Here are a couple for you, Sgt. Rock...
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SGT Rock
OK, so we have MS credentials out of the way. Is there a reference you can point us to on-line to read about this. This is sort of an interesting topic.
Hopefully something that is peer reviewed. I just did a google and don't trust most of what I read. "Soy Is Making Kids 'Gay'" was one of them.
From a Food and Drug Administration article: http://www.fda.gov/Fdac/features/2000/300_soy.html
"...specific components of soy, such as the soy isoflavones daidzein and genistein, not the whole food or intact soy protein.
The problem, researchers say, is that isoflavones are phytoestrogens, a weak form of estrogen that could have a drug-like effect in the body. This may be pronounced in postmenopausal women, and some studies suggest that high isoflavone levels might increase the risk of cancer, particularly breast cancer..."
(And, how many guys here want to increase their intake of estrogens, which are female hormones?)
================================================== ==
From an internal letter at the FDA between scientists about soy, that was on ABC News:
http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/Lsoy2.htm
"some of the isoflavones found in soy, including genistein and equol, a metabolize of daidzen, demonstrate toxicity in estrogen sensitive tissues and in the thyroid. This is true for a number of species, including humans.
Additionally, the adverse effects in humans occur in several tissues and, apparently, by several distinct mechanisms. Genistein is clearly estrogenic; it possesses the chemical structural features necessary for estrogenic activity ( Sheehan and Medlock, 1995; Tong, et al, 1997; Miksicek, 1998) and induces estrogenic responses in developing and adult animals and in adult humans.
...estrogens are important for maintenance of brain function in women; that the male brain contains aromatase, the enzyme that converts testosterone to estradiol; and that isoflavones inhibit this enzymatic activity"
(They also mention thyroid problems that soy contributes to making more likely, plus it making birth defects and Alzheimer's more likely.)
================================================== =====
Other gov'ts' food/health agencies finding out problems with soy:
http://www.westonaprice.org/soy/soy_badnews.html
"In July [2005?], the Israeli Health Ministry warned that babies should not receive soy formula, that children should eat soy no more than once per day to a maximum of three times per week and that adults should exercise caution because of increased risk of breast cancer and adverse effects on fertility. The Ministry based its advice upon the conclusions reached by a 13-member committee of nutritionists, oncologists, pediatricians and other specialists who spent more than year examining the evidence. They concluded that the estrogen-like plant hormones in soy can cause adverse effects on the human body and strongly urged consumers to minimize their consumption of soy foods...
In addition to the recent soy warning issued by the Israeli Health Ministry, expert scientists with the British Committee
on Toxicity, Swiss Federal Health Service and other government agencies have all expressed concern about soy’s potential to disrupt the digestive, immune and neuroendocrine systems of the human body and its role in rising rates of infertility, hypothyroidism and some types of cancer including thyroid and pancreatic cancers.
Soy is also highly allergenic. Most experts now place soy protein among the top eight allergens, and some rate it in the top six or even top four. The Swedish Health Ministry has warned that allergic reactions to soy are increasingly common, ranging from mild to life threatening, and that fatalities have been reported."
================================================== =
http://www.mothering.com/articles/gr...soy_story.html
They show how Asians actually consume by weight only small amounts of soy products, that historically it was mainly used to enrich cropland, then plowed under.
"There's nothing natural about these modern soy protein products. Textured soy protein, for example, is made by forcing defatted soy flour through a machine called an extruder under conditions of such extreme heat and pressure that the very structure of the soy protein is changed. Production differs little from the extrusion technology used to produce starch-based packing materials, fiber-based industrial products, and plastic toy parts, bowls, and plates"
And, about the antinutrients:
"Antinutrients and Toxins in Soy
Scientists who have studied the use of soy protein in animal feeds over the years have discovered a number of components in soy that cause poor growth, digestive distress, and other health problems.24-27
To list just a few of these: Protease inhibitors interfere with protein digestion and have caused malnutrition, poor growth, digestive distress, and pancreatitis.28 Phytates block mineral absorption, causing zinc, iron, and calcium deficiencies.29-34 Lectins and saponins have caused leaky gut and other gastrointestinal and immune problems.35-36
Oxalates-surprisingly high in soy-may cause problems for people prone to kidney stones and women suffering from vulvodynia, a painful condition marked by burning, stinging, and itching of the external genitalia.37, 38 Finally, oligosaccharides give soy its notorious reputation as a gas producer. Although these are present in all beans, soy is such a powerful "musical fruit" that the soy industry has identified "the flatulence factor" as a major obstacle that must be overcome for soy to achieve full consumer acceptance."
Note that calcium tends to be deficient in thruhiker diets anyway, and vegetarians (more common among thrus than in the general populace) already tend to be running short on certain essential minerals, so there are even MORE reasons for those groups to avoid soy products.
"Soy Allergens
Soy is one of the top eight allergens that cause immediate hypersensitivity reactions such as coughing, sneezing, runny nose, hives, diarrhea, difficulty swallowing, and anaphylactic shock. Delayed allergic responses are even more common and occur anywhere from several hours to several days after the food is eaten. These have been linked to sleep disturbances, bedwetting, sinus and ear infections, crankiness, joint pain..."
Like bad sleep and joint pain are things thruhikers don't care about?
================================================== ==
http://www.nourishingourchildren.org/parents/soy.html
"Although SPI [Soy Protein Isolate] is added to many foods, it was never granted GRAS status, meaning "Generally Recognized as Safe". The FDA only granted GRAS status to SPI for use as a binder in cardboard boxes. During the processing of soy, many additional toxins are formed, including nitrates (which are carcinogens) and a toxin called lysinoalanine. It was concerns about lysinoalanine in SPI that led the FDA to deny GRAS status for SPI as a food additive."
"According to a Swiss report (see references), adult women consuming 100 mg isoflavones (about 2 cups of soy milk, or 1 cup of cooked mature soybeans) provide the estrogenic equivalent of a contraceptive pill. This means for a baby that weighs 6 kg (or just over 13 pounds), 10 mg provides the estrogenic equivalent of a contraceptive pill. Thus, the average amount of soybased formula taken in by a child provides the estrogenic equivalent of at least four birth control pills. Because babies are more vulnerable than adults to the effects of dietary estrogens, the effects could actually be much greater than that of four birth control pills. Hence the statement, "Babies on soy formula receive the estrogenic equivalent of at least five birth control pills per day.""
============================================
http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm
"...phytic acid", also called "phytates". This organic acid is present in the bran or hulls of all seeds and legumes, but none have the high level of phytates which soybeans do. Phytic acid blocks the body's uptake of essential minerals like magnesium, calcium, iron and especially zinc. Adding to the high phytate problem, soybeans are highly resistant to phytate-reducing techniques, such as long, slow cooking.
"In addition, soybeans also contain hemagglutinin, a clot-promoting substance which causes red blood cells to clump together. These clustered blood cells cannot properly absorb oxygen for distribution to the body's tissues, and are unable to help in maintaining good cardiac health."
Thruhikers don't care about cardiac health and aerobic fitness, do they?
==================================================
How much more info do you people need? Omnivore or vegetarian, rich or broke, you can live your life quite nicely without large quantities of soy products.