PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

Hi ladies,
Just wanted to share something interesting I learned yesterday. First, a little background on what brought me to this info.

In the last 7 months I have been on a downward spiral with my health. I've gained 27 lbs in this time(yes, you read correct- 27 lbs!) I'm constantly in a fog, can't think straight, extremely forgetful & I DON'T have any children, I can't sleep at night, then I walk around like a zombie all day & can't muster up the energy to do anything. Dry skin, skin problems, menstrual irregularities, and a feeling like I can't get enough oxygen into my lungs. I've had several doctor visits, tried countless home remedies, a COLONOSCOPY for goodness sake, and was told that it just comes with getting older. Ummm, I'm 32, not 89.

So, I turned to holisitc health. And the #1 place that I kept getting directed to was the colon. Yup. I even searched on here for info on colonics. Still, I have a hard time discussing that matter. Literally. But, I did it yesterday. And the woman who was ummm, "handling the procedure?" kept asking me about my diet. I was describing a lot of symptoms of HYPOTHYROIDISM. When I told her I was a vegetarian & ate tofu & soy protein everyday, she told me to go get my blood checked and then do some research on the effects of soy protein.

I am astounded by the lack of knowledge I had on this, since I've been a vegetarian pretty much my whole life. But my issues only started when I started eating "fake meat" stuff (boca burgers/tofu/soy milk). Why doesn't the media give us more info on this type of stuff? $$$$! The soy business is booming while everyone thinks it's the healthiest food! I'm sure in moderation, it's fine. But for me, I'm going to cut it out completely & see how things go. Here are the links in case anyone was interested. And if you've gotten this far, thank you for reading!

Do Soy Foods Affect the Thyroid?

Soy Dangers- One Woman's Story

Soy & the Thyroid

Message edited 11/18/2009 5:00:33 PM.

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

i too have had a similiar problem.

i dont have hypothyroidism - yet - but i do have a growing solid 5 cm nodule on my thyroid, and hashimoto's thyroiditis.

i became vegeterian two years ago and was vegan at certain times.

i swore and lived by soy products. i'm sure this correlates with my thyroid issues now.

while i feel it is beneficial (and definately better than milk), it should be consumed in small quantities for some people.

a good alternative is rice milk.

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

Hmmm interesting....
I also have have similar symptoms as you including difficulty getting enough oxygen into my lungs (feeling like I never get a good breath...this is the worst most frustrating feeling!!!), tiredness despite insomnia, and lack of any energy, IBS( also had a colonoscopy-neg) Interestingly enough I am also a vegetarian(7 yrs) and eat tons of boca burger type things although I also eat Quorn products which are not soy based (they are mushroom/fungus based) meat replacement. All of my symptoms have been chalked up to anxiety disorder which I am trying to work through and am making some progress (slowly). Maybe I will cut back on some of my soy consumption as well. I had my Thyroid checked and everything was normal so that isn't the cause of my problems I guess. I wish you all the best and hope you feel better soon!!Let us know if you figure out something with your homeopathic doctor. I would love to know how to fix some of my problems:)

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

I'm glad you posted this. I've been veg for a yr and a half, and do not eat ANY soy. But that's not new for me. One of my co workers who is very health concious had mentioned to me years ago that soy (in large quantities . anyway) is not good for women. Since she said it I looked into it and just decided to avoid it completely. It has to do with how the soy affects estrogen, I can't explain the biology but just the suspicion of any medical problems and i'm outa there.

I hope people reading your post decide to examine their diets very closely.

Feel better!!

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

Thanks. I'm really hoping by cutting out the soy in my diet will help. I've eaten tofu/soy milk/soy cheese/boca burgers every day for a long time.

I have had 3 ovarian cysts that ruptured in the last 6 months. There's still 2 more, but the MD said they're small enough that they don't have to do surgery. Whew! I really hope people at least educate themselves on the effects of phytoestrogen in these products.

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

It really is from genetically modified soy products. I stick to organic soy products. i don't eat a lot of soy products but I eat enough since I'm vegan. I'm going on 14 years of being vegan and have never had a health problem (knock wood). my son is vegetarian and is also very healthy - it's important to eat a well balanced diet and get your protein from a variety of sources. anyone who lived on regular hot dogs, hamburgers, and chicken nuggets would also not be healthy....

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

Dawn, kudos to you for not giving up on getting to the bottom of your health challenges. Really.

And thank you for posting this. My husband has been drinking soy milk for over 10 years and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism right before he started drinking soy milk. I sent him the information.

And thank you from a PP that suggested rice milk. We'll look into that.

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

Message edited 11/19/2009 2:02:16 PM.

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

Posted by Noonie

Posted by greenfreak

Dawn, kudos to you for not giving up on getting to the bottom of your health challenges. Really.

And thank you for posting this. My husband has been drinking soy milk for over 10 years and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism right before he started drinking soy milk. I sent him the information.

And thank you from a PP that suggested rice milk. We'll look into that.

I just replaced my soy milk with RICE milk. It's pretty good!

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

"It has been estimated that 60 to 70% of food products in retail stores already contain genetically modified ingredients. In 1998, U.S. farms cultivated over 45 million acres of GM commodities. This is a 250% increase from 1997 plantings. Commonly planted GM Foods include many major agricultural commodities, with genetically modified plants accounting for 25% of the corn acreage, 38% of the soybean acreage, and 45% of the cotton acreage grown today. Worldwide, over 69 million acres of GM crops were cultivated in 1998, with 15% of the acreage in developing countries."

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FS084

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/gmfood/overview.php

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

http://www.soyinfo.com/haz/gehaz.shtml

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_18445.cfm


This looks like a great site to explore!

Re: PSA: Soy Protein and Tofu

Possible Issue where Silk soymilk may not be considered organic!

http://www.organicconsumers.org/