Soy

Recently, on facebook, I had some one telling me how she has researched that unfermented soy is VERY bad for health. I have researched soy before, and finally decided just to go ahead and keep drinking soy milk and eating soy beans. Everyone has to decide for themselves what they will and won't eat and different people get effected differently by things; but here are my reasons for sticking with it.

1. It does not make up 70-80% of my diet as it seems to in all the studies and people who have had bad effects. I drink soy milk with my cereal, I eat soy beans on occasion with a meal, I use it to cook when i need to (which isn't that often) and eventually I will get soy protein powder. That still isn't even 40% of my diet. Of course you will have problems if you consume something as 70+% of your diet!! DUH. I don't think there is a single food you can do that with and not get some sort of health problem. Soy has just become something that people use as their substitution for milk, meat, yogurt, cream, cheese and a bunch of other things.

2. Everyone who says they have had negative effects can't even give proof that it was related. Tends to be "I got a thyroid problem and after researching I found out that because I drink a lot of soymilk that is what caused it." Hmmmmm.....

3. I am going to throw in the "asians don't have problems" line. EVERY site I go on this like "Oh well Asians only eat the fermented soy stuff." Ummm no I have lived here for fifteen years and hot soy milk is a staple breakfast drink, served in schools, restaurants, hotels, home etc. etc. and soy beans are eaten all the time as a dish.  Asians also are generally thinner than Americans, at least before all this American food came here. Also chinese woman have very small breasts and i have heard people say the estrogen in soy can give men breasts but if the woman barely have them and that kind of disproves the whole excessive estrogen thing (No that isn't racist to say chinese woman have small breasts....right?). They also have less cases of any form of cancer and thyroid issues than Americans =/. So I hate to pull out the Asians example but here are thousands of people who consume unfermented soy in healthy moderation and don't get any of the negative side effects that are supposed to happen =/.

4. Soy lowers testosterone. Ok so for this one the asian thing doesn't work so well since most Asian guys living in Asia are so unmanly it is sad but as biast as this may sound i think it is the culture because when you look at singapore the people their consume WAY more soy than China and the guys are more masculine there.. Thai people consume the least soy and they are some of the most feminine men I have ever seen (and not just the ones that are actually girls now...)


So yes this may seem a bit biased but if i actually thought soy was bad I could easily make almond or oat milk so there is no reason to be try convincing myself it is fine if it isn't. A lot of people may not agree and in the future if I find some real reasons to think it is bad I might change my mind; but for now this is just what i think.. 

It is always good to research things but always use your own good judgement too. Studies are ALWAYS contradicting and everyone has different opinions. For all I know I could be wrong! o.O

TTYL