Soy and Estrogen

[cbish]

I had a student today tell me about how bad soy products are for you because they have high level of phytoestrogens. I had never heard of such a thing. I did a quick google search and found conflicting info. One study from the Univeristy of Illinois says isoflavones cause cancer. Other studies say they prevent cancer. Does anyone know anything about this?

 

[Fnord]

Good News: Soy products are often prescribed for the relieving the discomfort of menopause...

Bad News: ... by Homeopathic "physicians."

 

[volatile]

Snopes has an article on this precise issue.

It seems that soy products may have a "weak estrogen effect", but points out that some studies have shown a negative and some a preventative correlation with breast cancers...

 

[cbish]

Thanks
From what I've read Isoflavones and estrogen are not the same thing. Perhaps estrogen is one of many Isoflavones. One of the papers I read said that many isoflavones will bond on to the same receptors that estrogen does but they don't trigger the same effects. Basically, I'd have to go with 'inconclusive'.

 

[mylfmyhnr]

From what I've gathered in an attempt to untangle the soy debate, I've come to this conclusion:

If you like Soy, great... If you don't, that's fine too.

Soy's estrogen issues are that it's a phytoestrogen that mimics estrogens effects on the body. In premenopausal women this *can* have a negative effect and for postmenopausal it *can* have a positive effect. The whole soy issue is becoming the Atkins debate all over again. One group proves, conclusively, one thing while another group proves, conclusively, something else entirely, while yet a third group proves that the first two were either totally correct or totally wrong for entirely different reasons.

 

[eric2046]

Some years ago a scientist claimed that eating tofu could reduce brain mass. Because of that, many people stopped buying soy product for a while. You can check out the news here:

Well, I can't post the link for now. But you can google "brain shrink tofu" to get the article.

My opinion is that, sometime you have to accept that no food is prefect. Too much milk is bad for you. Too much tofu is also bad for you.

 

[EternalSceptic]

Some years ago a scientist claimed that eating tofu could reduce brain mass. Because of that, many people stopped buying soy product for a while. You can check out the news here:

Well, I can't post the link for now. But you can google "brain shrink tofu" to get the article.

My opinion is that, sometime you have to accept that no food is prefect. Too much milk is bad for you. Too much tofu is also bad for you.

Wait - what about too much beer ??