Posted on 08/30/2010 5:44:19 PM PDT by CutePuppy
Soy does not lower cholesterol, does not prevent heart disease, and does not deserve an FDA-approved soy heart-health claim. This amazing announcement comes from none other than the American Heart Association (AHA) published in the Jan. 17, 2006, issue of its journal Circulation.
Athletes at Risk
Not long before this announcement, University of Colorado researchers reported in the January issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation that soy worsens cardiomyopathy, a form of heart disease that is very much on the rise, afflicting 1 in 500 Americans.
Cardiomyopathy, defined as a weakening of the heart muscle or change in structure of the heart, is the leading cause of death among young athletes, a group that may consume a lot of soy in the form of protein powders and energy bars.
Women at Risk
Now investigators have found more damning evidence against soy. High levels of soy isoflavones — plant estrogens found in products like soymilk and soy nuts as well as many menopausal supplements — put women at risk for cardiovascular disease.
The study, reported in the May 2007 issue of Journal of Women’s Health, began when Carl J. Pepine, M.D., chief of cardiology at the University of Florida College of Medicine, in Gainesville, along with 10 other researchers from his own and five other medical institutions, aimed to find out whether women who have high concentrations of isoflavones in their blood had better vascular health.
Subjects were participants in the Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) who had reported chest pain and were thus suspected to suffer from myocardial ischemia (defined as pathological loss of or reduction in blood flow, ischemia, to a part of the muscular tissue of the heart, the myocardium).
More than 900 women have participated in the WISE project, which was founded a decade ago by the National Institutes of Health to study whether heart disease develops differently in women than in men. Because heart disease is more likely to occur after menopause, scientists have blamed waning estrogen levels.
Dr. Pepine and his colleagues had expected that women with high levels of genistein (the primary isoflavone found in soybeans) would show improved vascular health but found the opposite to be true.
Speaking to a reporter for Science News, Dr. Pepine said: “There are a lot of women taking these things (isoflavone-rich products), without any direct evidence that they’re beneficial.” He warned that there is a “small but growing body of research suggesting there could be a downside to overindulging in them.”
Industry Response
Industry response to mounting evidence for soy’s lack of benefit has been entirely predictable: endless references to soy being both low in saturated fat and free of cholesterol (twin evils that “everyone knows” cause heart disease) combined with chipper reports of hot new evidence “proving” that soy is the best thing for the heart since love.
Although some of this hype has made it into the news — particularly in magazines where soy foods and soymilk are heavily advertised — a shift has definitely taken place. Health magazines are increasingly leaving soy off lists of healthy foods. These days, they aren’t yet reporting risks from soy, but they aren’t singing its praises either.
Soy-Book Ban
The July-August 2007 issue of Energy Times featured an “Omnivore versus Vegan” debate designed to help readers decide whether Mother Nature designed us as to eat animal products or whether we should consider veganism “our next big evolutionary leap.”
Speaking for the vegans was Hope Ferdowsian, M.D., of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Representing the omnivores was WAPF (Weston A. Price Foundation) board member Kaayla T. Daniel, Ph.D., who was invited to participate only on the grounds that she not speak out about soy.
Apparently the advertisers were so nervous about the subject that they didn’t even permit her to be credited as author of “The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food.”
Whereas health magazines have often chosen to eliminate the book’s informative subtitle, Energy Times excised all mention of the book. In addition to the usual array of soy advertisements, the back inside cover of the magazine featured an advertisement in the guise of a footnoted article.
Its title? “The Good News About Soy Continues.” Among other claims was the one that soy is very heart healthy.
______________________________________________________________________________
Kaayla T. Daniel is a certified clinical nutritionist, author, and speaker.
Source: http://Westonaprice.org/soy-alert/968-not-so-soy-healthy-for-the-heart.html
Yes, they are good food. Natto is acquired taste, takes a little getting used to, so it’s unlikely to become popular in the West.
But tofu is downright a junk food, yet it’s being promoted as “healthy”.
I always suspected soy was bad for people.
Then I learned about Omega 3 fatty acids deficiency in Western diets, and how Western diets have way too much Omega 6, which crowds out the little Omega 3’s we still get.
Here you go: http://www.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/episodes/2009/09/02/segments/139857
Soy has way too much Omega 6, which we get way too much of as it is, based on the info in the above link.
Explains a lot—it’s not cholesterol, but too much Omega 6 and too little Omega 3 in our diet that is killing us.
East Asians do NOT consume large amounts of soy - the Japanese only ever used it in tofu, soy sauce, and as pig feed. American Chinese food uses lots of soy sauce, but real Chinese food doesn’t. Furthermore, Asians never ate processed soybean oil - that’s a 20th century U.S. innovation.
Since soy oil acts as artificial estrogen, some people are claiming that soy is behind the rise of homosexuality in America. I’m allergic to soy, so I never had to worry about its effects on my manliness, but you might want to think about it. Soy is in many more things than people realize, as it can be listed as many other ingredients. ‘MSG’ is soy, and ‘modified food starch’ in American products (Canadians tend to use potato). ‘Vegetable oil’ (in everything) is usually soy, and almost all lecithin (an emulsifier found in candy and most creamy foods) is soy. ‘Vegetable broth’ in tuna cans, soup, and frozen foods is soy. Soy is even injected into Thanksgiving hams and turkeys.
Bottom line: Americans are the world’s biggest consumers of soy, by eating prepackaged foods. We the people are the biggest biological experiment in the history of the world. And we voted for Obama - what does this tell you?
I have not researched this, but I have been told by ‘foodies’ that soy in America, just like yellow corn, is totally genetically modified. Not real food.
That could explain the hormone synthesis capability of this genetically modified soy. I can remember people claiming over 35 years ago that soy in food caused cancer, that dogs didn’t get cancer in such great number UNTIL they added soy to their diets.
And then there’s the soy baby formula - supposedly responsible for girls going through puberty VERY young. Just google ‘soy danger’
Exactly. Some oils promoted as "healthy" - such as canola oil and some other "substitute" vegetable oils (not olive) - have too high a ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3, and should be avoided. Fish oil, natural or in supplements, is generally high in Omega 3 and Vitamin D3.
See also some keywords VitD / VitD3 threads from last couple of months.
Nevertheless, Americans as a whole still consume very little soy protein. Based on 2003 data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, per-capita soy protein consumption is less than 1 gram (g) per day in most European and North American countries, although certain subpopulations such as vegetarians, Asian immigrants, and infants fed soy-based formula consume more. The Japanese, on the other hand, consume an average 8.7 g of soy protein per day; Koreans, 6.2–9.6 g; Indonesians, 7.4 g; and the Chinese, 3.4 g.
Source: Barrett JR 2006. The Science of Soy: What Do We Really Know? Environ Health Perspect 114:A352-A358.
Link: The Science of Soy: What Do We Really Know?
The paragraph above is the second to the last of the introduction.
Always wondered why, after eating at a Chinese restaurant, I feel like knitting when I get home...
Well, death apparently has not stopped you from posting! But tell me--do you find yourself voting Democrat now?
There are currently eight major GM food crops on the market, so memorizing this list will help you avoid any and all food products that might contain GMO’s:
1.Soy
2.Corn
3.Cottonseed (used in vegetable cooking oils)
4.Canola (canola oil)
5.Sugar from sugar beets
6.Hawaiian papaya
7.Some varieties of zucchini
8.Crookneck squash
You’ll also want to avoid any kind of derivative of these, such as high fructose corn syrup, for example.
> “so it’s unlikely to become popular in the West.”
.
Tastewise, perhaps, but it’s ability to wipe out colon cancer has endeared itself to many. :o)
> “Nevertheless, Americans as a whole still consume very little soy protein.”
.
That statement is just plain hogwash!
Anyone that frequents any coffee shop (Starpukes, Peets, etc) and eaten their baked goods such as muffins, bagels, biscuits, danish, etc is consuming dangerous levels of soy, as well as anyone that eats vegeburgers, chicken or turkey sausages, and many lunch meats.
NIH: Julia R. Barrett, 1 June 2006, The Science of Soy: What Do We Really Know?
A stroll through nearly any American grocery store or pharmacy yields ample proof of the soybean’s increasing role in the U.S. diet. Food packaging offers statements about products’ soy content and the purported associated health benefits. Products such as tofu, soy milk, soy-based infant formula, and meatless “texturized vegetable protein” burgers are widely available. Shelves of dietary supplements and nutraceuticals are stocked with isoflavones, naturally occurring estrogenic compounds found in soy. The general impression is one of certainty that both soy and soy isoflavones deliver many health benefits, including prevention of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis, as well as treatment of menopausal symptoms. The science is less absolute, however, and still evolving.
Basically, the first paragraph of this 2006 article confirms all that has been established in [unfavourable] 2007 findings and 2010 findings, as in posted review, including the disconnect between the perception of "healthy" food versus then-unclear science. And the soy protein in NIH article is derived from the products that are not fermented and processed. Basically like the difference between the proteins in beef steak and processed meat like bologna, hot dog or beef sausage.
And here the confirmation : Soy research is complicated because there’s considerable variation in isoflavone exposure among people classified as soy consumers. Agronomic factors (such as the soybean cultivar and the environmental conditions under which the crop grew) affect a food’s isoflavone profile, as does the way a soy food is processed. For example, soy protein concentrate produced by alcohol extraction may have only 12.5 milligrams (mg) total isoflavones per 100 g, in contrast to the nearly 199.0 mg total isoflavones per 100 g of full-fat roasted soy flour. Additionally, the fact that most of the isoflavones in food occur bound to sugar affects how they are digested.
Differently processed and consumed soy protein in Asia and the West, really different diet.
An April 2006 report from the USDA Economic Research Service indicates that only a small amount of whole soybeans are used to produce soy foods, and just 2% of soy protein meal is used for human consumption; the rest is used for animal feed.
Not exactly encouraging juxtaposition. Sounds like "natural" demand is not huge but the push was designed to increase the market by broadening the product's appeal by touting its "healthy" properties as a substitute to meat, first for a specific market (vegs / vegans) and then as a "health food".
The Soyfoods Association of North America reports that U.S. sales of soy foods reached $3.9 billion in 2003, continuing an 11-year trend of 15% average annual increases. According to the United Soybean Board’s 2004–2005 Consumer Attitudes About Nutrition report, 25% of Americans consume soy foods or beverages at least once per week, and 74% view soy products as healthy.
Admittedly, great marketing, but little science behind it. Greater availability of the product in the stores combined with "healthy" fashionable "buzz" in the media and word of mouth leads to greater consumption. After all, by now "everybody knows" that "soy is a healthy alternative" to meat or milk.
Soy isoflavones have been linked with numerous health effects, but the strength of the relationships and whether the effects are beneficial are strongly debated.
Even at that time debate among scientists, but there was no "debate" in promotion campaign.
Concerns about genistein’s effects on reproduction and development are due in part to her extensive research in mice. Newbold believes caution is warranted, because her studies, as well as others, have shown that genistein has such effects as inducing uterine adenocarcinoma in mice and premature puberty in rats. A recent study led by biologist Wendy Jefferson in Newbold’s laboratory and published in the October 2005 issue of Biology of Reproduction linked genistein with effects such as abnormal estrous cycle, altered ovarian function, and infertility in mice.
Not encouraging. As they point out in the article, in vivo may be very different from in vitro.
The original interest in soy was fueled by geographic epidemiology — the observation that populations that consume a lot of soy, particularly those in eastern Asia, have less breast cancer, prostate cancer, and cardiovascular disease, and fewer bone fractures. Additionally, women in these populations report fewer menopausal symptoms, such as hot flashes, and both men and women have a lower incidence of aging-related brain diseases. Since lifestyle can affect chronic disease development, and diet is a major lifestyle factor, traditional Asian diets drew considerable attention.
Although initial research overestimated the amount of soy consumed by Asians, the cumulative evidence of numerous biomarker studies has confirmed that their diets are significantly higher in both isoflavones and lignans (another phytoestrogen) compared to the typical Western diet. Studies have further shown that when Asians emigrate to Western nations such as the United States and adopt the prevailing diet, their disease rates change.
Again, a single element ("soy") in a single factor (Asian diet) was isolated in an attempt to make a sweeping decision about health benefits of the bean. Great for late-night marketing of various "cures" but hardly scientific.
“People need to know that as it occurs in soy and other plant products, genistin is the compound that’s there. The amount of actual genistein is very low, one percent or less probably,” says Michael Shelby, director of the National Toxicology Program’s Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human Reproduction (CERHR). Key exceptions are fermented products, such as miso and tempeh, which may contain up to 40% free genistein.
See the notes on miso and Natto up the thread. These happen to be the fermented soy products that are consumed most in traditional Japanese cuisine, not tofu and soy "milk". Back to steak vs bologna and sausage.
Further controversy surrounds the fact that most of the epidemiologic studies of Asian populations involved whole soy foods, but animal and human intervention studies have generally used soy concentrates or isolated isoflavones; some animal studies used pure genistein. This difference may have obscured what the health effects of soy actually are. ... There’s something about the intact product that seems to be bioactive that is not able to be replicated when you begin chopping it up.”
Again, back to steak vs... Great "health" studies they had in 1990s. 'Nuf said?
Americans as a whole still consume very little soy protein.
That's probably true, relative to all the food products on the market, but that number was reported in 2006 (with a high growth of product penetration) and certain subpopulations like vegs / vegans, lactose intolerant and "health conscious" (particularly women) have much higher consumption rates of "healthy" soy products marketed to non-Asian population.
On balance it does not seem that soy and its constituent isoflavones have met original expectations. Clinical results with regard to soy’s ability to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease have been inconsistent; a review in the 21 February 2006 issue of Circulation indicated there was little to no effect. The only apparent impact of soy and soy isoflavones on cardiovascular disease risks seems to be a slight reduction in low-density lipoproteins in individuals who had very high levels of cholesterol. An August 2005 report from the DHHS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Effects of Soy on Health Outcomes, also concluded that there was little evidence to support a beneficial role of soy and soy isoflavones in bone health, cancer, reproductive health, neurocognitive function, and other health parameters.
This was in 2005-2006, yet all we've heard since was how good and healthy soy products are and how much more available they are.
Green leafy plants are the primary source of 3’s, and the animals that feed on green leafy plants.
In modern factory farms, animals are no longer fed green leafy plants, nor do we eat enough green leafy plants ourselves.
And that is how we’ve become 3 deficient
“Are your teeth dissolving? “
Mmmmff??
Plus, the soy they consume, is more than likely, fermented.
IMHO, soy is bad stuff for young women who already produce enough of their own estrogen, for children who do not need to advance hormonally any faster, and especially for men, who darn sure do not need any feminization!
Who does that leave? MAYBE, big maybe here, post menopausal women : /
Tatt
Hm. “Biological effects are plausible but not necessarily detrimental ... More human data are clearly needed”
Okay, the evidence isn’t conclusive that soy is the root of all evil. However, as one who has to read every label, and has to avoid chocolate because of the soy lecithin, IT’S STILL EVIL!!! I’ll admit my view may be biased because of my allergy, but I can’t even go to a frickin’ newsstand because I can’t breathe in the soy ink fumes.
Soy is not good for your thyroid gland either.
Correct. Western food products use mostly soybean oil, soy "milk" and tofu which are unfermented. Fermented soy products such as shoyu, miso, natto, tempeh are the staples of Japanese and Asian food.
Natto is particularly healthy specifically due to the fermentation process during which b.natto produces enzymes and amino acids.
My sympathies. That IS evil.
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