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THE SOY CONNECTION

MONDAY, DECEMBER 31ST, 2012 /JORDAN DAVIDSONAs a firm believer in natural and holistic health, I believe that the food you eat can have a

direct impact on your health. For those dealing with reproductive and or endocrine disorders

simple dietary changes may help prevent or relieve a number of troublesome symptoms.

For women across the board, especially those with estrogen sensitive diseases (e.g.

endometriosis) minimizing soy in ones diet can provide a lot of relief.

But, isnt soy good for you?Thatsnot an easy question to answer. In moderation soy

can provide a lot of benefits to ones diet. However, soy should not be a staple in your day

to day meal planning. To better answer the question we need to break it down.

Phytoestrogens

Soy is filled withphytoestrogensalso known as dietary estrogens, which mimic the

hormone estrogen that is naturally produced by the human body. Research has shownthat

phytoestrogens are beneficial for women going through menopause, since menopause is

marked by a reduction in estrogen levels. Some menopausal women say that eating soy

products helps relieve some symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes. Research has

shown that phytoestrogens help maintain cholesterol levels and bone density in post-

menopausal women. In addition phytoestrogens also help protect against a number of

different cancers, such as prostate and breast cancer, cardiovascular disease and help with

cognitive functioning.

However, soy being filled with phytoestrogens, can also be bad for you. Estrogens are

female sex hormones estradiol is the most common. Estradiol promotes the growth of

female sex characteristics.Soy is also high in phytic acidwhich if consumed in high

quantities can affect the absorption of other minerals. That is why third world countries that

survive on grain and legume based diets have high rates of mineral deficiencies.

Too Much Dietary Estrogen

Increased estrogen consumption can be particularly detrimental to a number of people (i.e.

babies, children, men, women sensitive to estrogens). Studies have shown that giving

babies/infants soy formula is the estrogenic equivalent to giving themdaily birth control

pills. Obviously, such small children shouldnt be on any form of contraception. It has also

been suggested that this increased ingestion of estrogen can lead to estrogen sensitivities,

http://www.hormonesmatter.com/author/jordan-davidson/http://www.hormonesmatter.com/author/jordan-davidson/http://www.hormonesmatter.com/author/jordan-davidson/http://www.hss.edu/files/Soy_Phytoestrogens.pdfhttp://www.hss.edu/files/Soy_Phytoestrogens.pdfhttp://www.hss.edu/files/Soy_Phytoestrogens.pdfhttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/soy/NS_patient-soyhttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/soy/NS_patient-soyhttp://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/32/Risks_and_Benefits_of_Soy.aspxhttp://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/32/Risks_and_Benefits_of_Soy.aspxhttp://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/32/Risks_and_Benefits_of_Soy.aspxhttp://www.earthincommon.com/activism_02-article.htmlhttp://www.earthincommon.com/activism_02-article.htmlhttp://www.earthincommon.com/activism_02-article.htmlhttp://www.earthincommon.com/activism_02-article.htmlhttp://www.earthincommon.com/activism_02-article.htmlhttp://www.earthincommon.com/activism_02-article.htmlhttp://www.charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/32/Risks_and_Benefits_of_Soy.aspxhttp://www.mayoclinic.com/health/soy/NS_patient-soyhttp://www.hss.edu/files/Soy_Phytoestrogens.pdfhttp://www.hormonesmatter.com/author/jordan-davidson/

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earlier onset of puberty and reproductive diseases/disorders such as endometriosis. For

older children increased amounts of estrogen also cause pubertal issues. Large quantities

of estrogen can delay puberty for boys and lower the age of menarche (first menstruation)

for girls. The average age of menarche decreases every year and a lot of researchers and

medical professionals hypothesize that is has to do with the environment, toxins and theestrogen that comes from outside sources. Early puberty can also lead to short stature in

women.

Estrogen in abundance isalso bad for grown men. Men produce both testosterone and

estrogen, with testosterone being the predominant hormone by far, and responsible for

masculine features. Too much estrogen in males can offset their testosterone to estrogen

balance, causing hormonal deficiencies. Lastly, estrogen is bad for women who are

sensitive to estrogen, such as women with endometriosis. The endometrium that builds up

in endometriosis responds to estrogen. The more estrogen you give your body the more

the endometrium can build up, which leads to additional inflammation and bleeding.

Not all Soy Products are Created Equal

If you are still confused as to how soy can be both good and bad for you consider

this: soy products come from a soy bean however, if you take a good look at your soy-

patties or chips made with soy you wont see mashed up green beans. The invisible soy you

eat come from processing the beans. Asian soy which is usually quoted as being good

soy is fermented soy. The process of fermenting soy can reduce a lot of the detrimental

qualities of soy, but not entirely. Unfermented soy contains antinutrients such as tripsin

inhibitors which can produce serious gastric distress, reduced protein digestion and create

chronic deficiencies in amino acid uptake. When soy is processed and manufactured it isnt

always fermented. There are two popular forms of processed soy:

Soy Lechitin: Soy lecithin is basically a waste productof refining soybean oil. In small

amounts it isnt harmful, but if you look at food labels it is found in a large amount of

products. Putting soy products in everyday foods provides a lot of nutritional benefits (lower

fat, lower calories, higher protein) while being cost effective to the manufacturers.

Unfortunately when you process soy it also increases the levels of estrogens and

goitrogenics. Goitrogenics decrease the productivity of the thyroid and are bad for thosewith thyroid disease. Although ironically enough lecithin by itself (not soy lechitin just plain

old lechitin) is good for you, it is a natural product high in choline.

Soy Protein Isolate: Soy Protein Isolate is the key ingredientin most imitation meat and

dairy products. It is also found in other manufactured goods and protein powders. To make

soy protein isolate, the soy beans must first be mixed with an alkaline solution to remove

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fiber, then rinsed and separated using an acid wash and, lastly, neutralized in an alkaline

solution. The resulting products are finally dried at high temperatures to produce a high-

protein powder. A similar process is used to make textured vegetable protein which is a

high-temperature, high-pressure extrusion processing of soy protein isolate. With natural

almost always being better for you, a process like this is by no means healthy. It doesntsound good for you and it isnt. This process can also increase the amount of trypsin

inhibitors.

So Is soy good for you? Studies show that a glass of red wine at dinner is good for

you. But we all know that washing dinner down with a bottle of red wine every night would

not be good for us. Approach soy in the same way; some soy products several times per

week, especially if it is fermented, organic soy (think tofu cubes and not fake pepperoni)

will provide more benefits than detriments. In general be smart about what you put in your

body, be an educated consumer and read your labels. Just because it has soy doesnt

make it good. But, that doesnt mean you need to take all soy products out of your life.