soy (long)

[Guest guest]

Hello, I have been taking a couple days to just read all you posts. I have

really enjoyed all you have had to say. I read this article a while back and I

would like your opinion on it. I tried to send a link to it because it was long,

but was not sucseesful so I thought I would copy and paste.

 

Thank you! Nanci

 

 

 

 

 

This past month a dear friend of mine called with the disturbing news that she

had estrogen receptive breast cancer. She asked, " What do you know that could

help me? " I knew nothing, so I got busy on the web trying to find everything I

could on the subject. I found more than I could have imagined.

 

In the course of my research, I discovered that I had been swallowing a lot of

propaganda. If you say something loud enough, often enough, and convincingly

enough you can make anyone believe anything you say. The commercial side of the

health food industry in America has vigorously promoted soy products and

additives, turning a deaf ear to research that should throw up red flags. While

other countries have acknowledged the potential danger and taken steps to warn

their citizenry, powerful, rich concerns in this country have not admitted the

problem.

 

Soybeans! Healthy, right? Full of vitamins? Full of protein? Yes, everyone knows

that. Not according to new research. It is common knowledge that soybeans are

loaded with plant compounds that mimic estrogen, a female hormone. Many post

menopausal women use soy products to help control hot flashes and other problems

caused by hormonal imbalances. And soy is very effective in supplying the

hormones needed! Think about it. If soy products supply sufficient hormones to

balance out older women, what are they doing to newborn babies fed soy formula?

What is this female hormone doing to men who have a constant diet of tofu and

soy milk? What about younger women who already have a full supply of estrogen;

how does a diet of estrogen rich soy affect them? Research is now strongly

pointing to some very disturbing facts. I have summarized many studies and

reports and have tried to give a brief outline of the increasing volume of

research now being done.

 

Some studies on the effects of soy products on humans have been in progress 40

years. They are now examining the brain tissue of the deceased. There are many

recent studies done on animals. They noticed that birds fed soy developed their

adult plumage at 2 months instead of the normal 18 months. At first this was a

real plus because the young chicks could be marketed better with their full

adult color. Then they noticed that the early maturing, soy-fed birds aged

prematurely and died young. This caused much consternation among bird handlers,

for they also noticed a great increase in growth disorders, thyroid problems,

infertility, and tumor growth.

 

This was a wake-up call. People were asking, " If soy does this to birds, what is

it doing to us? " National health agencies and physician associations of some

countries have warned their populace to exercise caution in using soy based

infant formulas. In the U. S. two of the Federal Drug Administration's own

researchers, Daniel Doerge and Daniel Sheehan, have stepped forward to protest

their own agency's allowance of health claim labeling regarding the effects of

soy protein on coronary health. In a letter to the FDA, they cite their deep

disturbance over potential risk to the public by the FDA's failure to require

that the same safeguards be put in place for soy use as for estrogenic

(prescribed hormone substances) and goitrogenic drugs (thyroid medication),

i.e., that people be informed of the risks and be under a physician's care while

using it.

 

Our Babies

Preliminary studies are indicating that children given soy formula go through

puberty much earlier than children who were not fed soy products. Why? Because

the phytoestrogens/ isoflavones in soy act like a hormone in the body, causing

the infant to have hormones like the adult body. A 1994 study done in New

Zealand revealed that, depending on age, potency of the product, and feeding

methods, infants on soy formula might be consuming the equivalent of up to 10

contraceptive pills a day. By exposing your baby to such large amounts of

hormonal-like substance, you are risking permanent endocrine system damage

(pituitary gland, pineal gland, hypothalamus, thyroid, thymus gland, pancreas,

ovary, testis, adrenal glands). Phytoestrogens (substance in soy) are now

strongly implicated, through research, in thyroid disorders, behavioral and

developmental disorders and cancer. Thyroid problems are now in epidemic

proportions. Theodore Kay of the Kyoto University Faculty of Medicine noted in

1988 that " thyroid enlargement in rats and humans, especially children and

women, fed with soybeans has been known for half a century. " Recent research

leaves little doubt that dietary isoflavones in soy have a profound effect on

thyroid function in humans. If you were fed a soy formula or soy products and

suffer from a thyroid disorder, contact www.soyonline-service.co.nz/thyroid.htm

for help.

 

Little Boys

" Early puberty (caused by consuming soy products) may increase a boy's chances

of developing testicular cancer later in life, because it means longer exposure

to sex hormones, " said University of North Carolina researcher Marcia

Herman-Giddens. Congenital abnormalities of male genital tracts are also

increasing. Recent studies found a higher incidence of birth defects in male

offspring of vegetarian, soy-consuming mothers.

 

The hormone issue is not the only concern. Research now in progress strongly

ties aggressive behavioral problems in children to soy. Soy formula has

manganese levels that are 50 times higher than the level found in mother's

breast milk. Research is now showing that high levels of manganese found in soy

beverages may be neurotoxic to babies, causing brain damage. These studies

suggest a correlation to the dramatic increase in ADHD and violent behavior seen

in adolescents today. The website: www.insightmag.com/archive/200106252.shtml

reviews a study of unusually high manganese levels found in the hair of

hyperactive children and youths convicted of felony crimes. Manganese is a trace

metal that is essential for life, but when it is on overload it becomes

" manganese-toxicity syndrome. " If I had a child who was a soy child and showed

signs of aggressive behavior, I would study oral chelation to see if the

manganese levels could be removed naturally.

 

Allergies are a growing concern. Soy is one of the most allergenic foods in

modern diets. It is reported in several research reports to contain at least 30

allergenic proteins. Many of our prepared foods from MSG to crackers and

cookies, to frozen fish sticks, and TV dinners, to drinks and most everything in

between contain soy. Many soy products are listed as natural ingredients or

natural flavorings. Health authorities in other countries are taking products

off the markets until they are clearly labeled due to the wide spread allergic

reactions to soy. Does your child have asthma? If so, then it is time for you

to do your own homework and find out what can be done to clean up your family's

diet.

 

Little Girls

We regularly get letters from parents that are shocked and horrified to have

discovered that their babies, as young as 18 months, are, without doubt,

masturbating. It is a shocking but growing phenomenon. Some of the problems are

associated with small children clutching vibrating toys, but not in all cases.

Yet, there must be a predisposing prompted by hormones. Could it be caused by

the hormone element in soy formula? It is becoming clear that our little girls'

hormonal levels are being elevated at a very young age by the health food we

eat! Soy-formula provides a hormone level at least 240 times higher than breast

milk.

 

In 1982 pediatric endocrinologists reported that their studies indicated an

increase in the incidence of breast development in girls younger than eight

years of age. In the first study of 130 little girls, 68% of them had the onset

of thelarche (breast development) before they were 18 months old! Investigators

found a positive statistical association between thelarche and the consumption

of soy formulas (affecting 22 girls), various meat products (affecting 10 girls)

and the mother's history of ovarian cysts (affecting 16 girls). For years,

health food gurus have been blaming hormone fed chickens (chickens fed soy) for

our early puberty problems, but they remained silent about the hormones we have

been eating in the vast number of soy products!

 

Little girls that go through puberty early face a greater lifetime risk of

breast cancer and early ovarian cysts, which is a factor in ovarian cancer and

of developing autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD).

 

Younger Women

Over the years I have known women of childbearing age who guarded their diets,

were in excellent health, did not have a family history of breast cancer, and

yet came down with breast cancer and died. Why? What was the common factor in

these women? You will be shocked to learn that phyto-estrogen compounds found in

soy may actually increase the risk of breast cancer. Dr. Claude Hughes, director

of the Women's Health Center at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles said

of chemicals found in soy, " It can speed up divisions of those cells that are

already cancer cells that depend on estrogen for their growth. "

 

Chanfeng Wang and Mindy S. Kurzer, who wrote Phytoestrogen Concentration

Determines Effects of DNA Synthesis in Human Breast Cancer Cells say, " Our data

suggests the possibility that, at typical concentrations in humans,

phytoestrogens and flavonoids and lignans may stimulate, rather than inhibit,

growth of estrogen-dependant tumors. "

 

It is important to understand that it is not uncommon for hormonally active

agents to act as both estrogens and anti-estrogens, to stimulate or inhibit the

growth of certain types of cells, such as those found in the human breast. The

difference lies in doses and life stages. It is a double-edged sword. Risks may

greatly outweigh the benefits. Research strongly suggests that younger women

need to use soy products with care and not upset the natural estrogen levels

with an overload from an outside source.

 

Two glasses of soy milk a day, over the course of a month, contains enough of

the chemical to change the timing of a woman's menstrual cycle. Many women of

child-bearing age are having terrible mood swings, depression, and they

experience monthly PMS. Could these women be playing havoc with their hormones

by what they are eating? We already know that women on birth-control pills are

known to have more volatile emotions due to the hormonal upset. Just 100 gm of

any soy product has the estrogenic content of a contraceptive pill.

 

And OUR MEN? A Half Helping of a Man?

What are phytoestrogens doing to the men? Researcher, W. David Kubiak reports

that " ...because female hormones or estrogen given to men in small quantities

can quickly overwhelm androgen activity, and soy produces estrogen molecules in

biologically significant amounts, it might be inferred that a steady diet of

miso, tofu, soy sauce, and so on might not be best for leadership trainees or

aspiring Lotharios (lovers). "

 

Researchers believe that the trend toward lower male fertility may be due to

environmental estrogens, including the soy phytoestrogens. There is strong

evidence that soy phytoestrogens inhibit an enzyme which is required for the

synthesis of testosterone and the development of the CNS-gonadal axis. Much

research is now being done to determine the effects of soy on male animals (even

male insects) of all sorts. Research with animals and insects from the

grasshopper to the cheetah, are showing that soy affects males by making them

less confident, less aggressive, indecisive, show less sexual interest, lower

sperm count and in some studies less everything male. Research on humans is slow

(years), but the short-term studies on men are showing the information obtained

through animal life spans correlate with what is happening in human research. A

Half Helping of Man? Research sure looks that way. I am sorry for all the soy

products I tried to shove down my husband's and sons' throats and thankful they

were 'male-stubborn' and refused my " health food. "

 

Old, Old, Old Men and getting older with each serving of tofu eaten

The longest study on soy products began in Hawaii in 1965 with 8,006

Japanese-American men. It questioned the men about 27 foods and drinks. Over the

years the men were monitored, questioned, and studied. The study shows a

significant statistical relationship between two or more servings of tofu a week

and " accelerated brain aging " and even an association with Alzheimer's disease,

says Dr. Lon White, who has been studying diseases and aging in this Honolulu

Heart Program. White said the scientists found " a significant link between tofu

consumption during midlife and loss of mental ability and even loss of brain

weight. " Tofu was the only consistent link among the men. " The test results were

about equivalent to what they would have been if they were five years older and

the guys who ate none, their test scores were as though they were five years

younger. " Said White. The brains of 300 men who died were examined in a unique

autopsy study conducted as part of the Honolulu aging project. White reports,

" But what I did see was the simple weight of the brain was lower. Shrinkage

occurs naturally with age, but atrophy progressed more rapidly in those men who

had consumed more tofu. "

 

At the conference where White presented his findings, Finnish scientist Herman

Adlercreutz, who led the scientific explosion of interest in his studies on soy

20 years ago, said of soy and it components, " I am myself frightened a little

bit by all this. There is so much we don't know. "

 

Lon White, who has been a researcher in this field for many years said, " The

bottom line is these are not nutrients. They are drugs. They will have some

benefits and some negative things. "

 

Summary

In my study I noticed several important factors. Those who are speaking out

against soy products, use extensive data and research reports. They also do not

have monetary gain as a motive for putting out the information.

 

On the other hand, those promoting soy show an obvious lack of scientific study

and research. Information promoting soy products often refers back to the Asian

people's dietary habits and their health records. Soy advocates also do not

share critical information about the conditions in which the soy plant is grown,

which can greatly change the chemical structure of the plant, causing the soy

plant to have antiestrogenic effects, rather than estrogenic effects. Stress,

fungus, and other environmental and growth conditions can change the types and

amounts of phytochemicals responsible for soy's touted health benefits or risks.

 

The way the Asians use soy is also never mentioned. The vast majority of soy

eaten in Asian countries is used in combination with protein foods, such as

pork, fish, milk or eggs. The animal proteins greatly change the chemical

structure of the food and how it is digested. Much of the soy in Asian countries

is also highly fermented (using fungus), the process changing the hormone-like

properties. In the literature I read that told how healthy the Asian people are

because they ate soy did not mention that research is finding that Alzheimer's

is higher in Asian people than any other group in the world. As I studied soy's

health benefits, it would have helped if the soy industry would have addressed

some of the findings of the research that has been done and is now being done

that so clearly points to some serious health threats, but I could find no

serious rebuffs. Many people would lose huge fortunes if this information began

to affect the health food markets.

 

Conclusion

I have read for days, even weeks. My neck is stiff from sitting in one spot

researching. There are thousands of pages on soy, stating that it is wonderful,

and thousands of pages saying how terrible it is. After all I have read, it is

clear that money is the deciding factor, not health. Soy is a drug, like many

herbs. It is too powerful of a drug to use freely as a food. I visited a health

food store yesterday. There was aisle after aisle and shelf after shelf of

ready-made, packaged, long lasting, processed, soy health food. There were soy

based vitamins, medicines, creams, lotions, rubs, green drinks, baby food,

cereal, crackers, milk, soup, cookies, meat substitute, noodles, hot drinks,

sauces, nut substitute, chips, candy bars, and anything else a person eats.

While I stood there looking around, I felt like I had been a big fool to have

thought that all that stuff was healthy. When men try to improve on what God

gave, it should be questioned. Cereal should be grains; milk should be the way

it was in the Promised Land; meat should be as it was when Jesus fed the

multitude, or when Abraham fed the angels of God, and vegetables should be

garden fresh.

 

Isaiah 7:15-Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil,

and choose the good. (prophecy of Jesus and what he would eat and why)

 

II Samuel 17:29-And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David,

and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is

hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness. (God's anointed man and his

army are fed)

 

Isaiah 7:22-And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that they

shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat that is

left in the land. (noted because it was a blessing from God)

 

Life is learning, and learning is expending an effort to know the truth. I have

given you just a tiny bit of information. Chances are if you buy any prepared

foods, you are eating soy. If your child was raised on soy formula, you need to

do research. If your child has unusual behavioral problems, you need to study

this through. If your child has asthma or allergic health issues, then you need

to get to work and find out if this concerns you. If you have thyroid problems

or breast tumors or cancer, this might help you find an answer to good health.

If your husband lacks leadership and male dominance, but you seem to have a

strong assertive drive, then stop eating soy and do some research. If you have

stomach ulcers or lack digestive enzymes, stop eating soy. If you have been

sucked into the health food craze like so many of us, you need to do some major

homework. Don't ask me. I won't respond to inquiries. It is in your hands now.

It is for you to find out for yourself and make your own decisions. We are

including a starting point of several websites.

 

If you don't have a computer with the Internet connections, go to your local

library with the websites listed here and give them to the librarian, asking her

to help you find the information and print it out. Most public libraries will

assist you, and charge a minimal fee for any copies of web pages. J

 

 

 

Websites for further information

www.soyonlineservice.co.nz - search this site thoroughly

 

www.insightmag.com/archive/200106252.shtml

 

www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mrk121

 

www.voyager.co.nz/~patric/soy.html

 

http://abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020_000609_soy_feature.html

 

http://www.mercola.com/2001/sep/22/soy_protein_policy.htm

 

Also search the web under " soy infant formula " and it will take you

 

from there to many other websites.

 

 

 

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows,

but only empties today of its strength.

 

Charles H. Spurgeon (1834-1892)