Soy/Thyroid information

[Guest guest]

I’ve pretty much avoided this discussion because I’ve heard the

alarmist theories out there (my thyroid was removed 3 ½ years ago) and

everyone in my family and doctor’s office was concerned that using soy

supplements wouldn’t be healthy for me. I asked my doctor about his

concerns, and he admitted that he’s not even very knowledgeable about a

vegetarian diet. The only vegetarian in my family is me – my son is only

vegetarian when he’s at home and at 16, he eats plenty of other places where

I can’t control what he consumes. Anyway, (sorry for rambling) I’m finding

this “soy is evil” to be a lot less credible. I’m not going to advise any

of you either way, but Beliefnet.com, in one of their newsletters I get (and

now that I’ve read it I’ve deleted the original and can’t find it) was

talking about the subject. They had a link to the article “Soy: The Dark

Side of America’s Favorite “Health” Food” (http://tinyurl.com/22jqyo). I

read it, since I do eat some soy, in tofu form, soy milk, and soy

substitutes. Then I wondered less than halfway thought this anti-soy

article just who was behind it. Here’s the information from their home

page:

" The Weston A. Price Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity

founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr. Weston

Price, whose studies of isolated nonindustrialized peoples established the

parameters of human health and determined the optimum characteristics of

human diets. Dr. Price's research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect

physical form and perfect health generation after generation only when they

consume nutrient-dense whole foods and the vital fat-soluble activators

found exclusively in animal fats.

" The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to

the human diet through education, research and activism. It supports a

number of movements that contribute to this objective including accurate

nutrition instruction, organic and biodynamic farming, pasture-feeding of

livestock, community-supported farms, honest and informative labeling,

prepared parenting and nurturing therapies. Specific goals include

establishment of universal access to clean, certified raw milk and a ban on

the use of soy formula for infants.

" The Foundation seeks to establish a laboratory to test nutrient

content of foods, particularly butter produced under various conditions; to

conduct research into the " X Factor, " discovered by Dr. Price; and to

determine the effects of traditional preparation methods on nutrient content

and availability in whole foods.

" The board and membership of the Weston A. Price Foundation stand

united in the belief that modern technology should be harnessed as a servant

to the wise and nurturing traditions of our ancestors rather than used as a

force destructive to the environment and human health; and that science and

knowledge can validate those traditions.

The Foundation's quarterly journal, Wise Traditions in Food, Farming, and

the Healing Arts, is dedicated to exploring the scientific validation of

dietary, agricultural and medical traditions throughout the world. It

features illuminating and thought-provoking articles on current scientific

research; human diets; non-toxic agriculture; and holistic therapies. The

journal also serves as a reference for sources of foods that have been

conscientiously grown and processed.

 

Now, like I said, some of you who are concerned about the soy debate

may have different reasons, especially medical advice, that applies to YOUR

particular situation and I would never tell you to go against your doctor's

orders! But, with all the anti-vegetarianism, and especially now the

anti-soy movement out there, I think it's important to note that one of the

main people involved is convinced that " humans achieve perfect physical form

and perfect health generation after generation ONLY when they consume

nutrient-dense whole foods AND the vital fat-soluble activators FOUND

EXCLUSIVELY IN ANIMAL FATS. " In other words, he's a carnivore (omnivore?)

and believes a vegetarian life style is unhealthy. I don't know about the

rest of you, but that kind of damages the whole " evil soy " argument for me.

[Guest guest]

There is a rather large anti vegetarian, anti soy movement out there,

probably is response to the recent scientific evidence that being a

vegetarian is healthier than eating nutritionally dense food, i.e.

meat. It has even been seen as unpatriotic, unAmerican, etc to eat

meat. I think that a lot of the funding comes from the meat industry,

which is discovering that they cannot convince all of us to be omnivores.

 

There is evidence that soy has estrogenic effects on the body.

However, moderate amounts of soy are fine. I probably eat soy once or

twice a week. I had tofu this evening.

 

I think that this group has discussed this issue in the past.

 

It is all about moderation in everything that we eat.

 

Peace

 

Kathleen

 

> supplements wouldn't be healthy for me. I asked my doctor about his

> concerns, and he admitted that he's not even very knowledgeable about a

> vegetarian diet.

> " The Weston A. Price Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charity

> founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer Dr.

Weston

> Price

> main people involved is convinced that " humans achieve perfect

physical form

> and perfect health generation after generation ONLY when they consume

> nutrient-dense whole foods AND the vital fat-soluble activators FOUND

> EXCLUSIVELY IN ANIMAL FATS. " In other words, he's a carnivore

(omnivore?)

> and believes a vegetarian life style is unhealthy. I don't know

about the

> rest of you, but that kind of damages the whole " evil soy " argument

for me.

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for revisiting this subject. My Mother had her thyroid removed a few

years back. Everytime she comes to my house, she makes a huge scene about ANY

food or beverage I serve... " It better not have ANY soy in it, I can't eat soy! " .

It makes me insane, she thinks one serving of soy will kill her no matter what I

otherwise tell her! Does anyone have a link to an " official " study? I say

" official " with a wink...something that the " general public " would consider

credible. My Mom thinks I am a " nut " . Yes, she believes you HAVE to consume

flesh to be " healthy " . Whew, sorry started to ramble...thanks in advance for the

info.

Stephanie

 

 

" Todays Mighty Oak Is Just Yesterdays Nut

That Held It's Ground. "

 

 

 

TV dinner still cooling?

Check out " Tonight's Picks " on TV.

 

 

[Guest guest]

I agree wholeheartedly that the WAPF is not a reliable source

of nutrition information, especially where it concerns veg*ns.

 

Kathleen, I think where you describe meat as a nutritionally

dense food, you meant calorically dense, correct? Because it

is actually rather nutritionally sparse.

 

-Erin

http://www.zenpawn.com/vegblog/vegan-done-light.html

 

 

, " Kathleen M. Pelley "

<kmpelley wrote:

>

> There is a rather large anti vegetarian, anti soy movement out

there,

> probably is response to the recent scientific evidence that being a

> vegetarian is healthier than eating nutritionally dense food, i.e.

> meat. It has even been seen as unpatriotic, unAmerican, etc to eat

> meat. I think that a lot of the funding comes from the meat

industry,

> which is discovering that they cannot convince all of us to be

omnivores.

>

> There is evidence that soy has estrogenic effects on the body.

> However, moderate amounts of soy are fine. I probably eat soy once

or

> twice a week. I had tofu this evening.

>

> I think that this group has discussed this issue in the past.

>

> It is all about moderation in everything that we eat.

>

> Peace

>

> Kathleen

>

> > supplements wouldn't be healthy for me. I asked my doctor about

his

> > concerns, and he admitted that he's not even very knowledgeable

about a

> > vegetarian diet.

> > " The Weston A. Price Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt

charity

> > founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer

Dr.

> Weston

> > Price

> > main people involved is convinced that " humans achieve perfect

> physical form

> > and perfect health generation after generation ONLY when they

consume

> > nutrient-dense whole foods AND the vital fat-soluble activators

FOUND

> > EXCLUSIVELY IN ANIMAL FATS. " In other words, he's a carnivore

> (omnivore?)

> > and believes a vegetarian life style is unhealthy. I don't know

> about the

> > rest of you, but that kind of damages the whole " evil soy "

argument

> for me.

> >

>

[Guest guest]

Thanks for that clarification, Erin. Meat _is_ nutritionally sparse and

I like that phrase. :-)

 

Thanks for that information, Kathleen. My childrens' school is full of

very rabid Westin Price followers, including my ex-husband. These folks

follow a diet much better than your average SAD (Standard American

Diet), but they can be very judgmental about soy, non-raw milk and veganism.

 

Since I follow a vegan diet, I have a question. Why do some folks write

it " veg*n " ? I've never heard the reason for this. :-)

 

Sharon

 

Erin wrote:

> I agree wholeheartedly that the WAPF is not a reliable source

> of nutrition information, especially where it concerns veg*ns.

>

> Kathleen, I think where you describe meat as a nutritionally

> dense food, you meant calorically dense, correct? Because it

> is actually rather nutritionally sparse.

>

> -Erin

> http://www.zenpawn.com/vegblog/vegan-done-light.html

>

>

[Guest guest]

Stephanie,

Here's an article I found on PCRM that debunks quite a few of these evil soy

articles. http://www.pcrm.org/health/prevmed/soy_health.html. I know a lot

of the radical vegetarians and vegans use this site to promote every cause

under the sun (on a racing board one of them quotes them as proof that Jeff

Gordon and Dupont are evil incarnate!), but the fact that it's supported by

doctors and they have footnotes for the articles to the original stuff, most

of which is done by doctors, makes it a more legitimate source of

information to me.

 

 

 

On Behalf Of Stephanie Scott

Sunday, June 24, 2007 6:12 AM

 

Re: Soy/Thyroid information

 

Thanks for revisiting this subject. My Mother had her thyroid removed a few

years back. Everytime she comes to my house, she makes a huge scene about

ANY food or beverage I serve... " It better not have ANY soy in it, I can't

eat soy! " . It makes me insane, she thinks one serving of soy will kill her

no matter what I otherwise tell her! Does anyone have a link to an

" official " study? I say " official " with a wink...something that the " general

public " would consider credible. My Mom thinks I am a " nut " . Yes, she

believes you HAVE to consume flesh to be " healthy " . Whew, sorry started to

ramble...thanks in advance for the info.

Stephanie

 

 

" Todays Mighty Oak Is Just Yesterdays Nut

That Held It's Ground. "

 

 

 

TV dinner still cooling?

Check out " Tonight's Picks " on TV.

 

 

[Guest guest]

, Sharon Zakhour

<sharon.zakhour wrote:

>

> Since I follow a vegan diet, I have a question. Why do some folks

write

> it " veg*n " ? I've never heard the reason for this. :-)

 

I too am vegan. I use the asterick not the way we often write

" me*t " (i.e., some sort of bad word), but rather as shorthand

for " vegetarian/vegan " where the star is a wildcard character

representing either " etaria " or " a " , as in computer use (think

DOS). Where the difference is important, when referring a

study comparing vegans to lacto-ovo vegetarians, for example,

I'll spell out one or the other. Sometimes too, I'll just use

vegetarian as all-inclusive. <shrug>

 

 

-Erin

http://www.zenpawn.com/vegblog

[Guest guest]

" Nutritionally dense " was a term that the previous writer quoted from

the Weston A Price Foundation. I just used the term to be consistent

with the terminology being used in my response. I consider meat to be

useful as a source of primarily protein, iron, and fat and certainly

not healthy with a few individual exceptions for certain people.

 

Kathleen

 

Kathleen, I think where you describe meat as a nutritionally

> dense food, you meant calorically dense, correct? Because it

> is actually rather nutritionally sparse.

 

 

 

 

There is a rather large anti vegetarian, anti soy movement out

> there,

> > probably is response to the recent scientific evidence that being a

> > vegetarian is healthier than eating nutritionally dense food, i.e.

> > meat. It has even been seen as unpatriotic, unAmerican, etc to eat

> > meat. I think that a lot of the funding comes from the meat

> industry,

> > which is discovering that they cannot convince all of us to be

> omnivores.

> >

> > There is evidence that soy has estrogenic effects on the body.

> > However, moderate amounts of soy are fine. I probably eat soy once

> or

> > twice a week. I had tofu this evening.

> >

> > I think that this group has discussed this issue in the past.

> >

> > It is all about moderation in everything that we eat.

> >

> > Peace

> >

> > Kathleen

> > > " The Weston A. Price Foundation is a nonprofit, tax-exempt

> charity

> > > founded in 1999 to disseminate the research of nutrition pioneer

> Dr.

> > Weston

> > > Price

> > > main people involved is convinced that " humans achieve perfect

> > physical form

> > > and perfect health generation after generation ONLY when they

> consume

> > > nutrient-dense whole foods AND the vital fat-soluble activators

> FOUND

> > > EXCLUSIVELY IN ANIMAL FATS. " In other words, he's a carnivore

> > (omnivore?)

> > > and believes a vegetarian life style is unhealthy. I don't know

> > about the

> > > rest of you, but that kind of damages the whole " evil soy "

> argument

> > for me.

> > >

> >

>