Should I stay away from soy milk?

Question

I just read that soy milk is causing cancer and killing off babies.

http://www.nydailynews.com/city_life/health/story/12099p-11453c.html

"As little as a 5- to 8-ounce serving of soy milk a day has been proven to suppress thyroid function,"

I just bought some soy milk and now I am afraid to drink it since it's supposed to pretty much get you close to death.

"I went into full-blown hypothyroidism within 72 hours,"

Oy. But soy milk tastes really good with my oatmeal and it's a nice change from cow milk all the time.

Anyone know anything more?

Answer 1

Well, reading only one newspaper article is definitely not enough. You need to do research, both on yourself and on soy. I've put in two links below, one to the dangers, one to the benefits, to get you started.

I did just a quick search and found that this controversy goes back to at least 1933 and some people think the greatest danger is to babies. But if you have an already sluggish thyroid or are on thyroid medication, soy milk will have an impact on your system, which may be what happened to the woman in the article. Which is why you may want to have yourself tested, if you are really concerned about it. Also, age seems to be a factor. Older women, who are already facing a tendency to sluggish thyroids due to approaching menopause, may suffer more of an impact from soy. Of course, allergies are also a factor to be taken into consideration. What may be perfectly harmless to one person can cause a major reaction in someone else. For example, I can't eat salads at a salad bar or fast-food restaurant because the sulfites many of them use give me a migraine -- but salads are healthy, right!! LOL! Sorry, wish there was an easy answer.

Answer 2

The Farm in Tennessee raised vegan kids on soy milk in the 1970's, the only recordable difference of the kids verses "regular" kids was that the vegan kids were slightly smaller. I have been veggie for years. My 10 year old son has been raised vegetarian using soy milk and other soy products. He is above average for height and is super smart. Oh, yeah- he doesn't eat vegetables... Any health claim good or bad ususally has a financial backing from an industry trying to make a point. Unless you feel bad after drinking soy milk, don't worry. Go read www.notmilk.com to hear stuff about cows milk that will make your head spin.

Answer 3

You are 100% correct! Soy milk is not good for you - we in the west saw that people in the far east were eating this product and their health was good, we then ignored the fact that they were eating it not drinking it and when they were eating it it was is little portions infrequently. The long term result of this eating experiment is not clear yet apart from the fact that the finding look really bad so far. Stay away from it it isnt good.
Drink oat milk - it tastes better, has more nutrients in it and we have been eating oats for thousands of years.
Normal milk is also bad for you - its essentialy baby food for cows and we as adults really dont need baby food off another animal.

Answer 4

It is not necessarily the soy which is bad but the way that it is genetically modified.

As far as baby is concerned it should have breast milk or if that is not available formula.

This sounds like a scare story to me and if soy was so bad there would be a lot of very sick or dead people.

Answer 5

I took a cooking class for vegans and vegetarians once and they said the whole thing with soy milk killing people wasn't true. The diary industry was spreading rumors to try and get people to stop buying Soy milk because at the time it was starting to become popular. I say you should stay with it.

Answer 6

I just spent about 15 minutes searching the people/sites mentioned in the article and they all appear to be linked either directly or indirectly to the dairy industry. In particular the two FDA guys listed have an entire research career dedicated to boosting dairy and attacking soy!

I'm deathly allergic to eggs (many people are), does this mean that eggs should be banned? What about strawberries? nuts? wheat?

Always look to the source behind the story! In this case bias pro/con soy food but even in day to day news stories it's not hard (thanks to the web) to find what is up!

Below is listed a site to counter your fear of soymilk (and scare the **** out of you about dairy) plus a good search engine.

Answer 7

I would just forget about Soy Milk. Years ago people was healthier and they were drinking whole milk! I know other stuff is a lot worse then milk, just for instance, High Fructose Corn Syrup! So I wouldn't worry about it! Also Margarine is bad to, Veggie Oil clogs arteries!

Answer 8

This sounds like typical scaremongering, irresponsible journalism. I mean, if you have no problems with your thyroid functions then what's the problem? The article (if you do read it) says that the cases of suppression of thyroid function was observed in people with thyroid problems to begin with.

Unless you have problem with your thyroid, there's no need to worry.

It's the same sort of headline grabbing rubbish we got a couple of weeks ago suggesting that using your iPod or mobile during a thunderstorm can kill you. Read a bit deeper into it and you'll find out that it's only a problem if you get struck by lighting. Well, no $hit Sherlock! If I get struck by lighting I would expect to be killed, iPod or not. To not get killed after getting struck would be a bonus in my mind.

Answer 9

Cows milk is designed to turn 'little' calves into full on cows. Not really something for humans to get involved in. Soya milk doesn't have the same ethical, environmental or digestive problems that cows milk does.
As others have mentioned, the 'milk myth' is still strong in our culture. Check out this link:
/www.animalaid.org.uk/veggie/milkfacts.htm

Then look to:

www.livetetics.com

Hope it all helps.

C

Answer 10

If cow milk was so natural, why are we the only animals on the planet that drink milk after we finish weening. I think it's delicious, but I don't think "the good ole' days" arguement is a good one.