Is soy as good as the claims?

[zoedragon]

Ever since the trend towards healthy living began, soy products have been pushed as an excellent alternative to various animal products. Its "isoflavones" are supposed to be cancer-fighting and its proteins are touted as being the perfect replacement for animal proteins because of no cholesterol. HOWEVER the soy industry is HUGE, and you can bet they have powerful interest groups everywhere as well as a very convincing marketing team. So my question is, how much of their hype can we believe?

The claims that the Chinese have been using it since ancient history is a bit distorted. They've been using it to revitalize their farmland since ancient times, not as food. Growing soy helps replace into the soil what their other crops take out. The only soy used as food had to first be fermented before it was edible because it has poisonous compounds in it.

Even in the U.S. in 1913 the Dept. of Agriculture labeled soy as an industrial product, not food. If you regularly use products such as soy milk, soy burgers, or soy ice cream, you may want to check out some of the articles found here:

http://www.mercola.com/2004/jan/21/soy.htm

Like partially hydrogenated oils, it's yet another fine example of the power of aggressive marketing to brainwash the general public. Sometimes I'm not so proud to be an American.

[Steven]

Originally Posted by zoedragon

Ever since the trend towards healthy living began, soy products have been pushed as an excellent alternative to various animal products. Its "isoflavones" are supposed to be cancer-fighting and its proteins are touted as being the perfect replacement for animal proteins because of no cholesterol. HOWEVER the soy industry is HUGE, and you can bet they have powerful interest groups everywhere as well as a very convincing marketing team. So my question is, how much of their hype can we believe?

The claims that the Chinese have been using it since ancient history is a bit distorted. They've been using it to revitalize their farmland since ancient times, not as food. Growing soy helps replace into the soil what their other crops take out. The only soy used as food had to first be fermented before it was edible because it has poisonous compounds in it.

Even in the U.S. in 1913 the Dept. of Agriculture labeled soy as an industrial product, not food. If you regularly use products such as soy milk, soy burgers, or soy ice cream, you may want to check out some of the articles found here:

http://www.mercola.com/2004/jan/21/soy.htm

Like partially hydrogenated oils, it's yet another fine example of the power of aggressive marketing to brainwash the general public. Sometimes I'm not so proud to be an American.

That site doesn't look very credible. You might want to check other sites before making a decision.

[zoedragon]

I just picked this one as an example since it had various links to other articles. I have already read numerous articles on both the good and bad qualities of soy. My point is that soy isn't as perfect as the manufacturers will lead you to believe. Perhaps this one will seem a bit more credible:

http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/nutri...y_protein.html

[Keng]

Soy = Soy beans?

[zoedragon]

Soy refers to any of the various products made from soy beans. Not sure how close some of these products are to actual soy beans after all that processing.

My grandmother used to make soybean milk from scratch and it was very tasty. But I've tasted some of the stuff made by the company called "Silk" and it is very artificial tasting to me. I have no idea what they did to it but it doesn't taste like real soy milk to me.

But I'm kind of missing my own point, which is more research is needed to verify whether the claims are true, and if they carry undesireable side effects. For example do the isoflavones found in soy really fight cancer? That's great if they do, but do they also mirror the effects of estrogen? Maybe great for menopausal women, but men might be frightened by it.

[Admin]

Originally Posted by Faloon, W. (2004 December). Life Extension: TOP TEN Most Important Steps for Achieving Ultimate Health. 25.

With new health findings being touted daily, consumers are often confused about what they should be doing to maintain optimal health. Each year, The Life Extension Foundation reviews the published scientific literature and compiles a listing of the best-documented life-extending nutrients, hormones, and drugs.
When deciding on the Top 10 most important components, the foremost factor we consider is the preponderance of scientific data that substantiates the benefits of a particular nutrient, drug, or hormone. We also look at the cost-to-benefit ratio. That means we sometimes rule out components that are too expensive in relationship to lower cost items that may show equal efficacy. Convenient is also an important factor. We seek to provide the maximum amount of potency in the fewest possible capsules, tablets, etc.

Life Extension magazines are delivered to my door once ever two months. The articles about vitamins, supplements, nutrient information, health research, medicine, and much more. Each article contains more jargons than a biology textbook. However, the authors do an excellent job in breaking down the subject and defining the terminologies in order to help the readers fully comprehend the subject. After all, the Life Extension company needs to sell their products (TONS of product).

Who knows which article is providing the facts that the readers ought to know, and which article is hyping the topic to market their product. There is so much health issues out there, it is quite impossible to read them all.

[Postergirl7]

Sometimes I like to feel like I eat healthy, so when I go to Starbucks I like to order vanilla steamers (I hate coffee and their hot chocolate sucks) with vanilla soymilk. It tastes really yummy at first, but after a while it starts to taste like postage stamps.

[zoedragon]

Mmmmm postage stamps....

Y'know, come to think of it some of the Silk products DO taste like licking a stamp! I tried a peach soy yogurt last week and it was kinda weird. I guess if the post office made peach flavored stamps I would have recognized what the yogurt reminded me of.

I'm still kind of conflicted about the "goodness" of soy, having grown up drinking soy milk but also having read about possible ill effects. I'll still have some now and then, but I won't fully embrace it just yet. For those of you who have only tried the nasty soy milk, the "real" stuff isn't so bad. Try getting some from an asian grocery store and you'll know what it's really supposed to taste like. It's got a fresh flavor to it that, once you're familiar with it, you'll know how artificial the "wannabe" soy milks taste. I have tried a few non-asian brands of soy milk in the past that are very close to the reall thing. "Sun Soy" is one, and "Organic Valley" is another.

[sflasocal]

Try I think its 8 Continent soy milk versus Silk. I think they have it at Trader Joe's. Soo yummy. I think Silk has additives.

BTW, does anyone find it ironic that they call it soy milk when it's really more like soy juice or "squeezins" as my roomate refers to it?

[JPWRana]

my mom started 2 get into that stuff... thanx 2 her, when we have cereal, it's either soy milk or some carnation canned milk thing.... so for the past 5 years, i've prob. had milk (any cow kind) about 10 times only.

Dairy products had caused me flem... ever since i stopped taking them, my flem has DRAMATICALLY dropped.

Anything animal is never as good and healthy as agricultural. We were never originally supposed 2 eat meat.... but jeez! it tastes soo good.

[zoedragon]

We were never supposed to eat meat? But we omnivores! We're probably not supposed to it in the great quantities we do today, maybe like once a week or something like our hunter-gatherer ancestors did. But how do we know we're not supposed to eat it at all?

I've cut down on my dairy (no more milk, though I still eat cheese and yogurt) and let's just say my digestive problems have gone away. It's like I've gradually become more intolerant to lactose or something, which my doctor says occurs a lot.

[JPWRana]

i know we were never supposed 2 eat meat because that's how Adam and Eve began. God never told them to kill the buffalo, get a fire, get the charcoal, start roasting i at 400 degrees for 3 hours, and have a feast. They had fruits and veggies.

[zoedragon]

Well there's really no point in arguing with you over that. Nothing I say will ever make sense to one who believes in religious dogma instead of scientific study.

[SuperMegStar]

Originally Posted by zoedragon

Well there's really no point in arguing with you over that. Nothing I say will ever make sense to one who believes in religious dogma instead of scientific study.

Sounds like a whole 'nother thread...

[Postergirl7]

[QUOTE=JPWRana
Dairy products had caused me flem... ever since i stopped taking them, my flem has DRAMATICALLY dropped.

Goodbye Fleghm... HELLLLLOOOO Osteoporosis!

[JPWRana]

i'm sure other veggies and fruits can supplement for the lost vitamins & minerals that animal product milk brings.

[Ketcham82]

I'm lactose intolerant, even though I'm not Asian, so I have no choice. Soy milk is my new drug.

[zoedragon]

Almond milk is a pretty good alternative too. They also fortify it with calcium like most other milk substitutes. You can get it in plain, vanilla and chocolate flavors.