Is soy bad for you?  Soy has been marketed as a health food and is a prevalent ingredient in items sold by Trader Joe’s, Earthfare and Whole Foods.  However, if you look at what soy instructs your hormones to do, it’s not only unhealthy, it’s dangerous!  And it’s everywhere in our diet.

In a nutshell, soy is high in genistein and daidzein.  They are phytoestrogens (plant-produced estrogens).

Your body can’t tell the difference between phytoestrogens and real estrogen.

Elevated estrogen diminishes testosterone.

Fat is stored more easily.

Here’s a quick summary of problems linked to soy from Dr. Kaayla Daniel’s book  The Whole Soy Story:

• thyroid suppression with symptoms of malaise, constipation, sleepiness, and goiters
• delayed menstruation with effects similar to tamoxifen, an anti-estrogen drug
• breast cancer
• susceptibility to prostate cancer
• accelerated puberty
• 19% drop in serum testosterone in only 28 days
• harm to the reproductive system of female newborns

Soy causes a 19% drop in serum testosterone in only 28 days Click To Tweet

Messing with hormones is only part of the story.  Soy also inhibits the digestion of protein.  According to Dr. Daniel in the article How Soy Wreaks Havoc on Digestion and the Pancreas:

“If you think that is the extent of the damage the lowly soybean can wreak on your health, you may be surprised to learn that soybeans are also notoriously hard to digest with GMO soybeans – widely used in processed foods –  the absolute worst.

The culprit is the protease inhibitors found in all soybeans whether organic or GMO. As the name suggests, protease inhibitors suppress some of the key enzymes that help us digest protein.

The best known and most important of the protease inhibitors is trypsin. GMO soybeans have more of them than organic or conventional beans, and to make matters worse, those protease inhibitors are stubbornly resistant to deactivation by cooking or other processing methods.”

Soy inhibits the digestion of protein, whether organic or GMO. Click To Tweet

None of this is new, which makes it puzzling to me why I wasn’t hearing about it all the time.

The Weston A Price Foundation has a lengthy list of studies showing the adverse effects of soy dating back to 1950.

Studies Showing Adverse Effects of Isoflavones, 1950-2013

Men’s Health has a great article from 2009 that addresses the hormonal hit men take from consuming soy.  The article tells the story of James Price, a retired U.S. Army intelligence officer who once flew attack helicopters in Vietnam.

“…these changes were more than just physically uncomfortable. “Men aren’t supposed to have breasts,” he says today in a quiet Texas drawl. “It was like my body was feminizing.”

“The first three doctors Price consulted diagnosed him with gynecomastia, or the abnormal enlargement of the mammary glands in men. Tests further revealed that estrogen levels in his bloodstream were eight times higher than the normal limits for men, higher even than the levels typically seen in healthy women. Price’s estrogen was so high, in fact, that the doctors were at a loss to explain it. One physician became so frustrated he eventually accused Price of secretly taking estrogen. “He thought I was a mental case,” says Price, still angry as he recalls the experience.”

“Of course, most medicines have side effects. And when you consume soy protein, you’re actually courting the Mr. Hyde side of two natural drugs: genistein and daidzein. Both act so similarly to estrogen that they’re known as phytoestrogens (plant-produced estrogens). Soybeans couldn’t care less about human sex characteristics—genistein and daidzein may have evolved to act as chemical defenses against fungi and grazing animals. (They aren’t very effective deterrents, apparently, since soy meal is widely used to feed livestock.) But when humans consume these compounds in high enough quantities, they may experience gender-bending nightmares like James Price’s. What’s more, studies of these phytoestrogens in leading peer-reviewed medical journals suggest that even lower doses—such as the amount in the 25-gram soy protein target cited by the FDA—have the potential to wreak hormonal havoc.”

You can read the entire article here – Is This the Most Dangerous Food For Men?

Soy goes by many different names so let me point out those that don’t use the word ‘soy’ as part of the description.

The following products contain soy:

• • • Edamame (soybeans in pods)
    • Hydrolyzed soy protein
    • Kinnoko flour
    • Kyodofu (freeze dried tofu)
    • Miso
    • Natto
    • Okara (soy pulp)
    • Shoyu sauce
    • Supro
    • Tamari
    • Tempeh
    • Teriyaki sauce
    • Textured soy flour (TSF)
    • Textured soy protein (TSP)
    • Textured vegetable protein (TVP)
    • Tofu
    • Yakidofu
    • Yuba (bean curd)

These items MAY contain soy:

• • • Artificial flavoring
    • Asian foods (e.g. Japanese, Chinese, Thai, etc.)
    • Hydrolyzed plant protein
    • Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)
    • Natural flavoring
    • Vegetable broth – You can easily make your own broth at home without soy.
    • Vegetable gum
    • Vegetable starch

There’s an excellent page on labelling requirements for soy HERE on the Kids with Food Allergies website.  According to KFA:

“Effective January 1, 2006, foods covered by the FDA labeling laws that contain soy must be labeled in plain English to declare that it “contains soy.” However, there are many foods and products that are not covered by FDA allergen labeling laws, so it is still important to know how to read a label for soy ingredients.

Products exempt from plain English labeling rules: foods that are not regulated by the FDA, cosmetics and personal care products, prescription and over‐the‐counter medications or supplements, pet food, toys and crafts.

*The FDA has exempted soy oil from being labeled as an allergen.”

Want to know more?  Take a look at my soy-free Wellness Repair Diet.