Soy is it too much?

[Guest guest]

I have yet to post to this list and I joined maybe a month ago. I was wondering what your thoughts on Soy are. By being vegan there is a larger risk of obtaining hypothyroidism from absorbing too much Soy. My wife just recently was diagnosed with the disease. We cut all Soy out of her diet for a month straight and she goes to the doc in a couple of weeks for a blood test. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

 

Here is an excerpt from an article I found at http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa083099.htm

 

 

This is not information that the powerful and profitable U.S. soy industry wants you to know Soy products increase the risk of thyroid disease. And this danger is particularly great for infants on soy formula Dr. Mike Fitzpatrick, an environmental scientist and pytoestrogen researcher makes it clear that soy products can have a detrimental effect on both adults and infants High consumption of soy products are also proven to cause goiter Soy products contain isoflavones which are considered to by endocrine disruptors Daniel R. Doerge, Ph.D., says, “I see substantial risks from taking soy supplements or eating huge amounts of soyfoods for their putative disease preventive value.” Not much is being done in the U.S. to make parents aware of the thyroid-related dangers of soy formulas, or to alert the public that heavy soy consumption may be a danger to thyroid function According to the Soy Online Service, for infants, any soy is too much. For adults, just 30 mg of soy isoflavones per day is the amount found to have a negative impact on thyroid function

 

Thanks,

Eric

[Guest guest]

Hi Eric

 

> By being vegan there is a larger risk of obtaining hypothyroidism from absorbing too much Soy.

 

Admittedly, it's been about 4 years since I looked into all the stuff about a vegan diet, but I've certainly not heard this one before - and I did go very thoroughly into things like soya. At that time, there were "scare" stories going around about the oestrogen (or whatever it's called) having the effect of making men impotent. Needless to say that one was rapidly proven to be absolute rubbish!

 

You say: "By being vegan there is a larger risk of obtaining hypothyroidism from absorbing too much Soy" - however, there is nothing in the article to suggest that this is the case - it simply says that eating "too much" soy can bring about hypothyroidism. It is also noticable that it refers to soy, but does not refer to other foods - it could be a combination of foods - you might find that soy combined with another food has a detrimental effect.

 

I'd also like to know a bit about the "research" - who paid for it? Not, perchance, the powerful meat and dairy industry? In the past, every bit of anti-soy research I have seen has been funded in this way. What other interests do Dr Mike Fitzpatrick and Daniel Doerge have that might bias their opinions?

 

I also notice that the article talks of "the powerful and profitable US Soy industry" - this is, of course, the biotech companies who produce GM soya. I wonder if the research looked at real, natural soya, or just the genetically modified stuff.

 

I think, all in all, I'd rather stick to soya than take the far higher risk of disease associated with meat and dairy.

 

BB

Peter

 

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[Guest guest]

Hi Eric

 

I notice you are American. Do you find it difficult to get non-GM soya. I believe that the research referred to was done on subjects consuming GM soya.

 

 

>· Not much is being done in the U.S. to make parents aware of the thyroid-related dangers of soy formulas, or to alert the >public that heavy soy consumption may be a danger to thyroid function

 

From other lists I have been on over the last three years I would say that this dubious information is well propaganda'd in the US. I also note that it states that eating 'huge amounts of soya' is bad for your thyroid. Personally I don't think it is a good idea for anybody to eat huge amounts of any one item, and if they do they are asking for trouble.

 

Why would eating soya be any more of a problem for vegans than for meat-eaters.

 

 

 

>· According to the Soy Online Service, for infants, any soy is too much. For adults, just 30 mg of soy isoflavones per day is the >amount found to have a negative impact on thyroid function

 

That should be okay then because you need only 25mg of isoflavones to get the benefits required, so if you do have a pre-existing tendency to thyroid problems then you can still eat some soya without depressing thyroid function. If you are worried about isoflavones then you should be aware that they are in other foods as well, not just soya.

 

I would like to know the history and connections of the people stating the case against soya.

 

I prefer to go on the evidence of the population studies of the countries where soya is the main protein. This proves the benefits of soya, but there seems to be no evidence of the thyroid suppression.

 

Finally, you do not need to eat soya to be vegan. There are plenty of other protein foods - nuts and seeds, beans and lentils, rice etc.etc. Also soya is added to lots of non-vegan foodstuffs and ready-meals, so if it were true it would be just as likely to affect meat-eaters who eat a lot of ready meals etc.

 

Jo

 

 

 

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[Guest guest]

i read somewhere that the whole "soy scare" was a bunch of rubbish..but, unfortunately, i don't remember where, or why

 

so, do folks in asia, where they eat a whole ton of soy, have thyroid problems?

 

i think, as long as you eat a balanced diet, mix and very yer diet, you are not going to have problems..if you eat gmo tofu every meal, well, then yer probably gonna get some sort of reactions...

fraggle

[Guest guest]

In a message dated 7/20/02 11:47:46 AM Pacific Daylight Time, Heartwork writes:

I notice you are American. Do you find it difficult to get non-GM soya. I believe that the research referred to was done on subjects consuming GM soya.

 

not in my neck of the woods...i just came back from the store as a mtter of fact, and noticed they had 6 brands of organic tofu, i purchased some organic edamame, etc

it all depends on where you live

and, here, they put soy in every processed food imaginable...i'd be more worried about the genetic tinkering....

fraggle