Is soy healthy or bad for you?

[Scepcop]

Some of my forum members on my other forum think that soy is bad for you and kills brain cells.

http://www.happierabroad.com/forum/view ... c&start=90

How much truth is there in that? What is that based on? Are there any credible sites or studies that say that soy is bad for you?

Also, if that was true, then how come the majority of Asia that eats soy, haven't had their brain cells reduced? The anti-soy people are not answering that question.

What do you all know about this?

Personally, I've eaten A LOT of soy nearly everyday for many years, and have not had any bad effects from it. So how come people in the alternative health community are treating it like something terrible and dangerous? Are they nutcases?

Thanks,
Winston

[ProfWag]

[Craig Browning]

[ProfWag]

[Craig Browning]

[NinjaPuppy]

[NinjaPuppy]

Just so that Craig Browing doesn't think it's just him, the entire second half of this post decided to poof. I will try it again.

For those of you without any known food allergies, it may be hard to understand that the word "moderation" is not an option. I will use prunes as an example because everyone can relate as to why moderation is stressed when consuming this food. Plums are not known as a common food allergy food, nor are their dried form, prunes. In the commercial processing of plums to prunes, they sometimes add sulfites. Now sulfites are one of those more common allergy additives that can result in death, so eating one prune with sulfites can result in death depending on the level of reaction to the amount of consumed sulfites.

Here's your sulfite allergy link: http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/su ... ensitivity. The list of foods on this article contains the words: dried fruit. Hence my decision to use a prune as an example.

Now take a commercially produced product that contains multiple proven allergic items such as a jar of cheap Chinese duck sauce. You might have prunes used instead of fresh plums, soy and a countless number of preservatives or additives with allergic properties. Instant death in a jar for some. Delicious condiment for others.

[NinjaPuppy]

To get back on point with soy, since it's found in so many different commercially produced products, I doubt that anyone is eating it in moderation. Add a hefty serving of tofu to your regular diet and the word moderation gets blown out of the water. How you are going to feel after consuming whatever amount you personally consume depends on how tolerant you are to soy and it's byproducts.

Soy became popular in the US sometime in the 1700s. It's fast growing (four crops a year in Georgia), can be used for humans (the beans) and for cattle (the left over green leaves and stems either fresh or dried), is not picky about soil or weather and here's the kicker..... WEEVILS WON'T TOUCH IT unlike other legumes or proteins while in storage. IMO, if bugs don't want it, neither do I. Heck a weevil will eat through an oak cask to get at grain or beer but they won't eat soy???

[Craig Browning]

Okie dookie. . .

Well, I too have lived with a few food allergies as well as those pesky seasonal things that seem to plague everyone. Try having a love affair with Spanish & Italian food while have a Tomato allergy and as of the past few months, a developed glutton sensitivity. We can add in a handful of Legumes and green leafy plants with special "Danger" emphasis on both, Green & Lima Beans as well as Cabbage, Spinach and a handful of others. Long story short, I more than understand what life can be like having such allergies, but I likewise understand that far too many people take such things to an extreme (psychologically) and become paranoid about everything they touch -- take a look at how much the media alone encourages us to FEAR being exposed to this and that germ or bacteria or the sun, water, wine, sex. . . Where do we draw the line and start questioning things? When do we start giving ourselves permission to actually LIVE and EXPERIENCE life?

Caution is a given, fanaticism however needs to be questioned, which is why I lean on the point of Moderation in ALL things. I still have that pizza here and there as well as a slice of Lasagna, life wouldn't be worth living if I couldn't Same goes for that Ice Cream I had yesterday even though I have a worsening case of lactose intolerance. I simply won't allow it to control my life and stifle my ability to enjoying it and what it has to offer. . . health issues have already robbed me of far too many pleasures. . . causing my poor therapist to realize that I actually do have a reason to be depressed and feel as if I keep getting abandoned or "failing"

[NinjaPuppy]

[Craig Browning]

I agree with you on how soy has become a convenient filler of sorts, it's amazing where you can things like this, peanut shell as well as nuts & oils, fish components and so forth. I know people that can't use certain commercial laundry detergents because peanut shells are used as part of the filler and their nut allergies are so high.

I've had a few close-calls over the years but it would seem that I've become skilled at balancing things and knowing when I can cheat a bit and risk some limited exposure to certain food stuffs. The Beans however seem something I simply can't side-step, since I was a toddler the instant they hit my mouth I go into convulsions. . . it's not a pretty thing. I then break out in hives something terrible, then again the hives thing is common with other vegies including the ones I will cheat on like Celery (can't make a good stew without).

I've had a couple of docs try to get me to give up my fury friends because I have a mild allergy to them + how they affect my asthma but that ain't going to happen! If it's fury, has a cold nose and gives kisses, I'm a sucker for it

[ProfWag]

May I just point out, as we've discussed in other threads, that Winston once again posts something for us to discuss and then abandons the topic...

[NinjaPuppy]

[ProfWag]

[Craig Browning]