Opinions about Soy Protein please

Gurlzie1

I am taking Slender Pro (Nutrition-X) and it has both whey and soy protein in it. I thought that soy was good for women but after reading an article from T-Nation about soy I'm not so sure.

here are five reasons not to eat soy:
Reason 1 — Toxicity: Soy increases your toxic load. It's one of the most sprayed crops. Their high content of pesticides increases your ever-increasing toxic load. In addition, aluminum content skyrockets in processing.
Reason 2 — Potential hypothyroidism: Soy contains goitragens, which are compounds that lead to hypothyroidism. To learn more about fighting hypothyroidism, attend one my Biosignature Modulation seminars.
Reason 3 — Blocking mineral absorption: Soy has a high content of phytates, which are known to inhibit the absorption of both macro-minerals (i.e. calcium) and trace minerals (i.e. zinc). The good news is that meat consumption blocks phytates. If you're going to eat tofu, make sure to eat some meat (ironically) during the same meal.
Reason 4 — Link to Attention Deficit Disorder: Soy-based infant formulas are linked to ADD. They contain 80 times more manganese than breast milk. Too much manganese content is linked to neurotoxicity.
Reason 5 — Increased cardiovascular load: Hemaglutinin is found in soybeans. This compound is known to make red blood cells aggregate, therefore increasing your cardiovascular load.

I've looked at other articles and there seems to be a mix of good and bad relating to soy so am confused. Has anyone else heard about the negatives associated with soy?

Should I keep taking Slender Pro or should I change back to the regular whey that I used before?

g'em

Gurlzie1 wrote: »

I am taking Slender Pro (Nutrition-X) and it has both whey and soy protein in it. I thought that soy was good for women but after reading an article from T-Nation about soy I'm not so sure.

One thing to note: T-Nation don't sell soy products. If they don't sell something, you'll be hard pushed to find positive feedback on the site about it.

Edit: also, soy affects men differently to women, so some of the 'negative' effects aren't negative from a female perspective. I'll dig something up about it in a sec...

Gurlzie1

Thanks for that, much appreciated

g'em

Soy contains high levels of soy isoflavones aka phytoestrogens or oestrogen-like compounds. There's been much debate about what the effects these phytoestrogens will have on the body, and much of the research has concentrated on menopausal and post-menopausal women (the jury is still out about the effect of the presence of high levels of isoflavones in post-menopausal women - it may protect against breast cancer, but it may also have a negative impact on body composition*). There may also be positive effects for both men AND women in consuming soy proteins for bone health.

There's much less evidence out there concerning soy as a bodybuilding supplement, primarily (in my opinion) because it's not worth the manufacturer's time or money to engage in and whey has consistently been shown to be so effective. If it ain't broke... Besides, anything that has the implication of being oestrogen-derived will send the average man running for the hills, and it's more costly to isolate for use in supplemental form to boot.

Although the * article concerns body composition in women, it's looking at women in who serious hormonal changes have occurred - can the same therefore be applied to women of childbearing age in whom oestrogen activity is optimal? In a study that investigated the effects of a soy-based compared with a traditional low-calorie diet for 30 obese adults

"Soy-based low-calorie diets significantly decreased serum total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations and had a greater effect on reducing body fat percentage than traditional low-calorie diets."

So back to the point in hand: what the heckaroony does this have to do with my Slender-Pro? Well this article, by a guy called Will Brink who's a very comprehensive and decent author says it better than I can. Although soy has many detractors, there are numerous benefits to it. Sure it has a lower biological than eggs or turkey or chicken or whey, but it is a vegetarian complete protein without the drawbacks of ingesting dairy, plus it help reduce cholesterol. The article even concludes by recommending that you combine 'traditional' whey protein with soy protein for a "best of both worlds" scenario.

I'm not sure how quick I'd be to recommend soy to a boy bb'er, simply because the evidence is still so inconclusive. But there's enough articles and journal reviews out there to convince me that as a women it has a lot going for it.

Gurlzie1

Great post, lots of info!
Thanks for going to the trouble of posting all that.

There seems to be no reason why I can't keep taking the powder I'm using so I'll stick with it I think