Soy's Thyroid Dangers

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Another example ........soy vs. thyroid

 

http://thyroid.about.com/library/weekly/aa041202a.htm

 

Soy's Thyroid Dangers A Look at the Dangers of Soy to the Health of Your Thyroid

Related Information • " The Other Side of Soy " -- ABC News Television, 20/20

Program

• Soy Online Service

• Soy Isoflavones: Panacea or Poison, from the Weston A. Price Foundation

• " Tragedy and Hype, " The Third International Soy Symposium

 

 

 

by Mary J. Shomon

 

Health and nutrition magazines tout the benefits of soy as a cure-all for

women's health, hormonal problems, cancer prevention, weight loss, and many

other problems. The reality, however, is that promotion of soy may be more a

matter of business and marketing, rathan than recommendations based on sound

scientific evidence.

 

Isoflavones, the key components of soy that make them so potent as a posible

substitute for hormone replacement, mean that soy products, while touted as

foods and nutritional products -- often are used and act as like a hormonal

drug.

 

If you have a diagnosed or undiagnosed thyroid problem, or a history of

autoimmune disease, overconsumption of soy isoflavones can potentially trigger a

thyroid condition. Soy foods can worsen an existing diagnosed thyroid problem in

many people. In both cases the symptoms such as fatigue, weight gain, and

depression or moodiness are often overlooked and hard to diagnose.

 

A recent study found that as millions of Americans -- perhaps as many as more

than 10 million -- have an undiagnosed thyroid condition. The vast majority of

thyroid patients are women over 40. This is the same group that, responding to

marketing claims that promote soy as helping to prevent breast cancer, reducing

the risk of high cholesterol or heart disease, or as a treatment for symptoms of

menopause, are turning to soy foods and isoflavone supplements in vast numbers.

 

Here is more information regarding soy and its relationship to the thyroid.

 

FDA's Soy Experts Speak Out Against Soy

 

" there is abundant evidence that some of the isoflavones found in soy, including

genistein and equol, a metabolize of daidzen, demonstrate toxicity in estrogen

sensitive tissues and in the thyroid. This is true for a number of species,

including humans.

 

Additionally, isoflavones are inhibitors of the thyroid peroxidase which makes

T3 and T4. Inhibition can be expected to generate thyroid abnormalities,

including goiter and autoimmune thyroiditis. There exists a significant body of

animal data that demonstrates goitrogenic and even carcinogenic effects of soy

products. Moreover, there are significant reports of goitrogenic effects from

soy consumption in human infants and adults. " Official Letter of Protest to the

FDA Letter of protest from researchers Daniel Doerge and Daniel Sheehan, two of

the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) key experts on soy, to the FDA,

protesting the health claims approved by the FDA on soy products

 

America's Foremost Alternative Doctor Warns Re: Soy

 

America's leading alternative doctor, Dr. Andrew Weil, has said about soy, at

his Ask Dr. Weil website " …you're unlikely to get too many isoflavones as a

result of adding soy foods to your diet -- but you probably will take in too

much if you take soy supplements in pill form. At this point, I can only

recommend that you avoid soy supplements entirely. " Study Shows That Too Much

Tofu Induces Brain Aging

 

From the Honolulu Star-Bulletin " A Hawaii 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. "

" ...these are not nutrients. They are drugs. They will have some benefits and

some negative things. " Don't Go Overboard With the Soy Foods!

 

David Zava, Ph.D., a biochemist and an experienced breast cancer researcher

stated in an interview: " In studying the literature on soy I found there are

about five types of plant chemicals [antinutrients] in the soybean that can be

toxic to humans if they are not removed by special processing… the fifth

antinutrient in soybeans is called a goitrogen. This is a chemical that latches

on to iodine, preventing it from absorbing into the body from the

gastrointestinal tract. Iodine is needed to make thyroid hormone. Low thyroid

function has been associated with poor brain development. Anyone who has been

deficient in thyroid hormone understands quite well what impact this can have on

normal brain function, especially at a time in life as we grow older and " fuzzy

thinking " creeps into our vocabulary. " North American Menopause Society Won't

Endorse Soy Products

 

In a press statement, the North American Menopause Society has said: " Our review

found that scientific data are inconclusive regarding whether the observed

health effects in humans are attributable to isoflavones alone or to isoflavones

plus other components in whole foods… women may wish to consume whole foods that

contain isoflavones, especially for potential cardiovascular benefits. However,

scientific data supporting the use of isoflavones for hot flashes are

conflicting, and inadequate data exist to evaluate their effect on breast and

other female cancers, bone mass and vaginal dryness… Our evaluation also pointed

out that a level of caution needs to be observed, especially in the use of

isoflavone supplements, powders and pills…More studies documenting benefits and

safety need to be conducted.''Research Shows Soy's Effects

 

 

American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol 68, 1431S-1435S, " Effects of

soy-protein supplementation on epithelial proliferation in the histologically

normal human breast " -- Study showed that short-term use of dietary soy

stimulated breast cell proliferation, which can increase the risk of breast

cancer.

Anti-thyroid isoflavones from soybean -- November 1997 article from Biochem

Pharmacol in which " it was observed that an … extract of soybeans contains

compounds that inhibit thyroid peroxidase- (TPO) catalyzed reactions essential

to thyroid hormone synthesis. "

Breast and soy-formula feedings in early infancy and the prevalence of

autoimmune thyroid disease in children. -- April 1998 article from the J Am Coll

Nutr. that documents the association of soy formula feedings in infancy and

autoimmune thyroid disease.

Leading Expert Warns of Soy-Thyroid Connection in Bestselling Book

 

In the bestselling book Living Well With Hypothyroidism: What Your Doctor

Doesn't Tell You . . . That You Need to Know, leading soy expert Dr. Mike

Fitzpatrick was profiled. " Dr. Mike Fitzpatrick is an environmental scientist

and phytoestrogen researcher who has extensively researched the issue of soy

formulas, and the impact of soy consumption on thyroid function. Dr. Fitzpatrick

introduced me to a little-known fact that can have substantial impact on people

with hypothyroidism and the population in general -- overconsumption of soy

products has the potential to impair thyroid function. Dr. Fitzpatrick is so

concerned that he is calling for soy formula manufacturers to remove the

isoflavones -- the agents that are most active against the thyroid -- from their

products. .. There are also concerns for adult consumption of soy products. One

UK study involving premenopausal women gave 60 grams of soy protein per day for

one month. This was found to disrupt the menstrual cycle, with the effects of

the isoflavones continuing for a full three months after stopping the soy in the

diet. Another study found that intake of soy over a long period causes

enlargement of the thyroid and suppresses thyroid function. Isoflavones are also

known to modify fertility and change sex hormone status, and to have serious

health effects -- including infertility, thyroid disease or liver disease -- on

a number of mammals… Dr. Fitzpatrick believes that people with hypothyroidism

should seriously consider avoiding soy products, and predicts the current

promotion of soy as a health food will result in an increase in thyroid

disorders. " Soy Researcher is Even 'Very Concerned'

 

" 'There's a tendency in our culture to think if a little is good, then a lot's

better,' says Mary Anthony, a soy researcher at Wake Forest University School of

Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. 'But I personally am very concerned about

isoflavone pills and soy protein supplemented with extra isoflavones.'

Isoflavones, after all, seem to act like hormones or drugs in our body--even if

for regulatory purposes they are classified as nutritional supplements. " (From

" In Light of Troubling Study on Soy, Moderation Seen as Key, " LA Times , Monday,

March 27, 2000)

 

 

 

 

 

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