Score one for the soy boys

[Lou]

HA! Years ago (could it be 20 already), while I was just starting out on my vegan journey I got concerned about soy. I kept hearing conflicting reports. One negative report on soy I read was in the magazine Men's Health. It took me hours more of research before I determined that the Men's Health article was just sloppy reporting. But I've held that against the magazine for ages. I am never going to get those hours back.

My Newsfeed somehow figures out what kind of articles I like to read and presents them to me. This particular headline seemed interesting enough to me so I clicked on it and read it.

What Is In an Impossible Burger? A Look At Ingredients and Nutrition

www.menshealth.com

And I gotta tell you I felt completely vindicated when I read

Now, Impossible Foods will tell you that there’s nothing to fear when it comes to soy, and that’s actually true.​

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All the way back in the 2000’s a few small studies and rodent studies appeared to show that compounds within soy called phytoestrogens might disrupt hormones, which could lead to low sperm count and man boobs.​

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Several news outlets (including this one), may have overblown those findings. “Such a link has never been substantiated in human studies,” says Qi Sun, M.D. assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard, told Men’s Health in October 2018. “I don’t think this is a concern at all.”​

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In fact, men who consumed diets that included soy had a 29 percent reduced risk of developing prostate cancer, according to a 2018 meta-analysis published in the journal Nutrients.​

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bold supplied by me for emphasis.

BTW, the rest of the article sucks.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

I did some research on soy a few years ago when I took meat out of my diet and I determined that the fears were probably overblown, maybe even carnist scaremongering, and it was fine. But I can't remember the details now.

However, there were some concerns made about soy that were specific to women's health, which I ignored, since they weren't relevant to me. So I didn't look into those. Not that I think that they were serious, credible concerns or anything - I've no idea- but I'm just saying my conclusion was from a male health perspective only so women can ignore me.*

* Many already do, so they can carry on as normal.

 

[Lou]

I did some research on soy a few years ago when I took meat out of my diet and I determined that the fears were probably overblown, maybe even carnist scaremongering, and it was fine. But I can't remember the details now.

However, there were some concerns made about soy that were specific to women's health, which I ignored, since they weren't relevant to me. So I didn't look into those. Not that I think that they were serious, credible concerns or anything - I've no idea- but I'm just saying my conclusion was from a male health perspective only so women can ignore me.*

* Many already do, so they can carry on as normal.

I sort of felt that same way. but since I have looked at the role of phytoestrogens and breast cancer and it seems to be a wash. almost as many studies say it reduces breast cancer risk as say it increases breast cancer risk.

the most annoying thing I uncovered is how often the media connected soy with thyroid cancer. There was ONE study where they fed soy-based formula to infants (in India). And one infant developed a thyroid issue. (not cancer). And it was a small study, like 8 infants. And it was 60+ years ago. And the results have never been replicated. But still I see articles linking soy to thyroid cancer and that you can't use soy-based formulas.

I don't know how or why these myths persist. Maybe it is the dairy industry. Or it could be that some people are just lazy gullible idiots.

 

[Jamie in Chile]

Personally, I prefer to take the angle that soy is not necessary on a vegan diet anyway, and you can just eat bean burgers or something else rather than getting into a debate about soy. If people are assuming soy is a vital, integral part of a vegan or vegetarian diet, and then fighting against soy as part of a strategy to justify meat eating, then arguing about soy is possibly giving them what they want, a debate about scientific studies and health that is not clear cut and therefore allows them to maintain the status quo. Instead I'd suggest quickly saying that actually soy is probably fine for most people most of the time according to scientific studies, and then refocus the debate onto whether they've ever tried a lentil burger and how it's better than it sounds, or turning it back to the needed ethical debate.

I do think the anti-soy argument seems to have lost some ground or become less commion in recent years though, so that's good.

 

[Lou]

The Counter, a burger place has the Impossible Burger. I've had it there twice. but I perfer their bean burger (black beans). and its $4 cheaper.

The thing about soy for me is that I drink a glass or two of soymilk a day. it helps me meet my protein, calcium, and B12 requirements.