belly fat…. Is this a problem for the “older” folk than the younger ones?

I also think, we can find other calcium sources than milk! What other mammal drinks the milk of another mammal?

@ David:
I hear that there are two types of SOY. The fermented and the unfermented versions. I also hear that Asians and other people outside of the U.S. generally have access to the fermented soy (properly processed and aged), a healthier version. Thus I can understand why those bodies are leaner and healthier besides the fact that a healthy as you can eat diet and genetics does a world of good as well. Personally I see no need to invest my money on unfermented soy when it’s used as a preservative in most processed foods anyway. It’s probably in the animal feed also.

It is a jacked up world when people write an article for entertainment and don’t do their research. Weight loss myths and everyone loves to talk about them.

thank you! I’m vegetarian and have been telling other vegetarians this for ages and no one wants to believe me! I have now just sent a load of people links to this page and posted a link from Facebook profile!

Amen!!

good post. soy is way overproduced, and then touted as a health product, so consumers overpay for it (unlike corn, which is overproduced, and dirt cheap.) not only is soy bad for you (particularly for boys) it (like corn , wheat etc) it is geneticaly modified, which then produces a whole host of other problems.

if one must have milk, goat’s is healthier, although it tates a bit grassy.

As a vegetarian i tend to eat a lot of soy.What would you suggest for my protein?