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Is Soy Healthy?
Is Soy Healthy?
4 Nov 2020
Disclaimer
The vast majority of Whole Food Plant-Based doctors say that soy foods are health promoting! What's less well known is that many WFPB doctors recommend consuming only a few servings of soy daily. The main concerns are IGF-1 increase associated with soy, and its high fat nature — see How Much Soy Daily? Also, some ultra-processed forms of soy are discouraged. They include Soy Burgers, Soy Chunks, Soy Protein Isolates.
What Do WFPB Docs Say?

Soy is a controversial plant food with a checkered history. The arciles and videos below explain what's going on.

FoodRevolution: (2020) Soy Facts: Is Soy Healthy or Harmful? is a great summary.

Dr Holly Wilson: A Vegan Doctor Addresses Soy Myths and Misinformation traces the history of soy nutrition research.

Dr Kristi Funk: She is a breast cancer surgeon in California who follows WFPB and has written this book: Breasts: The Owner's Manual (416 pages, 2018) — the only book till date that focuses exclusively on WFPB & cancer.

At offset 35:12 of this video (2019), Dr Kristi Funk gives a detailed explanation that soy is healthy, especially in the context of cancer. In fact, soy is one of the 14 categories in Dr Funk's Favorite 14 — Eat To Beat Breast Cancer Today (PDF).

Dr Neal Barnard: Is Soy Dangerous? (3 mins, 2021) explains how soy is health promoting!

Dr John McDougall: Benefits of soy are outlined in this article: Soy — Food, Wonder Drug, or Poison? (2005). A section of this article expresses concerns with soy protein isolate (an extract, not a whole food).

Dr Michael Greger: This video (7 min, 2016) is a great technical overview of soy's health benefits.

PCRM: Soy and Health.

Dr Dean Ornish: Soy Benefits.

Brenda Davis: Is Soy Safe? — Interview with Brenda Davis about soy — Soy at VeganHealth has lotsa details.

Dr Nitu Bajekal: The Role of Soy in Men and Women's Health (2021)

Dr Matthew Nagra: Soy Foods, Hormones And Cancer (podcast and writeup).

Dr Mark Messina: Biography and artcles at USSoy.org has 20+ articles espousing the benefits of soy. He was interviewed by PCRM: Is Soy Healthy? Expert Reviews the Science | The Exam Room (27 mins, 2021). But Dr Messina's articles espouse all forms of soy including soybean oil (something that WFPB doctors strongly discourage).

Misc:

AICR (American Institute of Cancer Research): Soy and Breast Cancer Risk (1 min, 2016). An excerpt from Soy and Cancer Risk:

… there is plenty of solid research, both globally and from the US, that for breast cancer patients and survivors, eating moderate amounts of soy doesn’t increase a woman’s risk for breast cancer.

ACS (American Cancer Society): An excerpt from Soy and Cancer Risk: Our Expert’s Advice (2019):

So far, the evidence does not point to any dangers from eating soy in people, and the health benefits appear to outweigh any potential risk. In fact, there is growing evidence that eating traditional soy foods such as tofu, tempeh, edamame, miso, and soymilk may lower the risk of breast cancer, especially among Asian women.

Mayo Clinic: An excerpt from (2022) Will eating soy increase my risk of breast cancer?

It was once thought that soy foods increase the risk of breast cancer. However, eating a moderate amount of soy foods does not increase risk of breast cancer — or other types of cancer. A moderate amount is one to two servings a day of whole-soy foods, such as tofu, soy milk and edamame.

Is soy an endocrine disruptor? Soy foods have phytoestrogens, which are often listed as an endocrine disrupting chemical in scientific articles. See NIH article on Endocrine Disruptors, for example. However articles like this argue that soy foods should not considered as endocrine disruptors: Neither soyfoods nor isoflavones warrant classification as endocrine disruptors: a technical review of the observational and clinical data by Mark Messina et al, Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition; 62(21); 2022. Whole Food Plant-Based doctors don't see traditional forms of soy foods (tofu, tempeh, soy milk, …) as endocrine disrupting.

(3 mins, 2021) Is Soy Dangerous? | Dr Neal Barnard
(8 mins, 2022) Here's Why Soy Is So Good for You | Dr Neal Barnard
(7 mins, 2020) Soy & Tumors - Debunking The Myth | Dr Michael Klaper

Youtube video summary:

Dr Klaper discusses the science behind the soy / estrogen connection. Cultures that eat diets that include soy actually have lower incidences of breast cancer. He helps to reduce the anxiety around eating soy and explains that much of the misinformation came from industries that feel threatened by using soy to replace animal-based products.

(2018, 2 mins) Can Soy Increase Breast Cancer Risk? Dr. Kristi Funk Explains The Truth
(2018, 4 mins)
Does Soy Cause Cancer?

Dr Greger, Dr Campbell, Dr McDougall & Dr Esselstyn offer their opinions.

(2019, 16 mins, PCRM) Can Soy Increase Cancer Risk?
(2015, 8 mins) Soy Part 1
by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
(2015 6 mins) Soy Part 2
by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau
(2016, 46 mins) Soy Misconceptions: Setting the Record Straight (Dr Mark Messina)
(2016, 7 mins) Soy and Manboobs: A Busty Myth? by Mic the Vegan
Dr Peter Rogers

Among WFPB doctors, Dr Peter Rogers stands out. He stays away from soy! What's his reasoning? See Dr Peter Rogers & Soy.

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