Soy Protein fights belly fat??

Joel,

I have to say, this article sparked my interest. I have since been doing a lot of my own research. I cannot say that I agree with your portrayal of soy.

The problems in the research you refer to are:
1. “The study results… showed that breast tumors in mice grew when the animals were fed highly processed soy products missing some of the natural components of whole soybeans. In the study, scientists used products that contained the soy isoflavone genestein in various stages of isolated purity. Breast tumors neither grew nor regressed when the mice were fed foods containing minimally processed soy flour. Whole soy foods, such as tofu, tempeh, edamame and miso – much used in Asian diets – seem to be protective.” – Andrew Weil, M.D.
2. Also, this research is only showing that isoflavones enlarged tumors which were already present, but shows no proof of causing cancer in healthy individuals.

I’m not saying that soy is not capable of causing harm in certain cases. I definitely hope to see more research in the future, but of the more recent studies I have seen it appears that research is showing that true soy FOODS are indeed good for health, but that soy SUPPLEMENTS can be detrimental. And is this not the case with ALL foods?

Personally, I will continue to get my nutrition from natural whole foods (including soy).

@ JoAnna:

Joanna, I LOVE vega sport performance protein. It is mostly brown rice and pea protein.

OMG… I’m just confused after reading all of the above!!!

Thanks for the write up. When I first saw the ‘teaser’ post in my email my thought was: “If Joel is going to promote soy protein as ‘healthy’, I am unsubscribing!” In fact I almost did based on the teaser alone, but decided to give you the benefit of the doubt. I’m glad I did. I have far too many friends who believe all the hype and are feeding their children soy milk and soy based products at every meal, “because it’s good for you!” Makes me ill to think of what they are doing.

Thank you for helping stop the stupidity…

Wow, that is SO obviously not true (what they said in the mag)
I know because I researched birth control pills thoroughly and discussed the effects of the Estrogen they contain with my gynecologist.
What I am sure of: Estrogen increases risk of cardiovascular diseases, increases risk of breast cancer, and induces an increase in fat storage.
I agree with you! WHY is so much effort being put into leading people to believe that soy foods are healthy? Too weird.

@ JoAnna:
Nuts, eggs, fish and protein powder you could incorporate for sources of protien to be included. After theres nothing wrong with a vegetarian diet as long as a balance of healthy carbs, fats, and proteins are included. I hope this answers your question and helps you JoAnna :).

~Travis

@ dylan:
actually, scientifically speaking it is not the “protein” you need — I will get blasted for this I am sure – – but it is amnio acids you are looking for. I would suggest if you are lactose and gluten intolerant and don’t want to eat meat, fish, eggs, to go raw and eat things like dandilion greens. Many of the “greens” have enormous amounts of amnio acids that are more readily absorbed by the body. My thinking with the article “Several studies have shown that people who regularly consume soy protein tend to weigh less and have less abdominal fat those who don’t” came from studying the Asian populations (japan/china/etc.) who, also don’t consume as much fat and exercise more. Most of the soy in this country is processed and anything processed is bad news.

The soy products they use in asia are formented.. like tempeh which is fine. It’s the unformented soya products like tofu, soya milk and cheeses; that the western world have tampered with so much, that actually are unhealthy. THIS is where the confusion lies i believe. I had breast cancer at 25 and 27, am 33 now and am doing fine. i removed unformented soy products, but occasionally have tempeh and i love Miso – which is fermented, naturally, and the core diet of asia. I hope that prompts your research into the direction you are in need of to allay the confusement.
all the best, Gia
By the way, i make nut milks from blending shelled hemp seeds in the blender which is fab. or i soak almonds, brazils ect.. over night, rinse them, then add fresh water and blend. Drain the bits with a muslin cloth or nut milk bag. The seeds are the quickest and easiest – just chuck them in your smoothie!

Joel,

I am trying to sort this stuff out. You wrote that estrogenic compounds increase belly fat and increase the risk of breast cancer. I use a lot of flax for the Omega 3’s. Flax also has a lot of phytoestrogens. I recently read the following on the Dr. Oz website:

POSTED BY Michael T. Murray
Alfalfa sprouts, along with soybeans, clover, and flaxseed, are the most significant dietary sources of phytoestrogens, beneficial compounds that include isoflavones, coumestans, and lignans. A number of studies in human, animal, and cell culture systems suggest that dietary phytoestrogens play an important role in the prevention of menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis.
Alfalfa sprouts, along with soybeans, clover, and flaxseed, are the most significant dietary sources of phytoestrogens, beneficial compounds that include isoflavones, coumestans, and lignans. A number of studies in human, animal, and cell culture systems suggest that dietary phytoestrogens play an important role in the prevention of menopausal symptoms, osteoporosis, cancer, and heart disease.

Phytoestrogens are thought to work through a number of mechanisms, including:

Producing estrogenic and anti-estrogenic effects
Inducing the return of normal cell differentiation in cancer cells
Suppressing angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels needed to fuel cancer cells
Inhibiting proinflammatory cytokines
Providing antioxidant activity
Since phytoestrogens have much lower estrogenic activity than human estrogens but do bind to human estrogen receptors, they can help normalize the effects of estrogen in the body. When estrogen levels are too low, phytoestrogens supply some estrogenic activity, but when estrogen levels are too high, the same phytoestrogens, by using up available estrogen receptors, block out powerful human estrogens, causing an anti-estrogenic effect.

Estrogenic activity is implicated in the majority of breast cancers, and research now suggests that thyroid cancer may also be an estrogen-dependent disease. A recent population-based case-control study looked at the effects of phytoestrogen-rich foods on thyroid cancer incidence. This study of more than 1,600 women in the San Francisco Bay area revealed that those who frequently ate alfalfa sprouts and soy foods had as much as a 65 percent lower risk for thyroid cancer, regardless of whether they were Caucasian, Asian, or pre- or postmenopausal.

I have also consulted with a urologist who said that soy products caused his testosterone level to plummet. My father was given Estrogen shots to prevent the recurrence of prostate cancer. I am not sure it is as one sided as your blog entry suggests, and I may be mistaken. Any comments?

Another point to take into account is that folks who are more estrogen sensitive are going to be soy sensitive as well, and have to be careful about limiting soy and/or using only the fermented kinds (for example, the only soy I can have is the occasional miso, yummy). Estrogen sensitive types have a really hard time losing fat anyway and the types of soy products available don’t help that.

@ Kip:
Unfortunately, just because Dr OZ puts his stamp of approval on something, doesn’t make it true. I am not a personal trainer and nutritionist like Joel is, though I am a former massage therapist who is now a Biological Sciences grad, and I can agree with him. There are COUNTLESS studies showing Soy and the bio-identical estrogenic effect they have on the human body is detrimental in every way. Think about it in this way. When a woman is pregnant, she has tons more estrogen flowing in her than when she isn’t pregnant. What happens to her while she is pregnant and overloaded with estrogen? She gains weight and has intense cravings. It’s not the baby that causes the cravings like the old wives tales suggest, it’s the hormone imbalance. That being said, increased estrogen in the body is also linked to increased risks of breast cancer. For proof of that, read the pamphlet that comes with any birth control set- they tell you they increased estrogen can increase breast cancer and the increased progesterone can cause embolisms. Or go to the American Cancer Association website, and they will also deter you from estrogenic substances. yes, Flax is good for you though, not for any estrogenic effect, but because it has all 3 Major EFA’s (Omega 3, 6 and 9) and in an almost harmonic balance to what your body needs. Too much 3 and not enough 6 and 9 can also be very toxic to your body. Foods like Flax, Gamma Linoleic Acid, and Borage Oil help to give you the EFAs you need in the balance that is right for you. CLA is good too. (Conjugated linoleic acids) Hope that helps and stay away from the “doctors” getting paid to tell you what their sponsors want you to hear. =)

@ jennifer:
Jennifer, it’s actually funny you said that about the study in Asia and their consumption of soy products with out the same effects as those of us here. My colleagues and I were discussing the possible differences and reasons for that, which essentially break down to environmental differences (the soil, environment and pesticides here, versus in Asia) plus the processing methods, the consumption methods, etc. Other possible factors include potential antioxidants that combat the effects that they may be more readily exposed to than we are here. Such as they type of teas and regional teas grown there, and the freshness of materials and teas there, than here. I’m sure there are countless factors that contribute to the differences, but yes, you have a point, the lack of red meat there will have a huge effect. Their more active lifestyles more than likely also help as well. I love reading posts from people like you who think outside the box. =)

Hmmm….I’m confused:

“Among women with breast cancer, soy food consumption was significantly associated with decreased risk of death and recurrence.” http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19996398

“No epidemiological study has evaluated the association of adolescent soyfood intake with the risk of breast cancer.”
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/10/5/483.abstract

“Soy intake during childhood, adolescence, and adult life was associated with decreased breast cancer risk”
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/18/4/1050.abstract

I’ve been looking at ingredient labels and found that all of the Whey Protein powers out there, includung Pro/Grade’s protein powder. Is there any Whey Protein Powders out there that are Soy-Free.

@ shira:
How about lentils and all the other beans (apart from soy beans if you are really sure they are unhealthy) ;)

No offense but I think it’s BS.
I’ve been a vegetarian for YEARS and I even used to be obese before becoming a vegetarian. I now have six pack abs, I don’t have man boobs or whatever. Carbs tend to make me gain fat, not soy.

A quote from a book by Patrick Holford with Liz Efiong called Say No To Cancer page 112 to 113 (ISBN 978-0-7499-5411-6) published in 2010
I quote “Soya and Cancer Prevention: Glucosinolates aren’t the only factor in plant food that may protect against hormone-related cancers. Asian people who swap their traditional diets of bean curd and soya milk for burgers and fries are increasing their risk of cancer as well as heart disease. Collaborative research between Hong Kong’s Chinese University and Manchester University indicates that soya beans may protect people from developing prostate and breast cancer. ” It is worth reading the rest of this chapter as it explains how high levels of isoflavonoids in blood have been found in people with a low incidence of cancer especially prostate and breast. The exact mechanisms of phytoestrogens is not fully understood but it is thought that they block the oestrogen receptor sites thereby lowering the body’s level of active oestrogen.
Each to his own, but it is really worth getting the facts and understanding the difference between the body’s own oestrogen and the oestrogen-like compounds found in plants especially soya which have beneficial properties. Go for organic soya though – anything GMO is definitely out!

Im with Nick!

To me personally, soy is the plant version of plague carrying vermin. Being an estrogen dominant female, soy makes me GAIN weight in the female distribution (can we say belly and but), retain water horribly, get visciously moody, and be nearly bed bound during my menstrual period. When you are already overloaded with estrogens, throwing a phytoestrogen on top is like pouring gas on a fire. And folks, I’m here to tell you, thanks to the fact that soy is a cheap filler, you have to be careful, it is used in more stuff than most can imagine. Usually, I keep a close watch on my diet because of this, but when I’m traveling, I have a habit of slipping, and my body reminds me with a vengence to stay away from the stuff. I’ve been anti-soy for years, and have preached to the people who come into the gym I work at to stay away from the stuff, but most people believe the media over personal experience. Flip through some of the muscle mags, fitness mags, women’s health mags, and it’s advertised like it’s heavensent gold.

I agree with your observation that the only source of reliable information are good quality double blind large scale clinical studies.

A search of pubmed will disclose good quality recent studies refuting a connection between soy consumption & breast cancer. E.g. (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2011 Feb 25. [Epub ahead of print]
“Soy Food Consumption and Breast Cancer Prognosis.”)

There are more studies identifying positive health attributes of soy, including lower blood pressure, (X.X. Liu, S.H. Li, J.Z. Chen, K. Sun, X.J. Wang, X.G. Wang, R.T. Hui. “Effect of soy isoflavones on blood pressure: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.” Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 9 February 2011.) than negative studies.

Most studies indicate that the estrogen receptors in humans are not occupied by plant isoflavone chemicals. If they were, soy would be more effective in treating menopausal symptoms in women.

Dr Mercola receives large grants from a lobby group to promote consumption of meat & dairy products & has other demonstrable vested interests that raise questions of bias in his commentary.

I am only interested in getting to the scientific truth of this question & the anti soy proponents, including Dr Mercola tend not to cite current good quality studies that meet Cochrane review standards.

Like any food group, soy should be consumed as part of a balanced diet & given that it is a cheap crop susceptible to heavy anti-pesticide use in production, it is worth investing in organic, non GMO products.

@ David:

It’s because the soy of Asain countries is organic and either naturally fermented or sprouted and not GMO. Organic, fermented soy sauce and Mizo are perfectly fine.

WOW Joel… you really stirred the nest with this one!

So many people try to compare US diets to other cultures but NEVER mention the portions. Japanese (and most oriental) diets are SIGNIFICANTLY smaller in portion size than US meals. Put that into the equation along with the unprocessed nature of their food supply and the health question takes another spin.

Laboratory test like those cited are generally performed on specially bred, immune deficient mice so as to control the variables during testing. Also one must allow for the exaggerated high dosages of highly refined extracted components of a normally whole food.

These tests are not to determine if a food is GOOD for you. They are to determine the potential effects and safety of extracted components for the purpose of exploring possibilities for a new drug.

Then there is the whole question of commercial interests by the big agricultural companies. Soy is cheap to farm, hearty like kudzu, and can be processed into a wide variety of products. So… what do you do if you want to plant and harvest the best bang for your buck? You hawk the “benefits” of eating a diet rich in your favorite product.

How many people have been lured by the commercials telling us that high fructose corn syrup is as natural as an ear of corn? That sugar is sugar and we have nothing to fear…

Meanwhile, we are producing a nation of refined carbohydrate addicts!

So why not add another profit center to the cocktail???

@ Gia:
Gia has it right and that is the key. Funny how they don’t tell you the whole truth. I work with a herbalist instead of going to the doctor. (note work with. I have a part to do not just take a pill.) We just did a 3 week healthy detox. This topic was brought up and what gia said was what we learned. His name is Arthur Shattuck and you can face book him. He was invited to go to china to learn to cook with the pros. for healing. I am so excited because when he comes back he is going to do a class in Racine, WI. I will keep you posted just incase you would like to attend. It’s all about keeping the body strong. Now about those articles they are all about selling soap. This is the world of selling. I am happy to see blogs that set the story straight. Thanks and keep up the good work. Lynn

Oh great, I just bought Total Soy to get more protein in my diet. What do I do with it? I do not want to throw it a way.