Busting the Soy Myths

Soymilk is great for losing weight because it is low in fat and calories if you use the plain or unsweetened, and has a lower glycemic index than dairy milk, almond milk, or rice milk. The plain soymilk only has 4 g of carbs in a half cup to 8 g in skim milk, and 45 calories versus 60 in skim milk. Soymilk also has much less saturated fat. Many people are lactose intolerant and don’t know that they are until they switch to soymilk and don’t have the constant bloating and flatulence any longer. What a nice surprise!

Despite all these great facts, many myths have been spread that are simply untrue about soymilk….and unfortunately you may have heard some of them from your own doctor who inadvertently repeated them. If so, take this article to him/her. I am a former researcher with USDA, a microbiologist, an expert in nutrition and weight management….I want to set the record straight once and for all. (Don’t worry, my own son is a doctor, they put on their britches the same way you do; but unfortunately for us, for the most part, they don’t take nutrition courses in med school!)

I got this request via email this week and I have been getting this question for years in my clinics since soy is on our menus: "My oncologist asked me not to have soy, saying it produces estrogen and would stimulate cancer growth. In all of the information I have read, I cannot find anything that supports this. On the contrary, I have found that it may actually reduce breast cancer risk. Is it safe for a person with a history of breast cancer to eat soy foods or not?"

Thank you for your question. I have found that this is one of the most misunderstood concepts in nutrition for both doctors and lay people. I also hear it in association with thyroid disease. If you do not drink soymilk WITH your thyroid medication and wait the same length of time that you wait for anything else with calcium in it, you can drink soy in moderation with no problem. Let me stress: moderation and whole soy foods.

The idea that soy foods are related to human estrogen comes from the fact that these foods do contain a group of nutrients that are known as phytoestrogens or plant estrogens. This term caught on because soy foods do contain some nutrients that look chemically similar to some of the estrogens that occur naturally in the human body. Unfortunately, the term "phytoestrogen" caught on in the media. Because of this many people, including health care providers, focus on this one aspect of this very complex food. In truth, soy foods appear to have many cancer fighting abilities, many of which do not have anything to do with any type of so-called "phytoestrogen" activity. However, because the popular literature focuses only on the phytoestrogen aspects of soy food, many people have the mistaken idea that soy literally contains or makes estrogen. This is not true. However, in defense of health care providers, it is important to remember that it is very difficult to keep up on all of the research literature on any one topic. Thousands of studies are published every year just on cancer and nutrition alone.

It is important to note that soymilk does not cause the body to produce excess estrogen and it does not contain human estrogens. However, because soy foods do contain nutrients that look a bit like human estrogens, researchers are interested in how these nutrients affect how our bodies produce and use their own forms of estrogen. Many studies have been done and you can read more about it at www.caring4cancer.com . In the meantime, think of estrogen as a key that fits in a lock in a cell and unlocks cancer should you be prone to it. And think of a phytoestrogen as key that fits the keyhole but cannot turn the lock and blocks the estrogen from the cell. I firmly believe that soy protects you from cancer and that is why I drink it and eat whole soy foods.

Berry Soy Smoothie
½ cup Silk Plain Soymilk
1 packet Before and After Strawberry Protein Gelatin or 1 pkt. Knox gelatin
¼ cup Blueberries, frozen
5 Strawberries, frozen
½ cup ice

Blend first two ingredients in blender then add the other three. Sweeten with Liquid Stevia Drops. Makes one serving.

You can vary this adding different frozen fruits: pineapple, peaches, mango, and cherries, and canned pumpkin. If you are maintaining your weight, add bananas, pears, and peanut butter.