Top Amazing Benefits of Soya Beans For health!

Soya Beans: The Top Benefits of Soya beans health benefits issues:

Soya beans, with their many uses and culinary forms, have become an important nutritional staple for many vegans and vegetarians. It is used in non-dairy milks, yoghurts and cheeses, baby formulas, soy drinks, protein bars, frozen desserts, as textured protein, soy sauce, veggie burgers and sausages, as well as tofu and bean curd.

However, after quite an easy early ride in the media during which soya made huge market gains as a healthy and natural food, several recent press articles have begun to question the virtues of soy beans.

With strong financial interest weighing in on both sides of the argument, it can be confusing for the consumer to get to the truth behind the media hype. The well funded United Soybean and the Soyfoods Association of North America leads the soya bean public relations crusade, whilst allegations fly that several critical institutional research studies were funded by the competitor meat industry with its not-so hidden agenda.

Soya has many nutritional advantages as it contains protein:

fibre and isoflavones which have positive effects on cholesterol, bone density, menstrual and menopausal symptoms as well as preventing certain cancers.
It is thought to be a wonder food by the Chinese who believe it can cure kidney disease, water retention, common colds, anaemia and leg ulcers.

Research studies by Professor Anderson in 1995 resulted in healthy heart claims:

as Soya was found to reduce blood cholesterol levels in many of his studies.
Soya isoflavones combined with soya protein enhance blood cholesterol reductions as well as having a positive effect on menopausal women by reducing the risk of hot flushes.
Improved vascular function, reduction of blood pressure, antioxidant protection of LDL cholesterol and inhibition of platelet activation are other known cardiovascular effects of Soya and its constituent isoflavones.
The recommended daily amount of soya protein by the UK Joint Health Claims Initiative in 2002 is 25g as part of a low-fat diet to help reduce cholesterol level.
In order to achieve this RDA of Soya to promote a healthy heart and reduce cholesterol it is necessary to consume three portions of a Soya based food each day.
This can be easily achieved by using Soya milk on cereal each morning, adding soya milk to tea and coffee and choosing a dessert made from soya milk

Example: “custard or fruit smoothies yoghurt etc”.

There are many Soya cookery books available as well as the many recipes containing soya beans and tofu which already exist in Chinese cooking books. If more people included Soya into their daily diet the risk of developing Heart disease would be reduced which would have a significant impact on the incidence of mortality caused by Coronory Heart Disease today.

The Other Side Of Soy:

Consuming large amounts of soy products: could be damaging for babies and young children, due to the presence of natural hormone-disrupting chemicals and “anti-nutrients” (substances which hinder our absorption or utilisation of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients).

Since 1995 there have been many reports in the scientific literature, warning against “the other side of soy”. In 1999, this culminated in an open letter from two United States government scientists, Daniel Sheehan PhD and Daniel Doerge PhD, to their bosses at the Food and Drug Administration, giving detailed reasons why they disagreed with the FDA’s decision to support health claims on soy product labels.

They had two main concerns about soy:

1. Estrogenic Effects:

Substances known as genistein and daidzein (also referred to as “isoflavones”) in soy products, can mimic the effects of estrogen. In one study, pregnant Rhesus monkeys who were fed genistein developed up to double the normal levels of estrogen in their blood.

Their babies too showed abnormally high estrogen levels. Until there is more research into the effects of this extra estrogen, say Sheehan and Doerge, we will not know whether it could be as damaging as taking artificial estrogens during pregnancy.

Research into breast cancer prevention also shows mixed results, with some studies showing a protective effect from soy products, and others showing that soya can cause chromosome breaks and other mildly pre-cancerous changes to cells.

The type of soy product may be significant here, since some feeding studies are carried out using soy protein isolate (SPI) – a highly processed concentrate which may have entirely different effects on the body from those of natural soy foods.

2. Anti-Thyroid Effects:

We have known since 1933 that soy isoflavones can inhibit an enzyme which our bodies use to make thyroid hormone. There are numerous reports of babies developing goitre after feeding with soy. Children raised on soy-based infant formula are also twice as likely to develop a condition known as autoimmune thyroiditis, where the immune system attacks and destroys the cells of the thyroid gland.

Some researchers believe that feeding babies with soy formula gives them the estrogen equivalent of five contraceptive pills a day.

How Much Soy Is It Safe To Eat?

Research is still scanty, so there’s no real answer to this question.

Everything depends on how your body handles plant estrogens. We can expect to see more research over the next few years, but in the meantime it is probably sensible to avoid eating highly concentrated soy products every day.

The forms of soya Beans which are not concentrated, are:

soy milk, tofu (or bean curd), soy yoghurt, miso, soy sauce, tamari sauce and tempeh.

All of these except soy milk and tofu contain very low levels of phytate, because they are fermented products. Phytate is much reduced by the fermentation process.

Soy milk contains four times the amount of protease inhibitor found in tofu and more than 40 times the amount found in miso.

But we have known women who cured themselves of endometriosis by drinking half a litre of soya milk every day. Like fibroids and most breast cancers, endometriosis is caused by an estrogen overload in the body.

The plant estrogens in soy can help to combat an estrogen overload because they attach themselves to estrogen receptors in the body, thus displacing stronger human estrogens such as estradiol. The result is to normalize estrogen levels.

This property of soy could also be of benefit to men with gynecomastia – the development of breast tissue in the male as a result of excessive estrogen levels.

It does not take a lot of soy to normalize estrogen levels. Half a litre of soy milk is about 16 fluid ounces or 32 tablespoons, but this probably does need to be consumed at least 5-6 times a week.

Concentrated Forms Of Soya Beans:

On the other hand, the consumption of foods made from TVP and SPI should probably be strictly controlled. Due to their heavy processing, they are highly concentrated sources of estrogenic isoflavones, containing up to 600 mg per 100 grams.

TVP and SPI are also found as ingredients in many processed and fast foods. Similarly, it would be wise to be cautious about taking supplements of genistein and daidzein. Some women who have taken them for hot flushes have developed thyroid abnormalities.

A Sensible Soya Beans Intake For A Woman?

On balance, as a woman, I would not hesitate to consume up to 2 litres of soy milk or yoghurt a week plus 2-3 portions of tofu and a little soy sauce.
As a nutritionist I am convinced by the science that this would actually bring me health benefits and is not enough to cause any problems as far as my thyroid gland or the phytate or protease inhibitor content are concerned.
My only concern is that many soy crops nowadays are genetically engineered. Like many consumers, I am very much opposed to this so I would certainly go for organic brands.

Alternative Baby Milk Formula:

On the other hand I do feel that soy is risky for babies and should also be limited for children. If you have a young baby who cannot be breast fed and is allergic to cow’s milk formula, it’s well worth considering a goat milk infant formula instead.

Article Sources: America.gov

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Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”

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