So what is the truth about soy? Oh boy, that is a tough one to answer. The Internet is full of warnings about the dire side effects of Soy supplements but most scientists and the government tell us that they don’t work anyway. And on the other hand there is a lot of ongoing research regarding its many active compounds. Does Soy Work? Who knows!
We came to the conclusion that it mostly boils down to good old common sense. And unfortunately the conclusion that we can’t expect miracles from one plant, as powerful as it may be. So here is our 5 cents worth after reading until our eyes crossed:
The Truth about Soy. Our Bottom Line:
- Conventional Isoflavone supplements appear not to work to well, especially not in the dosages that were studied. Most benefits were found in studies that used whole soy products.
- Given that different brands etc. contain different concentrations of isoflavones, we are not at all certain what the results of the studies mean and how these different studies can be compared.
- This is (sorry) not a “miracle” food, but soya isoflavones have some great promise because of the tissue specific attributes and the lecithin, protein and fiber content.
- It appears that it might take some weeks if not months before the benefits are felt. We believe that this is one reason that several studies didn’t show any effects.
- Because we start using it mostly when we show symptoms, we believe that a lot of the hype we read about the “dangers” of soy comes from underlying conditions that pop up in middle age.
- Having said that, women with breast cancer or anybody who is on one of the medications listed in the Interactions, should have a seriousdiscussion with their doctors before consuming higher than normal amounts outside their regular diet.
- People who consume a lot of soy as part of their daily diet from childhood or early puberty on, appear to benefit the most.
- It is probably not wise to add massive amounts of a food that is known to have numerous chemically active compounds when your body is used to a western diet that is high in processed foods.
- Personally, we probably will add some of concentrated whole soy powder to our diet, because the benefits sound plausible after trying to understand how it works. We will stay away from soy-derived supplements.
- We will try very hard to reduce the amount of soy by-products from our diet which are found in so many of our common food sources. Based on what we learned, these by-products contain mostly genetically altered soya which have different amounts of the chemically active compounds than non GMO products.