There has been a lot of controversy regarding soy foods and the whether we should use soy or not. Soy is a bean that has become more and more popular in the past decade as more and more people started to switch over from regular milk to an alternative and Soy was readily available. Now we have plenty of other choices such as goat milk, sheep milk, oat milk, hemp milk, almond milk, rice and brown rice milk.
The controversy with soy comes from the fact that it contains oxalates and phytoestrogens, which can effect the endocrine system – namely your thyroid hormones and female hormones and have been suggested to increase cancer risk. However, if you look at studies based on Asian diets, the prevalence of breast cancer is actually low in their women and part of their diet includes soy products. The difference comes from the fact that they consume fermented soy products such as tofu and miso as opposed to raw soy products. Fermented soy products in general are much better as the different acids – oxalic acid and phytic acid that the beans contain are broken down.
Soy also contains genistein and daidzein. These are isoflavones and have various health benefits especially when used correctly – for menopause. When menopause approaches, the dropping estrogen levels can cause symptoms of menopause such as hot flashes and night sweats. Isoflavones can be beneficial to reduce these symptoms as they mimic estrogen on estrogen receptor sites in the body. Talk to your Naturopathic Doctor if you are suffering from peri-menopause or menopause symptoms and want to treat them naturally.
Soy is an allergen, and a lot of people are allergic to soy or soy products and can have symptoms ranging from mild stomach aches and diarrhea to an anaphylactic shock. Hence its important to be vigilant when using soy products.
As a naturopath, my recommendations is make sure you are okay to take it before trying it out. So should you take it? It does have various health benefits that cannot be ignored, so yes if you are okay with it.
By: Sushma Shah, Toronto Naturopathic Doctor, at the Natures Intentions Naturopathic Clinic.