Soy - Not So Fast

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Kathy — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:39:58 GMT

I stumbled onto this site while looking up information about hyperthyroidism and find you talking about fermented soy. I had heard about this a few weeks ago but can't find a doctor or any store that carries it. My 4 year old daughter is severly allergic to all dairy products and we have been giving her Silk Soy and a friend told me weeks ago about how the Silk Soy has a ton of hormones in it that are not good for her to be exposed to. Can you tell me if fermented soy is something I should be trying harder to find?? Is there something else you would recommend I give my daughter as a dairy substitute??

We have tried the rice cheese and rice based ice cream and find that she does not care for any of that stuff.

re: Soy - Not So Fast

psnow01 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 10:23:41 GMT

Dear Annemarie,

Thanks for all your work on various foodstuffs & their many problems - but may I ask you a 'simple' question? IS there any such thing as a reliable food etc allergy/intolerance test? Everyone I have heard about seems to have its many detractors...

Philip Snow

snowart@tiscali.co.uk

re: Soy - Not So Fast

marianne nash — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 11:44:33 GMT

Certain and utterly safe allergy testing is available at the family run Breaksopear Hospital, Hemel Hempstead Herts. See their website.

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Jayne Grinstead — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:43:22 GMT

I know there are a lot of scares about soya. I have been worried myself but as a mother of two boys who were given soya formula as babies and were brought up with a medium to high intake of soya, I can only say they are very healthy and never go to the doctors. My eldest is 14 and has developed normally - he is tall does not have stunted growth which is one of the things that worried me when all the scares came out. My youngest is small for his age but we are a very small family so it may be hereditory and he will probably grow when he becomes a teenager.

Dairy milk and dairy products carry a greater risk in my opinion as they are loaded with hormones and also antibiotics fed to the animals. If you have to consume dairy buy organic.

When I first read soya scares - I changed my boys to rice milk on their cereal which they both still prefer to soya milk. The brands all taste different - we found Rice Dream to be the best. I had to wean my youngest onto it by gradually mixing it with soya milk so that he didnt notice the taste difference.

Hope this helps. Viva's website have good info on soya. Read the section from the Vegetarian and vegan foundation. www.vegetarian.org.uk

re: Soy - Not So Fast

M Harris — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 19:19:03 GMT

"Haelan" is a fermented soy. I have taken it from 2 1/2 years. Read about it I don't think this is what you are looking for.

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Dr Justine Butler — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:15:07 GMT

Oh dear, there is so much misinformation and downright daftness about soya which is why the Vegetarian & Vegan Foundation (VVF) has launched the website www.safetyofsoya.com dedicated to informing and myth-busting.

If you want to read our fully-referenced fact sheet on the safety of soya, find out more about soya-based infant formulas, read some of the most frequently asked questions and access some delicious recipes read on...

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Yuri | EatingforEnergy.ca — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:49:31 GMT

Thought you might also be interested in reading a brand new article on the causes (ie. soy is one of them) and the little known dietary approaches to dealing with an underactive thyroid.

http://blog.totalwellnessconsulting.ca/2008/08/diet-for-underactive-thyroid.html

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Lauren L. — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:10:32 GMT

Dear Kathy,

Re: non-dairy milks that are not soy or rice: I really love Blue Diamond's "Almond Dream" line of products, especially the unsweetened vanilla, which has (I think) half the sugar of their regular almond milk. I, too, do not care for rice milk and avoid excessive amounts of soy due to its anti-thyroid properties. I love the almond milk. You can also make your own nut milks -- try searching around online for recipes.

For ice cream, there is a new dairy-free product that I've seen in my markets (in San Francisco) that is made from coconut milk -- yum! -- but the name is escaping me. I'm guessing it might be available in other places? If it's only cow's milk she can't tolerate, there is also a goat's milk ice cream that looks yummy, and of course non-dairy sorbets (I like the ones made by Ciao Bella).

Good luck!

Lauren

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Kvolkan — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 17:37:36 GMT

I am hypothyroid and initially thought say consumption was implicated in my problems. I stopped eating anything with soy in it for a couple years. Recently I have added back in soy to my diet. However, I eat soy in a traditional Asian way - a little bit of tofu (1-4 oz/day), tempeh now and then, and high end Shoyu (soy sauce made w/o wheat in the traditional way). I find that a little soy is good for me, good for my heart health, and doesn't seem to affect my thyroid functioning at all. Same for tea, which I also gave up due to the anti-thyroid effects of fluoride (which is naturally concentrated in the tea plant). Since the Japanese are the longest living people in the world (despite their high rate of smoking and drinking), as well as the known good qualities of the diets of other Asian countries, I thinj it is worth trying to emulate.

I couldn't agree more on avoiding processed, genetically engineered, or non-organic food, both soy and everything else.

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Mary J. Calhoun — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 22:42:06 GMT

Having had a known low thyriod since the mid 1960's and been on meds for it,

I have had two occasions where we found my medication had stopped working completely.Thus far the synthroid is okay and I have been on it for about 20 years now .However I found after having daily uncontrolable disentary( especially shortly after eating), terrible shortness of breath (being treated for asthma- that was a mistake.) and having to fight for air as the cold air took away my breath with the least bit of winter wind. I myself, figured out by leaving soy out I was totally okay again.

It comes in all types of products and foods under so many names like vitamin E

and MSG and even in neosporin -I had to go to polysporin, natural flavors, Lecithin,

vegetable oil, HVP, TVP, vegetable broth, vegetable gum and vegetable starch.This is just to name a few things bread/buns/cereals/soups. You name it its there.It is very hard to go out to eat.Alot of places do vegetable oil for cooking.You learn the hard way usually.

But this has been my problem with soy and am glad I have been

able to know it and advoid it.

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Jayne G — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:05:54 GMT

I thought I would just mention that I suffered from thyroiditis 3 years ago. I have eaten a lot of soya for the last 20 years. I know soya is associated with underactive thryroid but it seemed strange to me that I had thyroiditis which gives you an overactive thyroid! I eliminated the symptoms over a couple of months by following an alkali diet and drinking lots of water which muted the pain and flu-like symptoms. I am now completely recovered and back to eating my normal vegetarian diet.

re: Soy - Not So Fast

alisha — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 19:17:45 GMT

i have been drinking soy milk with my cereal cause im lactose and tolerant. and most of the soy is lactose free. and i do have and underactive thyroid. and i did not know that soy would do that to your body. my question is , is it still ok to drink 2% milk lactose free than the soy????? and how long does it take to get out of your body? i only used the soy milk in the morning with my special k cereal.

please get back with me on at.

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D. — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:47:13 GMT

Thanks to all for your comments. With soy, as with everything else regarding diet, personal experience is as important as "scientific" data. So, please attend to your own body's responses - and if your children are doing well having been raised on soy formula, that makes me happy!

Re Alisha's question - consider having a breakfast that is not a sugared crunchy cereal requiring a milky white liquid to make it edible - but something else, like oatmeal, or wholegrain toast with almond butter or eggs, or kippers, or leftover dinner, or guacamole and corn tortillas. I see no need for humans having to consume cow's milk. However, if you insist on doing so, I would recommend you get good whole fresh milk from healthy grass grazing cows. So, eat the real thing, rather than imitations!

Wishing you excellent health!

Annemarie Colbin, Ph.D.

re: Soy - Not So Fast

Nicola — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:09:35 GMT

I have been vegetarian for 20 years now and eat a lot of soya. I have been trying to concieve now for nearly a year without any luck and have been trying to find out reasons why, starting with the basics - diet. My research has shown me soya can make men and women infertile!! shock horror i have now stopped eating soya for the last 2 months. I am hoping this will have an affect to stop my periods being so painful to! Does anyone know how long it takes for soya to get out of your system and will it leave me infertile forever or is it just whilst i have been eating it??