Soy...good Or Bad?

[Ksmith]

So...there's lots of controversy over soy...I'm a vegetarian with celiac...so soy has become my savior. Can those who are no allergic to soy (because for obvious reasons you do not eat it) tell me why or why not you eat soy? Thanks so much in advance!

~Kiara

[AndreaB]

Here is a link to one article I posted....

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[KaitiUSA]

I eat soy and have not had a problem with it. I would not go in excess because it can cause low thyroid but other than that I find no problem with it.

[georgie]

Soy is considered a goitrogen food and should be used in moderation in adults and never for infants.

Goitre and hypothyroidism were reported in infants fed soybean diets until the early 1960's (23). In fact recent reports indicate that thyroid disorders may be attributable to feeding soy-based infant formulas (24-25). Further, a study on 37 adults showed that diffuse goitre and hypothyroidism appeared in half of the subjects after consuming 30 g per day of pickled roasted soybeans for three months (26). These findings are consistent with the recently proposed mechanism by which soy isoflavones affect thyroid hormone synthesis (27).

It is concluded that soy isoflavones can be the cause of thyroid disorders in soy consumers and, hence, there is every indication that cases of goitre and hypothyroidism in infants were caused by the soy isoflavones. Unless diets that include soy isoflavones are adequately supplemented with iodine, goitre will result. In this regard Kay et al. discuss the minimum safety iodine requirement for a soybean diet (28).

However, even if iodine supplementation does occur, under conditions of high chronic doses of isoflavones persistent inhibition of thyroid hormone synthesis could potentially lead to thyroid cancer (27).

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[happygirl]

I think you will find a lot of completely contradictory information out there. Some say its awful, some say its a magic food. I'm sorry that I don't have much to offer! Food is so overwhelming sometimes, isn't it?!!!

[Ksmith]

I think you will find a lot of completely contradictory information out there. Some say its awful, some say its a magic food. I'm sorry that I don't have much to offer! Food is so overwhelming sometimes, isn't it?!!!

I hear that...everything in moderation...as always...well, except allergens, etc... :-)

[plantime]

I can easily tolerate small amounts of it, but my body is too sensitive to the phytoestrogens in it to eat very much. It has nothing to do with anyone or thing else, just my supersensitive body!

[Ksmith]

I can easily tolerate small amounts of it, but my body is too sensitive to the phytoestrogens in it to eat very much. It has nothing to do with anyone or thing else, just my supersensitive body!

what's the reaction like? Thanks!

[Looking for answers]

I personally get gassy with soy, but my husband has had more significant reactions. Being lactose intolerant, he began eating soy frequently, and soon his voice started cracking! We attributed to the phytoestrogens in Soy and he quit eating it. Glad to report that he talks like a man again!

[Sinenox]

From what I've read the kind we breed is a phytoestrogen, a teratogen and a a tool for corrupting foreign markets. The kind of soy we use isn't just bad for the body, it's bad foreign policy as well. I drink rice milk, use vegetable oils and alternatives for meat and avoid the soy.

[JenKuz]

From what I've read the kind we breed is a phytoestrogen, a teratogen and a a tool for corrupting foreign markets. The kind of soy we use isn't just bad for the body, it's bad foreign policy as well. I drink rice milk, use vegetable oils and alternatives for meat and avoid the soy.

I cut out wheat first, and was still eating soy pending several tests. I traveled in Hawaii and California, and was eating a short ton of Japanese food...complete with soy sauce (which also had wheat, I learned). In any case, on the last night of my trip, I had nausea and stomach pains so bad I spent half the night in the ER at Cedars Sinai (which, all right...if you have to spend half a night in an ER, might as well be that one...TVs in every room! Seriously!). Shortly after that, I got results from Enterolab suggesting soy problems (see below). My milk and yeast were fine.

Based on this, I've cut out all wheat in all forms, preferring naturally-gluten-free foods. I don't eat large quantities of soy, i.e. no soy milk or tofu...but soy lecithin is in *so much stuff* that I haven't gotten so far as to cut it out altogether.

However, I am currently studying for a big exam, and I didn't have time to prepare food yesterday, so I ate two large bowls of wheat-free cereal yesterday evening. It was peanut butter flavored, with some soy ingredients in it as well. I woke up in the middle of the night needing to vomit, and spent all day today with terrible heartburn and pain and nausea and headache and the whole works. I don't think it was an accidental glutening, as the cereal is supposed to be gluten-free. However, I am quite sure it was the cereal, because other than that I had only an avocado, yogurt and some rice. It reaffirms for me that I should take steps now to eliminate all soy and peanuts from my diet.

Speaking of which, if anyone knows a good dipping sauce for sushi that doesn't have soy or peanuts, I'd LOVE to hear it

[dionnek]

When I was first dx with celiac in May, I read some stuff on here about soy but decided to ignore it since going gluten-free was hard enough. So, I started using rice milk and almond milk (to eliminate dairy), but found out I am allergic to almonds and didn't like the rice milk so switched to soy milk. shortly after starting to use soy milk, I devleoped a goiter and now Hashimotos thryoiditis, so I came back here and did some research on the whol soy/thyroid issue and am convinced that my increase in soy products once going gluten-free is what caused my goiter. I have since stopped using all obvious sources of soy, however I'm still not avoiding gluten free foods that might have soy derivatives in them - just too hard to do!

[aikiducky]

I don't avoid small amounts of soy, like soy lecithin in chocolate, but if I eat bigger amounts of it I start to break out like a teenager. Apparently it messes up my hormones....

Pauliina

[jerseyangel]

I can tolerate lecithan, but all other forms of soy cause skin breakouts, gas and cramping.

[paw]

Over a year before I went Gluten Free, they told me to stop the Dairy. All of it. Doctor told me to drink soy milk for protein. I did not like the taste and could not get much down at all. Just a few ounces a day (never more than 8, more often 4 oz) was enough to mess up my thyroid blood work. Doctor said she would increase my thyroid medication so I could continue to use soy. I just stopped the soy and my bloodwork went back to normal. The soy was blocking my body from absorbing and using my thyroid hormones I need to live. I do not need soy to live.

Think of it, if some days I got 2 oz soy milk, some days 8 oz cooked in food I would have to figure a different dosage of thyroid medication? That would be way to hard for something I just don't trust the safety of or enjoy the taste.

I have had my thyroid destroyed due to Graves disease years ago. Soy is not safe for me at all, verified by blood tests! I was actually glad, that stuff was so nasty.