Re: Soy (was Re: Ice Cream - Breyers Carb Smart)

[Guest guest]

you are good!! (but 8 cups of cocoa :-)))

Here's a recent article on soy which questions whether soy is " questionable "

for men:

Eat Your Soy, Boy

By Sally Squires

Yes, it's true that your wife, girlfriend or significant other has been

eating a lot of soy lately, mainly to boost her female hormones. That

doesn't mean it's bad for you, fella. Instead of pushing aside that soy

milk, go ahead and pour some on your morning cereal. Dig into the soy

burgers at the office cafeteria and the tofu that appears in your takeout

stir-fry.

It turns out that soy, at least in the doses most people will consume it in

food, may be good for guys, too. A growing number of studies suggest that

soy has plenty of health benefits for men -- from lowering cholesterol

levels to protecting against prostate cancer -- and few downsides.

" Real men should eat soy, " said Setchell, professor of pediatrics

at the Cincinnati Children's Medical Center, who has studied soy for 30

years. " Generally, men are put off by soy. It tends to be sort of a woman's

thing. That's a great pity, because the evidence that soy protects against

prostate cancer is quite strong. "

While there have been worries that men who consume large quantities of

low-carb soy bread, soy cereal or other soy-filled foods may get a little

too in touch with their feminine sides, research findings have generally not

borne out those fears.

" Soy is a very healthy food, " said physician , who has

studied soy for 15 years at the University of Kentucky in Lexington and is

convinced enough of its benefits to eat about a dozen servings of soy per

week. " It's very safe. "

Most concerns about soy have centered around the fact that it is a rich

source of isoflavones, substances that mimic the effects of the female

hormone estrogen. To determine what these plant-based chemicals might do,

Zeisel and his colleagues at the University of North Carolina at

Chapel Hill fed megadoses of soy to men as part of a recent National Cancer

Institute study.

Nipple discharge, breast enlargement and slight decreases in testosterone

occurred with the megadoses. But " we still couldn't find anything that was

serious, and we went up to doses that are probably 30 times what you could

get from normal foods, " Zeisel said. " I don't think that there are a lot of

estrogenic worries. Your testicles will not shrink and you won't have

massive breast enlargement " from eating soy.

And if you stick with foods rich in soy as opposed to supplements,

researchers say, there's no evidence of harm, unless you happen to be among

the one in every 1,000 people who are allergic to soy. " It's quite difficult

to overconsume soy, to be honest, " said Setchell.

Not only is soy a rich source of high-quality protein, but it also contains

complex carbohydrates that don't raise blood sugar as high as more processed

carbohydrates. It has fiber, folic acid (a key B vitamin), healthy fat and

antioxidants that help protect against cancer.

There's also evidence that soy acts as a probiotic in some people,

promoting growth of healthy bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract that in

turn produce health-promoting substances. While it's possible these days to

eat soy at every meal and snack, it only takes a small amount of soy to

produce health benefits. Less than a handful of soy nuts, about a fifth of a

cup, provides 12 grams of protein, said , who keeps a stash near his

desk for snacks. " If you can eat a third of a cup a day, that would give

good protective levels in terms of heart disease. "

Will such soy-filled products as low-carb bread, soy cereal, soy crackers

and cookies have the same benefits as traditional soy sources?

" My feeling is that soy milk and tofu have the best test of time, " said

, professor and chairman of nutrition and metabolism at the

University of Toronto and St. 's Hospital in Toronto. The soy

isolates found in meatless burgers and hot dogs " have also been shown to be

very effective, " said. By contrast, soy sauce has only minimal

levels of active soy ingredients and comes with massive amounts of sodium.

Just resist any urge to eat raw soy. Uncooked soybeans contain a substance

that inhibits trypsin, a key enzyme required for protein digestion. " Horses

who eat raw soybeans die, " said Zeisel. While raw soybeans may not be as

deadly for humans as they are for horses, Zeisel said it's not worth the

risk: " Don't ever eat soybeans raw. "

Here's how cooked soy stacks up in health benefits:

Bone health Studies suggest that soy helps preserve bone and may help

build it in some people. While nearly all the research has been done in

women, who suffer more extreme bone loss with age than do men, researchers

say there's no reason to suggest that soy may not also help protect older

men from osteoporosis.

Blood pressure Soy appears to lower blood pressure slightly. It also

seems to lower blood pressure by " improving elasticity of blood vessels, "

Setchell said.

Cholesterol Since 1999, foods containing 6.25 grams of soy protein per

serving can be promoted for their ability to lower blood cholesterol when

combined with a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. About 25 grams of

soy protein daily helps lower the most damaging form of blood cholesterol --

low-density lipoprotein (LDL) -- by up to about10 percent and total

cholesterol by up to 7 percent, according to . There's also evidence

that blood triglyceride levels rise less after a meal containing soy and

that eating a diet rich in soy may help reduce the metabolic syndrome -- a

constellation of symptoms that include elevated cholesterol, blood pressure

and extra fat at the waistline.

Colon cancer A few studies suggest that soy may help protect against colon

cancer, but the evidence is still emerging.

Diabetes Soy contains healthy carbohydrates with a low glycemic index,

meaning they are less likely than more-processed carbs to raise blood sugar

levels. New research also suggests that eating soy food appears to help

protect the kidneys of those with diabetes, especially those with type 1.

Studies in Europe and at the University of Illinois also suggest that soy

helps reduce protein in the urine of people with diabetes, which can help

reduce kidney damage, a common complication of diabetes.

Hair loss Soy helps boost production in the intestines of equol, a

substance that binds to dihydrotestosterone, the chief culprit in causing

hair follicles to die. Although still in early investigation, Setchell and

other researchers theorize that boosting equol could help protect against

baldness.

Muscles As a protein source, soy ranks at the top of the list. But no need

to take massive doses of soy protein supplements or powder to build more

muscle. Eating a soy burger, a handful of soy nuts or a soy smoothie after

a weight training session is plenty to help repair muscle, according to Jeff

Potteiger, an exercise physiologist at Miami University in Ohio.

Prostate In Asian countries, where soy consumption is high, incidence of

prostate cancer is similar to that in Western countries, but the disease is

much less likely to kill. Studies of Seventh-Day Adventists, who eat no

meat, have found that drinking one glass per day of soy milk appears to

lower prostate cancer risk by 30 percent; two glasses per day may lower risk

by up to 70 percent. At the University of North Carolina, researchers found

men with elevated blood levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSA) who took

megadoses of soy showed a significant slowing in rise of the PSA.

Waistline Soy foods are lower in calories, total fat and saturated fat

than comparable meat products, and they have zero cholesterol -- all

benefits that can help protect against obesity. There's also some evidence

that soy may help reduce buildup of dangerous visceral abdominal body fat,

according to .

For that reason, some soy researchers, including , Setchell,

and Zeisel, say they're putting their findings into practice by

pouring soy milk on their cereal, snacking on soy bars and eating a

soyburger instead of a hamburger. Example: A beef burger has about 190

calories, 11 grams of fat, four grams of saturated fat, zero carbs and no

fiber, while a soyburger contains 50 fewer calories, a third of the fat, 10

grams of carbohydrates, three grams of fiber and zero saturated fat and

cholesterol.

on 5/7/2004 7:52 PM, maxwell_mom at mrobinso@... wrote:

> 1 POUND of raw strawberries

> 2 grapefruits

> 7 oz of fresh mango

> 8 (!) cups of hot chocolate made with water, cocoa, and sucralose

>

> I have yet to purchase a low carb food. I read the labels and they do

> not meet my standards for reasonable food. Plus they are expensive.

> You can eat Atkins and CRON, but it's going to be a very healthy

> version of Atkins - lots of non-starchy vegetables and less fat.

> Also, the low carb foods all seem to be high in soy - which I

> remember as being questionable for men from the crsociety list.

[Guest guest]

Francesca Skelton wrote:

At the University of North Carolina, researchers found

men with elevated blood levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSA) who took

megadoses of soy showed a significant slowing in rise of the PSA.

this has been my experience. My PSA went from 4.5 to 2.9 (now 3.4) I

attribute it to Soy protien powder.

Positive Dennis

[Guest guest]

Rodney wrote:

Hi Dennis:

May I ask whether, between the time you started consuming

soy protein and the time you noticed the drop in your PSA test, you

also made other changes in your lifestyle?

For instance, had you dropped your caloric intake appreciably?

no

Or

made changes to the *quality* of your food intake?

yes, but only on the margin

The reason I ask is because we know that mice put on CR experience

75% fewer cancer deaths, and the drop in your PSA might have been

caused by a drop caloric intake, or other factors you changed at the

same time.

The reason I mention this is because the Physicians Health Study has

indicated that several studies now show that men who consume the

highest amounts of alpha-linolenic acid (of which there is a

considerable amount in soybeans) or who have high levels of it in

their blood, have a noticeably elevated risk for prostate cancer.

yes I have heard this, frankly I do not believe it.

The people at Physicians Health Study are quick to point out that

there are arguments on the other side - something the author of

Francesca's article noticeably failed to do. She only presented

arguments favorable to soybeans and omitted a number of arguments I

am aware of on the other side of the argument. Not helpful in my

opinion.

yes I agree you hear the anti or the pro but seldom both from the same

source.

I have no opinion as to the health merits, or otherwise, of soy

products for males, but because of highly conflicting opinions among

apparently informed people I avoid them until the evidence becomes a

lot clearer than it is right now.

Those peoples with a usage of soy have a slightly lower cancer rate and

a slightly lower death rate. It depends on whether one holds that DHT

is a cancer precursor. If it is them the reduction in it is beneficial.

But if it is a symptom of something else them it has no effect on

cancer.

[Prostate cancer is a huge issue for men. There are very nearly as

many new cases diagnosed annually, and deaths also, from prostate

cancer as there are for breast cancer. But it seems to get less

publicity.]

for me, my diagnosis was after a long period (my whole life) without

any soy, after my PSA Spiked but before my diagnosis I used soy and

dropped my PSA substantially. I see this as a good thing, at least for

me.

Vitamins are an interesting case. Vitamin C seems to reduce cancer

risk, but once you have cancer vitamin c causes it to spread more and

faster. This may also explain the Vit A result of smokers with

increased cancer risk, the Vitamin A cause the cancer that already

exists but is undetected to spread quicker and it become detected

sooner. At least that is how I looked at the finnish study.

Positive Dennis

Rodney.

> At the University of North Carolina, researchers found

> men with elevated blood levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSA)

who took

> megadoses of soy showed a significant slowing in rise of the PSA.

>

> this has been my experience. My PSA went from 4.5 to 2.9 (now 3.4)

I

> attribute it to Soy protien powder.

>

> Positive Dennis