Too much of a good thing?

[emilyjace]

Hi. I'm vegan and am raising my 14-month old son vegan as well. He loves soy milk (organic, enriched) and soy yogurt, and then we do beans, tofu, whatever else I can get him to eat, etc. I'm just concerned about the soy for him. I can't find any resources that don't seemed biased in some way re: phytoestrogens. Everyone always says that they do soy in moderation. But I chose the soymilk over say, almond milk, because it has more protein, fat, and calcium than almond milk. Same with the yogurt. My guy is on the smaller side and I'm always trying to put weight on him (not that he's interested in eating at this age) and am hesitant to give up the calories in my soy products. Do you think this is too much? He doesn't get fake meat. But I do use non-dairy butter in his oatmeal, toast, etc.

Thanks for your thoughts.

[katroshka]

There's not, to my knowledge, any reputable research saying that soy is bad for you. Here's an article I've been sharing lately on the subject:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...scaremongering

I tend to think a varied diet is the best, and try not to rely too heavily on any particular type of food, but it doesn't sound like your son's diet is problematic to me.

[susumama]

My opinion is that soy is an ancient, natural food that has been consumed in large quantities by generations for thousands of years. Any studies I have found that are anti-soy use huge amounts of soy isolate in their experiements - much more than any human would consume even if consuming many different soy foods.
I feel the main hysteria against soy is fueled by the dairy industry because soy is it's major competitor. If almond, oat or hemp milk were their major competitor were their major competitor we would see these scewed studies performed on these foods. the meat & dairy industry spend millions of dollars each year waging scare campaignes against their competitiors - remember the cattle ranchers suing Oprah - totally over the top to protect a dirty, health robing, inhumane industry

A major supermarket chain here in Australia has decided not to stock meat that has hormone added to it (HGP - human growth promoter). It has already been banned for years in the european union. A story was presented on this on one of our current affairs programs. But guess what form the story took? That banning the growth promoters was going to hurt the farmers as their producivity will be reduced (taking out the hormone allows the cows to grow at a natural rate rather than the unnatural time it would take to reach the same size on the growth hormones and so increase the cost of food and water for the farmer. A little investigation on the programs website sees that the segment was sponsored by the beef and livestock association

[wagamama]

I have read that soy was consumed in small quantities, not large quantities, by traditional societies. I live in Japan and can vouch that tofu is consumed only occasionally, and in small amounts, and almost always with some meat. Also, the Japanese consume a lot of seaweed, which is said to counteract some of the thyroid-suppressing effects of the soy.

Also, the phytoestrogens aren't the only concern. Unfermented soy contains high levels of anti-nutrients which block the absorption of minerals.

We eat natto a few times a week, and a small amount of tofu a couple of times a week. I avoid soymilk and other processed soy products, just to be on the safe side.

[Sayward]

Originally Posted by wagamama

I have read that soy was consumed in small quantities, not large quantities, by traditional societies. I live in Japan and can vouch that tofu is consumed only occasionally, and in small amounts, and almost always with some meat. Also, the Japanese consume a lot of seaweed, which is said to counteract some of the thyroid-suppressing effects of the soy.

Also, the phytoestrogens aren't the only concern. Unfermented soy contains high levels of anti-nutrients which block the absorption of minerals.

We eat natto a few times a week, and a small amount of tofu a couple of times a week. I avoid soymilk and other processed soy products, just to be on the safe side.

I don't think soy milk is any more processed than tofu, as [I think] they are made the same way. I could be wrong though - anyone care to chime in?

[Purple Sage]

Originally Posted by Sayward

I don't think soy milk is any more processed than tofu, as [I think] they are made the same way. I could be wrong though - anyone care to chime in?

I guess that depends on what kind of soy milk you buy. Most soy milks are heavily fortified with synthetic vitamins......which are mostly produced in China from petrochemicals.

When I was vegan, I only bought one kind of soy milk which was not fortified. The only ingredients were soybeans and water. I can't stand the way fortified soy milk tastes, though.

Also, soy milk is a liquid, and it is much easier to consume a greater quantity of liquid than it is a solid like tofu.

[Whispering Souls]

I personally wouldn't be bothered, there is so much research, one day something is bad for, the next good, and it keeps going around in circles. I think how many Asian countries eat soy and have so for a long time and they are well.

[somegirl99]

Originally Posted by Sayward

I don't think soy milk is any more processed than tofu, as [I think] they are made the same way. I could be wrong though - anyone care to chime in?

Tofu is made from soy milk. Perhaps she is referring to the sweeteners and supplements sometimes added to commercial soy milk?

I used to make my own soy milk from water and soy beans, not much processing there.

[eepster]

I would stop giving him soy milk.

My main concern wouldn't be that he was getting too much soy by drinking soy milk, though. It is simply that any alternative/suplamental milk (cow, goat, soy, almond, etc) given is filling him up so he is less interested in the milk he should be drinking, human milk. 13 mo is very early to wean, especially for a vegan.

[P.J.]

I also read several articles about the dangers of soy, so I switched to rice milk when I was pregnant. But I still eat tofu, tempeh, miso and other soy products, and try to keep it in moderation.
However, I recently ran into this thread on the dangers of soy in the Healthy Eating forum archives: http://www.mothering.com/discussions...ead.php?t=7067 You can find more info and opinions there. Someone provided a link to this article from John Robbins' blog. He is a very balanced, thoroughly researched leader in the vegan community, and I fully trust him. He basically refutes all of the claims against soy, with good reason and research to back him up. Since I read that, I feel much more relaxed about consuming soy products.