Soy Milk

[Kee]

I've seen somewhat of a vendetta against soy milk when i have been researching it. Some claim it's good for you, some claim it gives you cancer (lol), I'm just wondering where these people get their information from and above all - who to trust. I don't drink soy often. Perhaps once a day (if that) and only a dash in a coffee - moderation being the key to everything of course.

I realise it's got a few pro's and con's and feel it would be stupid to jump on any kind of vendetta bandwagon - but i would love to know what you all think about it and any research you've done into soy.

PS: I don't drink it because of any allergies or predispositions to milk, i just buy it occasionally because i find it a little strange to be drinking milk designed for new-born calves

[quarterflesh]

soy doesn't give you cancer.. the government does.

any ways i gave up milk for soy 3 years ago, this is the first time iv heard about it causing cancer. i know ppl who have drank it there whole lives without any problems, but i would like to hear some more info if anyone has some.

[Kee]

It obviously doesn't cause cancer lmao, but there is some serious smear campaigning going on if you look around. Just wondering what people think about it, so yeah thanks for the input

[Heffa]

Ive been drinking soy milk for 19ish years. I'm ok so far , I choose the milk by taste and price. I regulary check ingredients but only because i have many allergies that result in anaphylaxis, inc. cow's milk.

Edit: When i say i have been drinking it for 19 or so years, i mean around 3-5 cartons (litres) a week, as i have no other alternative.

Edited November 4, 2011 by Heffa

[Alice]

I'm just wondering where these people get their information from and above all - who to trust.

 

Peer-reviewed literature. If you can't access something in particular that you'd like to read, ask for it and I (and I'm sure many others here) will be quite happy to email it too you (assuming it's not in some obscure journal, in which case it's probably best you avoid it anyway).

[etherealdrifter]

i've had lactose issues and cow milk probs all my life but with soy i never get snotty, congested etc . i just hope that when it says Oz made , grown yada yada yada......it's just that.

[ballzac]

Peer-reviewed literature. If you can't access something in particular that you'd like to read, ask for it and I (and I'm sure many others here) will be quite happy to email it too you (assuming it's not in some obscure journal, in which case it's probably best you avoid it anyway).

 

This ^

Even though the majority of this stuff is not easy to understand for the lay person, we can still look at the abstract and see what the main conclusions are. You really need to look at dozens (or hundreds) of papers to get a good idea of what the science says without the bias you get from reading one review or one book on the subject. You can use Google Scholar to look at abstracts. Most articles cost if you aren't associated with a university, but the abstracts are generally free and that's probably as far as you need to go. Example:

Abstract: Background: On the basis of hypothesized protective effect, we examined the effect of soy foods on estrogens in nipple aspirate fluid (NAF) and serum, possible indicators of breast cancer risk.

Methods: In a crossover design, we randomized 96 women who produced 10 mu L or more NAF to a high-or low-soy diet for 6 months. During the high-soy diet, participants consumed 2 soy servings of soy milk, tofu, or soy nuts (similar to 50 mg of isoflavones per day); during the low-soy diet, they maintained their usual diet. Six NAF samples were obtained using a FirstCyte aspirator. Estradiol (E(2)) and estrone sulfate (E(1)S) were assessed in NAF and estrone (E(1)) in serum only, using highly sensitive radioimmunoassays. Mixed-effects regression models accounting for repeated measures and left-censoring limits were applied.

Results: Mean E(2) and E(1)S were lower during the high-soy than the low-soy diet (113 vs. 313 pg/mL and 46 vs. 68 ng/mL, respectively) without reaching significance (P = 0.07); the interaction between group and diet was not significant. There was no effect of the soy treatment on serum levels of E(2) (P = 0.76), E(1) (P = 0.86), or E(1)S (P = 0.56). Within individuals, NAF and serum levels of E(2) (r(s) = 0.37; P

Conclusion: Soy foods in amounts consumed by Asians did not significantly modify estrogen levels in NAF and serum.

 

[occidentalis]

I've been a soy milk drinker for about ten years (only organic, whole bean soy milk - not 'so good' or any of the other cheap soy protein isolate stuff)

I've also had GERD for about 10 years, recently becoming quite bad. Funny, usually I wake up in the morning feeling kinda ok. It's only after I have my morning coffee loaded with soy that I start to feel shit. I quit coffee for a while (but not soy) and still had problems. It never crossed my mind that soy milk might be the problem.

Recently I noticed a correlation with this, and so I've stopped drinking soy milk. It's only been a week or so, but I'm definitely feeling better. Still having some problems, but haven't had to take Somac (the PPI I take when my stomach gets bad) at all.

So no definite conclusions yet, but I'm definitely going to continue with my soy milk embargo for a bit longer...

[Marcel]

I can't be assed finding the articles I've read, but the going line seems to make a distinction between fermented soy and unfermented soy. That is, soy within "fermented" products like tofu and tempeh (for example) is very good; soy in soy milk and edomame (for example) is not so good.

[tripsis]

Tofu is most emphatically not fermented. Only tempeh is.

[Marcel]

Hmmm. Yeah, I guess you're right... Isn't curdling a type of fermentation, though? If not, is there a blanket term for "foods chemically altered by microorganisms"? (Forgive me; I'm a Fine Arts graduate )

[tripsis]

It's not curdled with microorganisms as far as I'm aware, it's curdled with chemicals or enzymes. I don't think curdling through those methods could be considered fermentation.

[Marcel]

Tripsis, you're a walking and talking biology text book . I did look tofu up and there are two types of traditional tofu that are fermented: hereand here

(Sorry for the hijack; it seems like it's related to the OP's general gist)

[Marcel]

Also, I came across mention of hemp seed milk as an alternative to soy milk. Sounds interesting. Anyone seen it in Australia?

[tripsis]

Biology is awesome.

Found this pretty interesting about the fermented tofu:

In order to produce fermented bean curd, cubes of dried tofu are allowed to fully air-dry under hay and slowly ferment from aerial bacteria and fungal spores.

Amazing it doesn't end up spoiled.

[Thelema]

my missus had to give up soy milk, because it exacerbated her endometriosis. This was after a long trial of things, which also identified red meat (beef), coffee, red wine, and tobacco.

But i can say without doubt that the fermented products like tempeh are fine for her.

[Kee]

Also, I came across mention of hemp seed milk as an alternative to soy milk. Sounds interesting. Anyone seen it in Australia?

 

Now why would that catch your attention?

I heard Almond Milk is a good alternative too, actually, for now it seems i'll do with brown rice milk though.

[Marcel]

I actually hate Cannabis and have never enjoyed anything but the smell of it. It was actually Andrew Weil's name that caught my attention (listen to his lecture on Psychedelic Salon; it's great).

I just found this for all you soy milk dislikers.

[qualia]

i love soy milk, for the fact it doesn't taste like the inside of cows .

at least some brands, some brands taste is not to my liking. i've settles on coles brand for price/taste.

[qualia]

also, if you're getting your info from "dr" mercola, i'd disregard most of it.

i think i heard some rumour that he was heavily involved in the meat/livestock industry.