Okay so you walk into the
grocery store which is really just a madhouse of new health fads, and low-carb
this, and reduced-fat that, and oh wait made with soy? What is soy? What are
its health benefits, and are there any possible health risks associated with
soy consumption? In this blog I will discuss with you everything you should
know about soy, and hope that it can help clear up any confusion you may have
about buying soy products.
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| Click here to view picture |
So soy really does have it
all! It has each of the nine essential amino acids, which is a rare occurrence
in plants. In fact, studies show that the protein you receive from soybeans is
equally as high as the protein you receive from regular animal protein. Soybeans
are also very fatty, in fact they are 20% fat. Don’t let this steer you away
from consuming soybeans though because the fat that they are made up of are two
of the essential fatty acids that benefit human growth and development. Soybeans are also high in fiber. Eating
a diet high in fiber has been linked to lowering obesity, and lowering your
risk of diverticulosis (a problem that can lead to infections in your colon). Soybeans
also have these things called isoflavones which for our purpose we will call
plant estrogen. Soybeans have the highest levels of isoflavones in the human
diet. This is what causes the controversial health benefits and health risks of
soybean consumption.
Health benefits:
As just discussed, soybeans
aid in helping to complete a healthy, well balanced diet. The isoflavones found
in soybeans have been linked to possibly preventing hormone related cancers due
to its ability to act like estrogen in the body. It is not estrogen though, but
rather just acting like estrogen, therefore it can intervene with cancer's
ability to grow and divide. The isoflavones also have been linked to
improve bone development resulting in a lowered risk of developing
osteoporosis. This is because the isoflavones increase mineral absorption.
Health Risks:
The health risks of soybeans
are still controversial to the public and as well as science but some studies
have shown that soy consumption can be linked to brain deterioration such as
dementia and Alzheimer's disease. This is linked to the high levels of
isoflavones found in soybeans. Since the isoflavones have the ability to act
like estrogen, it is believed that they are anti-thyroid which could be linked
to these brain diseases. One study that was done looked at soy consumption
across 90 countries. What this study did was determine the daily soy
consumption per person in each country and graphed it against the percentage of
people ages 60+ with alzheimer's. What they found was a significant correlation
between soy consumption and Alzheimer's disease. Although this study showed that there is a correlation
between Alzheimer's and soy food consumption, it should be noted that this does
not mean that soy beans caused Alzheimer's in these individuals. There are many
other factors that played a role in this data, and Alzheimer's disease and its
causes are not yet well understood.
So, overall soy is safe to
consume. It has remarkable health benefits and should definitely be
incorporated into everyones diets. One rule that I live by is anything good, is
only good in moderation. Comment below to discuss your thought on soy consumption,
and it's health benefits and risks!
Photo credited to United
Soybean Board
(https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/legalcode)
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/unitedsoybean/)
Works Cited:
Blake, Joan Salge. Nutrition: From Science to You. S.l.: Benjamin-Cummings Pub, 2015. Print.
Messina, V., & Messina, M. (2005). Is it safe to eat soy.
Roccisano, D., Henneberg, M., & Saniotis, A. (2014). A possible cause of Alzheimer’s dementia–Industrial soy foods. Medical hypotheses, 82(3), 250-254.
Zelasko, Chester J., Ph.D. "Soy & Health." Better Life Unlimited. Better Life Unlimited, Jan. 2000. Web. 03 Mar. 2016.
The health risks are interesting. My aunt cannot consume anything containing soy because she has had cancerous cells form in her reproductive organs and the soy has been found to aide in their growth. I don't know how related, but her doctor could not stress it enough to not consume soy anymore.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting because as a vegetarian, I do consume good amount of Soy. One of the risk that blog talks about is that there is a correlation between Soy bean and Alzheimer's disease. One question that comes to my mind is that did the participant have any family history of Alzheimer's disease that might have affected the overall results/data? I completely agree that there needs to be more in-depth research in this area of study.
ReplyDeleteI am wondering what the lifestyle is of people who are more often to consume soy and if this may also be related to developing Alzheimer's disease. Also, how much soy would be too much and does it vary depending on if it is on its own or if it is mixed in other substances.
ReplyDeleteI was always skeptical about soy. I couldn't imagine it to be a major part of my diet like some other people do it. I have a relative who is in their early stages of dementia/Alzheimer disease. It's crazy that soy is related to this disease. But then again, just like most other foods, if consumed in moderation they will be beneficial rather than harmful.
ReplyDeleteI think soybeans are great for everyone but specifically vegetarians since the protein you receive from soybeans is equally as high as the protein you receive from consuming animals. Soy is a super food that offers tremendous health benefits but I found it surprising that soy consumption can be linked to brain deterioration such as Alzheimer's disease and dementia. I wonder how much soy one would need to consume before dementia and Alzheimer's disease targets the person. It is important to remember that moderation is key when consuming any food or drink because too much of a good thing can potentially lead to harmful effects such as in this case with soybeans.
ReplyDeleteI used to always think soy was a healthy food that everyone should try to consume. But as I grew older and cared more and more about my diet I've come to realize that soy can be harmful. I think this post is great in that it enforces the idea that you need to find out what is best for you, aka whether or not you should avoid soy or incorporate it more into your diet.
ReplyDeleteI found this blog very interesting to read because I did not know much about soy. I always thought that soy milk is healthier than regular milk. At first, when I was reading the blog I thought that I should start incorporating soy into my diet. I agree with you Emily that if we consume it we should in moderation. Only because of the correlations it has with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. My grandmother has dementia and it has been difficult over the last few years. I would hate to consume soy with the correlation it may have to Alzheimer's. It is crazy to think how much we are finding out different foods and nutrients can lead to cancer and neurological diseases.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I honestly had no idea what soy is. I see it on labels and things all the time and knew about the soy allergy, but as stupid as it sounds I didn't know exactly what kind of food it was. I just know you put soy sauce on Chinese food and I'm not allergic to it so that was that. The fact that it may be linked to Alzheimer diseases makes me want to cut back on it though, but what food nowadays isn't linked to some disease.
ReplyDeleteI have been a vegetarian my whole life, and recently switched to a pescatarian diet. I have always thought that soy was suppose to be healthy for you. I would have knew guess that it is linked to Alzheimer's. Personally, I joke around and say that you can get cancer from just about anything, but its good to know that there are food out there that can help prevent cancer to some degree. This is a wonderful post and it helped to clarify my own questions and misunderstands about soy.
ReplyDeleteI was never really aware of the health risks that are associated with soy. The only time I really use soy is when I have soy sauce with sushi and that is not on a daily basis, so I think I'll be okay. I think that it is important for more research to be done because if soy has a significant correlation with Alzheimers disease then is it really worth having soy as often as it is said? It was very interesting to hear this correlation especially since we hear that soy is suppose to be healthy and good for you.
ReplyDeleteAlzheimers disease is one I know of all too well. Both of my grandmothers suffered from it and we took care of them in our home. I wonder through which biochemical mechanism soy is linked with AD. AD is both a tauopathy and amyloidosis. Does soy cause more build of of TAU protein and cause NFTs or does it cause amyloid plaques to build up? it would be interesting to research this!
ReplyDelete