Study heralds molecule in soybeans as baldness beater

THE WASHINGTON TIMES ^ | April 6, 2004 | Jennifer Harper

[neverdem]

Gentlemen, forget the steak and french fries. And lay off the cheeseburgers, pizza, eggs, bacon and all the other hallmarks of he-man cuisine.

It's soybeans you want, guys: We're talking tofu, edamame, soy butter, miso soup, soy milk, tempeh and that mysterious "textured vegetable protein" lurking in the freezer case at the supermarket.

[Young Rhino]

Brought to you in part by ADM.

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[neverdem]

PING

[neverdem]

Brought to you in part by ADM.

No doubt, LOL.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

Without going into too much personal detail here, I can tell you that my monthly feminine processes (ahem) have been a LOT more tolerable since I got off of dairy/beef and am drinking SilkSoy milk now.

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Is there a way to get soy intake (ie, pill form) other than unpleasant foods? ;)

[joesnuffy]

Heck.... just feed the soybeans to a cow and then eat the cow....

[neverdem]

How does soy milk taste? How much does it cost?

[manic4organic]

Edamame (boiled soy beans in the pod) are awesomely tasty. My whole family loves them. We eat them weekly. You just boil them for about 5 min., drain and lightly salt -- if you wish -- and bite down on the pods and scrape out the tasty, tender beans. I buy them frozen in the bag at my local Kroger and Albertson's.

[Zeppo]

I can't speak about pills, but at least I find that miso is not unpleasant at all, and neither is edamame. But I'm not a tofu fan at all...

[lonewacko_dot_com]

Before you start talking about the Miracle of Soy, check out the pictures here: http://boingboing.net/text/2003_06_15_guestbar.html#200430399

[Veto!]

It all rests with something called equol, a bold but enigmatic molecule created in the intestine when soy is digested.

When soy is digested? For most people, it's IF soy is digested. No guarantee it will be. Prior to the big push by envirowhackos who want us to spare the lives of cattle and ADM who wants us to buy from them, soy was regarded as indigestible by nutrition writers.

[Mr. Buzzcut]

Thanks ... i have a prodigious head of hair (see profile) i'd like to keep ... if it turns out there's something to this, i'll check those out ... Nothing could be worse than tofu! :)

[VxH]

For Males, there is a serious risk/benefit equation to be evaluated regarding Soy.

Soy is often consumed by women to reduce symptoms of menopause. This is because soy contains proteins that are similar in structure to female hormones. So the effect is similar to hormone therapy.

There is currently some controversy regarding studies that link soy consumption to brain attrophy and development of dimentia when consumed by males:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Soy+dementia&spell=1

Better to lose your hair than your mind ;)

[Eala]

But I'm not a tofu fan at all...

Many years ago the goodwife came up with a recipe for tofu pumpkin pie. The first time I had some I was dubious -- it tasted a bit dry and flat by comparison to my expectations. The second time it wasn't bad at all, and it had interesting elements I couldn't quantify. The third time... well, I'll just say that now I don't much like the candy custard most know as pumpkin pie. Much too sweet, no texture, and the pumpkin flavor is sorely diminished.

De gustibus non dispundandum est.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I've tried all the different Soy brands and have found the vanilla and chocolate flavors with SilkSoy to be the best.

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

It tastes like a vanilla drink to me. Once you put the "it's got to taste like dairy" out of your mind, it's rather good.

Cost is cheapest by buying the 3-packs (1/2 gal.) at warehouse clubs like Costco. The 3-pack at Costco is around $6, or $2 per 1/2 gal. Otherwise, I'm stuck paying around $3 per 1/2 gal. at the nearby grocer. But the drink keeps a long time and is worth it for me for health reasons.

[rmlew]

Oh crap, I hate Tofu.
Does Soy chocolate milk count?

[NotJustAnotherPrettyFace]

I just read your profile and see that you're a doc. I can tell you some interesting things re: our family and our problems with dairy in general. Suffice it to say that because of the basic allergy to the cow milk protein which is found EVERYwhere in processed foods, I have been looking for reasonable substitutes ever since my oldest was an infant nearly 16 years ago. And I've been urging my husband who seems to have an underlying allergy which causes sinus problems and chest congestion to get off of milk/beef products. He finally listened to me and is now able to dispense with taking antihistamines like Benadryl all the time.

Besides having 30% RDA of Calcium, Silk Soymilk also has 10% Vitamin A, 8% Iron, 30% Vitamin D, 30% Riboflavin, 50% Vitamin B12, 6% Folate, and 4% Zinc.

So nutritionally, it would seem to be more power-packed than cow's dairy/milk for sure. Our kids are all gymnasts and I'm VERY nutrition-conscious, esp. looking for foods with calcium supplemented for strong bones. Knock on wood - we've only had one minor bone breakage in the family so far (in the hand - my youngest daughter).