Dangers of Tofu

*I posted this thread in the Health section as well but thought to place it here too. The thread there has several replies.
http://www.hipforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=60


Dangers of Tofu - Cancer, Hormones and Cysts So I literally skipped all my periods for over 1 year through excessive soy milk drinking and tofu consumption. I am fine now and this was half a year ago. I've now resumed them after limited soy consumption.

It makes me so irritated to come across websites and magazines espousing the miracle benefits of tofu when it's plain that moderation is key.

The scary thing is that the two gynecologists I went to see prescribed me hormones and were going to induce my periods through the use of birth control pills. No one could pinpoint that this was an excess of soy intake, and no one questioned me about it.

The reason why I drank so much soy milk in the first place is because I am lactose intolerant and it was delicious to me. My family drank it when I was a child (infact they all drank it for years). None of us were aware that soy milk contains [size=-1]soy isoflavones which mimic estrogen in humans. As a result, the body fucks up with excess.

My father developed a hyperthyroid condition which he still has to take pills for for the rest of his life everyday, and my mother developed cysts in her ovaries and her breasts. Only one month ago we were terrified for her because we nearly thought she had breast cancer. Thankfully, the lumps were all benign, they were removed. A couple were the size of golfballs.

Since then our family has switched to rice milk and we are very conservative in our soy intake. Tofu (fried, steamed etc) are now occasional dishes. As you can already tell, I'm part Asian hence the large tofu use. It's part of a lot of our dish ingredients.

SO PLEASE, do everything in moderation. I know you're all wise folks, and especially read up and know your facts about tofu before you go ahead pumping yourselves of the "goodness" so many "health experts" claim.

Further links to explore if you wish:

http://www.healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/soy.htm
And scroll down.

http://www.anapsid.org/aboutmk/tofu.html

http://reliableanswers.com/med/soy.asp

http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/soy.htm


I'm also curious if anyone here in this forum has more information to share on soy?
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ive eaten soy and tofu 3 times a day for five years with no ill effects at all. it depends on the person and u build up a tolerance to it unless there are other issues.

 

I have heard there are some negative side-effects of too much soy... there is still much research to be done apparently. This is why moderation is key & it's good to have a varied diet, and not rely on any one source of protein in a vegetarian diet.

 

This is a very interesting subject. It just confirms what I've believed all along that moderation and balance are kinda the key to everything....

 

"All things in moderation"

1 large glass of soy milk a day is what I limit myself too. Sometimes i'll have tofu on top of it in my currys. But I certainly don't rely on it for protein...This is where kidney beans, nuts, and lentils come in!

I've had no ill-effects, and i've felt better for drinking soy milk instead of diary milk which gave me nasty acid reflux/heartburn (my reason for switching, i'm not vegan, just vegetarian who doesnt drink milk).

But that said, i'm convinced soy milk is addictive in some way lol When I first started drinking it i'm sure I craved the stuff! My friend had the same experience whilst in thailand...It's probably just the sweeteners though...

I'm sure it fucks with females more than males because of the estrogen thing.

 

Actually I think estrogen fucks with males more, because they're not used to having it in their bodies...

Ever tried rice milk? I prefer it over soy - there's no "nutty" aftertaste. Almond milk, oat milk, and hazlenut milk are also dank. Coconut milk is great in certain recipes, like vegan ice cream. mmmmmm....

 

i never thought of coconut or hazlenut milk....not a bad idea...the only problem i have with rice milk is the fact it doesnt fill u up as much as soy milk does....i dunno why but ive always loved soy milk over rice milk....and i actually have 1 question for anyone who can answer...some of u know ive been on a rough journey to try and get pregnant ith touigh luck...could my soy intake have something to do with that?

 

I have tried rice milk. I prefer soy milk more but I'm not prepared to induce my own sterility again. I would not drink coconut milk. Down near the equator where I'm from, it is notorious for high blood pressure and cholesterol build up. It's a nice treat, especially eating coconuts! But definitely never something that I would drink on a daily or even weekly basis.

I limit my rice milk intake also.

Frankly, the only thing I'm comfortable consuming in large amounts is water.

Yes, soy milk is a bit addictive, Peterness.

I'm glad people aren't using soy as a basis for any vegetarian diets. It's a great ingredient but should be used with caution. I also agree that some are more sensitive to it - however, if my family has been drinking it for years, why have we not adapted to it? My grandparents and greatgrandparents and those before them have been using soy for decades and centuries. Why now? And if it affects us, what makes others not susceptible?

 

I don't think coconut milk is really something you can drink like regular milk - way too sweet & fattening. But it works great in thai food recipes or ice cream. Like anything else, it's all about moderation.

Sounds like soy milk could definitely mess with your ability to get pregnant, but I'd do a lot more research on it first. Maybe I should use more soy since it's similar to birth control - cheaper than condoms. Hehe!

 

I don't use soy at all. I have a problem with too much estrogen in my body naturally. I just don't want to add to it by using soy. I also don't do tempeh or seiten. I eat fruits, veggies, legumes, grains, lots of real food. I'm just not interested in the fake food stuff.

Kathi

 

everyone keeps telling me you cant be a vegan without soy...thats all i know is adding soy..lol..so i think im gonna try the whole cutting most of it out and see how it goes...my only prob and concern is lacking vitamin B12 and protein and how to maintain a helathy level of both

 

http://www.webmd.com/content/article/95/103358.htm


i found this rather interesting....i dunno i think maybe their on to something....

 

I drink soy milk and occasionally have tofu. But I keep my son away from it, and don't plan on letting my daughter have them until she's entered puberty either.

I think it's like anything else. Too much of a good thing... is bad
love,
mom

 

I am pretty sure that both males and females have both estrogen and testostrone in our bodies. It is just that one sex has more of one than the other. Increasing too much of either would mess with anyone. The body should be able to compense for a little increase, but too much is not good.

 

Thanks for this. I read through it. The animal testing makes me sad.

This was a sample of monkeys. There are going to be exceptions anyhow. It may not screw with the majority of women, but it sure screwed me up! I'm not sure why, but the article made it seem that it had a 98% chance of not messing with menstrual cycles - and this annoys me because I know what happened to me. I can't ask my mother either since she's gone through menopause already. She only had cysts and lumps all over.

We have considered other foods in our diet, but after cutting down on the soy, our health issues seems to have lessened. I'm not blaming it ALL on soy, however. We're very careful with what we eat and my parents are pretty health-conscious. No one smokes, and no one in our familly drinks (not even casually or socially *ever* including holidays or new years. It's not our thing). We don't bounce around gym class, but we do take walks regularly and make sure we get exercise. No one is overweight;we're pretty slender.

We only discovered the effects of soy on our own. Infact I did first by reading up about the controversy online. When I did, I stopped drinking soy. I asked my parents if they knew anything about it (this was after my dad was diagnosed with hyperthyroid and before they found lumps in my mother). They said no, but went to do their own research, and started cutting down on their soy intake also. About two-three months later they found the cysts and lumps when my mother went for her annual checkup. When I stopped drinking soy like I used to, within one and a half months, my period came back. I don't plan to get married, or have children one day but the thought of my periods suddenly disappearing for more than a year made me more than a little uncomfortable.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear others have had better luck with it. I still do enjoy soy though, every once in awhile only.

 

I would believe it has something to do with it. i would stop drinking it and let your body cleanse itself and see if that helps. Good luck!

 

i get most of my protein from soy...since im going shopping wednesday and am in the middle of my grocery list...any help for other protein sources??

 

personally, i like to support the hemp industry, so i get a lot of products with hemp seeds. hemp seeds have a bunch of protein, and some good fats!

 

Thank you, Hannah, for the links. They have certainly given me something to think about, and educated me on a few things as well.

Sweetdreadlover, I personally would not use soy as a main protein source. Protein should not really be a big concern if you eat a balanced diet. It is actually in a lot of things such as grains, rice, beans, and nuts.

 

Non-soy protein sources are pretty easy to find, because most food actually contains some amount of protein. Beans, rice, whole grains, rice milk, lentils, seitan, nuts, nut butters, hemp seeds, granola, oatmeal (I like it with flax & hemp seeds for extra protein), textured vegetable protein (TVP) ... are all good sources of protein.