The Skinny on Soy

A couple weeks ago, a credible trainer that works at Equinox in Chicago, made a comment regarding soy milk that got me thinking. We (at work at Freshii) asked him if he preferred skim or soy milk in his smoothie, and he said "skim...men shouldn't eat soy unless they want female features..." That may be slightly paraphrased but it's pretty much what he said. This statement definitely hinted toward a hormone fluctuation in men based on consumption of soy milk and/or soy generally in the diet. So this morning I decided to look into this and I looked up "soy and estrogen" on google and found an interesting discussion which helped me learn some things, but the conclusion is still speculative to me.

Some conversation leaned towards the idea that non-fermented versions of soy (soy milk, edamame, tofu, etc) were harmful and that fermented versions (soy sauce, miso, etc) were not, and an argument with online studies showed that this was not conclusive. Such was the same for other arguments that soy consumption in men led to reduced sperm counts, but this is not conclusive as well because it was actually "environmental estrogens" not "soy estrogens" that led to this. What's also interesting regarding men is that some studies pointed towards evidence that soy products could help reduce prostate cancer risks. For women, some beliefs are that soy increases breast cancer risks while other studies don't produce a definite conclusion in this area. Other personal testimony claimed that regular soy milk consumption (in women) led to longer periods and sometimes larger, more tender breasts. This is interesting, but one reference to this explained that it may be possible to become dependent on these estrogens from soy and it may force the body to produce less.

I throw my hands up. All I know is that I use soy milk every day, and I feel like the strongest man I have been and I feel it is a better choice than cow's milk, which is milk from a different species of animal, (which in theory is just weird), not to mention that 75% of the world's population is in some way lactose intolerant. Also, a point was made (which is also somewhat known) that soy and soy products have been in use, especially in Asia, for centuries, and their lifespans are some of the longest on the planet. Another useless correlation? Maybe. My belief is that if you are drinking soy milk or using other soy products but the rest of your diet is riddled with saturated fats, excessive sugars, high-caffeine, non-whole grain carbohydrates, etc, then I would conclude it is the other crap messing you up. If you feel that soy products (or any other specific product or food) effects you in a certain way, then do your own experiment and stop using the product for a while and see how you feel. Your body will usually respond in a notable way if there was something messing with you, and you should be able to realize how to change what you are doing to optimize your health. Please comment on this blog because I am not an expert on soy; I'd love to hear more personal stories on this. Click on the title of this blog to see the discussion I referred to earlier, and thanks for reading everyone! Have a great day!