Does soy cause cancer or any other problems to a person's health?

Question

Is there any definite proof that (specifically) soy burgers and other soy products are safe to eat, no matter what age you are? I've been hearing stories about soy products, but have been buying soy products for years. What is the real truth? What are some good soy- alternatives for vegetarian foods? Thanks

Answer 1

As far as I know, soy has no health problems for anyone unless they happen to be allergic to soy.

If you search the Internet, you will find conflicting information about soy either causing cancer or being good for people who have cancer, causing thyroid problems or only causing a drug/food reaction with people on a certain thyroid medication, or the people in the study who had thyroid problems were children who were already iodine deficient, or causing men to become feminine because of too much estrogen, or having too mild an effect on estrogen to make any significant difference.

As far as I can tell, the more reliable looking information (detailed description of the studies, and quotes from people with credentials as clinicians or scientists) shows that soy is not harmful. However, soy allergies are fairly common.

I have a little education in nutrition through my degree in health information administration and one year of nursing school, and my wife is a registered dietitian with a masters in nutrition. We talk "shop" a lot, and she does not feel soy is harmful to people who are not allergic or who do not have certain health problems such as hormone deficiencies. I may be biased because she is my wife, but I know she has a very good professional reputation and most of the doctors she works with automatically go along with her recommendations.

Answer 2

I personally have experienced problems from consuming too many processed soy foods. My thyroid became enlarged and I did not have any problems with my thyroid that I was aware of prior to going strict vegetarian and going crazy with all the meat and dairy substitutes. Soy leached iodine from my body and caused this problem. There is no doubt in my mind that too much soy (think: daily or even more than once a week or so) can cause problems and I am not a propoganda-spreader for the meat and dairy industries because I HATE THEM. There's a difference between soy products used in China for years and the processed soy products like soy burgers and other fake soy meats on the market.
My advice to anyone is to use thos kinds of products VERY sparingly. I don't eat tofu or edamame at all and I have no problems with protein. I eat beans and rice for proteins and my blood tests show I'm doing great with my protein levels. Occassionally I'll want to go to a veg restaurant and have something like fake meat tacos or a fake chicken sandwich and I am fine with that because I only do it once every few months. Processed soy is in SO MUCH packaged stuff already (not just veg foods). The fact is that all this processed soy has not been around that long so I am not sure how people can say so confidently that it is safe. The fact is that there is practically an epidemic of thyroid problems out there and I wouldn't doubt if this cheap product being added to so many products is the culprit. All I really know for sure, though, is that I have DIRECTLY linked my own thyroid scare with soy use so BE CAREFUL.
I use almond milk instead of soy milk, love Sunshine Burgers (made from rice and sunflower seeds), and use things with soy added very sparingly. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything.

Answer 3

Just like any other product, they are safe to eat in moderation. The problem comes when some hardcore vegans eat soy products at each and every single meal. If you do that (with any product, not just soy), then there will be health consequences.

Answer 4

It's totally safe for People but Soya has something in it that isn't safe for Dogs or Cats. If you're getting an allergy to it then use Kelp base products or mushroom base products or coconut base products.. I've tried these and they are all great! I've used these products mostly for gravies.. No need for meat gravy! Some of the products make a good drink too. You can buy coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut butter, coconut icecream it's fair better than the rice products. As for Soya it has a benefit for those with high thyroid..as Soya can help lower it! Not good for those with a low thyroid!

Answer 5

The dairy and meat industries have put out a lot of "studies" and "research" to make soy sound like poison. It's pure evil at work.
Soy has been consumed for nearly 5,000 years in East Asia and they have had major problems with having too many living people around.

Tofu and edamame are non-fermented soy products and they have both been consumed for a very long time.

Always buy organic soy products. Genetically modified soy is very unnatural and full of pesticides.

http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/300_soy.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007204.htm
http://www.foodrevolution.org/what_about_soy.htm

Answer 6

My nutritional education is centered around dogs and cats but I know that lost of dogs can not tolerate soy. I also know that some people can be allergic to it. Its not nearly as common as corn or wheat allergies but as far as cancer I have not heard of this and I am sure it would be any preservatives to stabilize it that cause the cancer (BHA, BHT and ethoxiquin (sp) are the worst). Very interesting though.

Answer 7

from the studies I have seen there has been no proof that soya has any bad effects, but plenty that it has many advantages

check out VIVA's website or Plant based nutritional by Dr S Walsh

However - there are 2 types of Soya
Vegetarians vegans & any health conscious person would normally consume organic soya

the main stream source of soya is not organic, has been modified to be extremly resistant to pesticides, herbicides etc and when grown thsi does real damage to the eco system and land
this soya is feed for animals (thats how thye get their protein)
which means the meat will contain these nasties

its also responsible for massive destruction of rain forests etc & fed to cattle mainly for the US & European beef markets
while children & adults are starving as all the resources are used for cattle production

Good soya will not do anyone any harm and you only need a small amount everyother day

M

Answer 8

Fermented soy is safe. Unfermented soy is dangerous.

http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/03summary.htm

http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/03soymyths.htm

http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/04malehealth.htm

Some will claim the links provided are biased as it IS an anti-soy website. But, further research will show you that most sites, whether neutral or anti-soy, will tell you about both the benefits and dangers of soy, while pro-soy sites will tell you about the benefits of soy without mentioning the dangers.

There ARE health benefits of eating soy, but there ARE dangers as well. Don't let the vegers here, who don't like bad press, tell you any different.

Answer 9

Interesting. I had no idea. I gues with all of the fertilization and pesticides no food is safe anymore.

Good answer Pumpkin Me, very informative. What is wrong with your avatar today?