Day #22
“I feel like I’m trading a headache for a stomach ache.”
So, what is the deal with soy?
After surfing the Internet, trying to find out if it’s good for me, I’ve learned that this is a hotly debated topic. And rightly so. If a person tries to avoid the obvious bad stuff – saturated fat and cholesterol – then they are bound to start replacing fatty meats with soy meat. In addition, I’ve been drinking soy milk, eating soy nuts, trying tofu burgers (made with soy), etc… And I’m wondering if this is really good for me.
According to random internet articles, the benefits of soy are…
1. Reduced heart risks: Soy milk is capable of lowering cholesterol in the body thus helping to reduce heart risks. A wholesome Soy diet is known to curb the bad cholesterol and triglycerides that are the root causes of heart ailments in human beings. It also contains soluble fibre that helps in increasing the metabolism against combating cholesterol.
2. Strong bones: Soy is known to comprise enough amounts of calcium required for the body, to help keep your bones strong. Women especially need this extra intake of calcium through the use of Soy to prevent osteoporosis that may occur in later stages of their life.
3. Improved Menopausal Symptoms: In a woman’s life, menopause can be the most challenging health condition. In order to prevent the symptoms related to menopause, a healthy Soy diet comes in very handy in helping to reduce symptoms such as hot flashes completely.
4. Cancer prevention: Soy has been known to be helpful in the prevention of prostate cancer prevalent in men. Some studies have revealed that it can also be beneficial in the prevention of breast cancer.
However, the drawbacks to soy are…
1. Genetic Modification and Overprocessing – Since over 90% of soy consumption in America is through processed foods, much of the soy we eat has been stripped of nutrients.
2. Hormone Imbalance – Some studies suggest that in non-menapausal women, soy can make their hormones imbalanced, due to the large amounts of estrogen they contain. Also, anti-soy websites claim that boys who ingest too much soy will have decreased testosterone levels, but this claim is not backed up by research.
3. Anti-nutrients – Soy contains phytic acid, which has been shown to block the absorption of magnesium and calcium in the body.
After reading about ten articles, I am convinced that no one really knows the answer to the question, “Is soy healthy?” I think that it is healthy when eaten in a more pure form (as edamame rather than soy cheese or soy ice cream). I also think that too much of anything can prove to be more harmful that good.
For now, I am switching to Almond Milk. Also, I’ll try not to eat more than one soy product per day. Finally, I will not rely on it as a main source of protein. However, if we compared the health benefits and risks of cow’s milk, hamburger, or sour cream, we would probably never eat those products again either.
