New convert plus What's wrong with soy?

[SabrinaFox]

Hey everyone,

I am new to the vegetarian lifestyle....my family has been meat, dairy, and egg free for about a month now and so far so good. It all started after watching a few documentaries: Food Inc, Food Matters, Forks Over Knives, The Gerson Miracle, and Sick, Fat, and Nearly Dead. I decided I didn't want to die of cancer, and the birth of my daughter this past August made it even more important to me that my family eats right. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be....fortunately our 11 year old son loves pretty much all food and has never been a picky eater. I had actually thought we were vegan until I learned that honey is not vegan....whatever, I'm not giving up my honey.

The transition went well....I love eating a full meal and feeling satisfied but not heavy and tired and bloated and full. After a week or so I started getting lightheaded and dizzy quite often, but I think it was just my body adjusting and I feel great now. I'm still taking prenatals because I EBF our daughter.

I've been doing a lot of reading and vegetarian and vegan diets and nutrition. Obviously a lot of our diet has been supplemented with soy....except milk, I love almond milk so much more. But I'm seeing a lot of lacto free, gluten free, and soy free. So what's up with the anti soy? Is there an issue with it that I should know more about?

Anyhoo....I'm looking forward to being part of this group and meeting other meat free, healthy people.

Cheerio,

Sabrina

[RStelle]

Many people are allergic to soy, so they can't eat it. Also, eating too much soy can cause you to become allergic. Soy also seems to mimic certain hormones and may cause hormonal changes if it is eaten in large quantities. This doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing, for example women who ate a lot of soy as teenagers seem to be less likely to develop breast cancer. Since soy seems to mimic female hormones some people think it isn't good for boys and men to eat very much of it. I've heard 1-2 servings a week recommended. There are lots of different opinions about it. though, some people think it's fine.

[Amatullah0]

I don't know too much about soy, but most, if not all soy, at least in the US, is GMO.

[RStelle]

'most, if not all soy, at least in the US, is GMO.'

That can easily be avoided by eating organic, the same way eating local organic meat is totally different than eating factory farmed.

[sky_and_lavender]

Congratulations on your switch to a vegan diet!

While soy is a common allergen, if you are not allergic (and less than 2% of the population is--I don't remember the exact number), it is a food that can be a healthy part of one's diet. It is a complete protein with many health benefits. It is not a panacea and also not a villain--it's just a bean!

Check out this blog by research a research oriented RD: http://jacknorrisrd.com/?p=1778

Also, I'd recommend you read "Vegan for Life," a book by two vegan nutritionists about the needs of vegans. It also includes a large section about soy.

[Neera]

I have a book by this author and try to follow most of his advice. Maybe this helps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XVx9NaxqW2M&feature=results_video&playnext=1&list=PL9D37B67438D20534