Are there any short or long term ill effects of Soy Milk ?

Question

I am a vegetarian and am trying to convert to a vegan.. What are the possible short and long term side effects of soy milk? I heard that there are certain components in soy milk which boost estrogen production in your body, is that true ? And will this result in early onset of menstrual cycle in young girls ?

Answer 1

No one 'really' know one way or the other. I can tell you that I haven't found much in the way of truly independent research on the subject. There is a *huge* push by the dairy industry to find negatives on soy (it's cutting into their profits big time) and there is also a push by soy producers to find benefits to soy. ADM (stoopermarket to the world) has actually had different divisions of the mega corp sponsoring both sides of the "issue" of whether soy is 'good' or not.

Early onset of menses is normally tied to the growth hormones that are used in the meat industry (especially poultry). I've found no research that show phyto-estrogens have an effect on this except for 2 studies that were dairy funded (and peer reviewed by dairy sources).

All I can say with certainty is that I've been a heavy user of soyfoods since the '60s with no health probs that can be traced to soy and my cardiologist and cardiac nutritionist both feel that soy (along with my veggie diet) have helped me avoid the early cardiac death syndrome that I inherited from my fathers family. I'm looking to make it past 60 and everyone else died in their late 30s-early 40s (including my own children that hated soy foods and weren't veggie).

edit:
To all the folks talking about soy and estrogen... Spend a little time searching out the research on the subject. Look at the scientists involved with the studies and what their educational background and work histories are. Look at who funded and published the studies. Also look at the amount of bovine estrogen found in traditional dairy and compare the results with the amount of phyto-estrogen found in soyfoods. This should be a non-issue!

Now can we get on to the 'issue' of lectins in soy? (Hint: see my answer to this question from a week ago)

Answer 2

Soy is estrogenic, so for boys that's a general no-no. There are other milks beyond soy and rice milk, btw. There are nut milks, and even milks made from grains. you don't have to be stuck with a life of soy. Do some thorough research so that you have all of the nutritional information that you need before making the move to veganism.

Answer 3

yeah,I would stay away from it.I was taking soy protein for a month because a I was lifting weights.Truthfully I didn't see or feel any negative results.I gained muscle.But then I read about negative side effects of soy,so I stopped.I dopn't think it has short term effects but I;m sure there are long term effects.i'll still have some once or twice a month though.just don't go and drink huge amounts.Or try almond milk.

greenghost has a great answer,for some it has negative side effects and for others it doesn't.But I would say better safe than sorry.So try alternatives like almond milk.

Answer 4

Soy beans do have a small amount of estrogen in them, which may make your body think it's getting some estrogen, so it might stop making quite as much as it used to. This would NOT cause early menstruation. It does not boost estrogen production in your body.
The amount of estrogen in soy is nothing compared to the estrogen that's in milk. If you're weighing the benefits of soymilk vs. cow's milk, I would say, unless you have hormone problems, go ahead and drink the soymilk. And if you DO have hormone problems, definitely stay away from cow's milk, too.

Answer 5

I know several people that are allergic to milk and have been on soy milk for years and it did not cause problems with their periods. My son had to be on soy formula because of severe acid reflux and it caused no problems for him. People that are not as healthy with a well-balanced diet might feel effects more from the little bit of estrogen in it.

Answer 6

I stopped drinking soy milk for just that reason. Too much soy is a bad thing. I think everything in moderation is the key...just don't over do it or drink it daily. I have switched to almond milk for my cereal and it's great. You should give that a try. I just don't drink it straight cos it doesn't taste THAT awesome. But in cereal it's really good. Good luck!

Answer 7

There's also another important issue linked to soy in general. Most of the soy which is marketed worldwide - e.g. what is used by the food industry - comes from GM seeds. The issue with GM foodstuffs is that science is not yet able to say what kind of long term effects this food will have on us.

Answer 8

www.vegsource.com New streaming video about health and vegetarianism. McDougal explains some of the soy issues. It seems he doesn't recommend it. Drink rice milk or do soy in moderation.

Answer 9

Yes, you are right about a lot of what you said. You can do some reading up on it. Some people, soy is okay and always in MODERATION. I, on the other hand ate it for every meal: tofu, stirfried tofu, veggie burgers, soy milk, soy lattes, everything you can think of. I could've had a preexisting thyroid problem, well it exasperated the problem to where I got severely ill, and tired, and gained a lot of weight.

Here is what soy can do:
1. Cause or slow thyroid down therefore causing or helping thyroid problems to be worse.
2. By blocking thyroid hormone, it can also shut down metabolism, causing you to be constipated, gain weight, bloat, etc.
3. Soy is a highly allergenic food to some people (diarrhea, etc).
4. Soy is one of the MOST or the MOST overprocessed foods in the U.S. Yes, asians do eat it, but theirs is not processed, and real (fresh) from the fields. They also eat in moderation, and mostly eat it in Miso form, or soy sauce, etc, and those ones are okay for you.
5. Soy milk and other soy (not all) but most have Isoflavens in them so they can mess with hormones. A lot of girls in my daughter's school have started their periods at 10 year's old. When I was a kid, it was 13 or 14 you do the math. Soy is in everything practically (in American food). It's in prepared foods, prepackaged foods, jar foods, condiments, etc. We get an excess of it.

Long term, for me I have to avoid it. I miss it, but it's a personal choice. It is up to you as a personal choice. A lot of people I know with thyroid problems get "achy" from soy. I don't get achy, but I gain weight, and my thyroid slows down significantly so I avoid it. Then there are those people out there that it does nothing to. I would say if you have thyroid problems or auto-immune disease in your family (genetic) avoid it at all costs. If you eat a little, and you don't feel anything from it, then moderation is key and stay away from the overlyprocessed isovflaven kind.

I get mad at my husband if he eats like soy meatballs from Trader Joe's or something and I won't give it to my kids. I hear that drinking a glass of soy milk or formula for a baby is like giving them 5 birth control pills. I don't want to mess with their hormones! I want them to eat "natural" foods not processed ones! I always tease my husband that if he eats soy balls he's going to grow breasts! LOL

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Answer 10

I am not a doctor, but when my mother in law had breast cancer and I was taking care of her, the doc said NO SOY--it is a natural source of estrogen...now I avoid soy to reduce my risk of BC...if it is a natural sourse of estrogen, I wouldn't be allowing my young daughters access to it!