"Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya chunks is a defatted soy flour product, a by-product of extracting soybean oil. It is often used as a meat analogue or meat extender. It is quick to cook, with a protein content comparable to certain meats."

"Soy protein is a protein that is isolated from soybean. It is made from soybean meal that has been dehulled and defatted. Dehulled and defatted soybeans are processed into three kinds of high protein commercial products: soy flour, concentrates, and isolates. Soy protein isolate has been used since 1959 in foods for its functional properties."

"Is soy a good protein powder option? Does soy protein raise IGF-1?"

"Concentrated soy protein and isolated soy protein, found in many protein powders and vegetarian burgers, is not health food. These processed, fractionated and concentrated soy foods are missing much of the nutritional value from the original soybean. Supplementation with soy protein powder can increase insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) in the blood.[23-26]"

"IGF-1 is primarily elevated by animal protein, and this elevation is linked to an increased risk of cancer. ( Of all plant proteins, soy protein is the most similar to animal protein (most "complete") in amino acid content and distribution, which is why soy protein powder is more likely to increase IGF-1 than other plant proteins (such as hemp protein powder).[27] However, soy protein supplementation tends to increase IGF binding proteins along with IGF-1, and therefore may not have a significant effect on free IGF-1.25 This means soy protein powders likely have less potent effects on IGF-1 signaling than whey and other animal proteins."

"We recommend that you use traditional soy foods, like soy milk and tofu, only as a small part of your diet, at most 5% of your daily calories. 'Synthetic soy foods,' like meats, cheeses, and soy bars, should rarely, if ever, be consumed."

Examples of sensible uses might be:

* Soy milk to moisten cereal, not glassfuls as a beverage
* Tofu pieces in a "stir-fry" rice dish, not as a soy burger entree.
* An occasional tofu-based dessert, not daily soy "candy" bars

In Asian countries, soy is consumed as boiled soybeans (edamame), tofu (soybean curd), natto (fermented soybeans), miso (fermented soybean paste), okara (a by-product of tofu), soybean sprouts, soymilk, yuba (by-product of soy milk), kinako (soy flour), and soy sauce. These foods are made from simple processes like grinding, precipitation, and fermentation — thus, most of soy's ingredients remain little altered. Less than 5% of daily calories in the typical diet of Japanese or Chinese people comes from soybeans.1 This amounts to about 2 ounces (55 to 64 grams) derived from soy foods daily, which means only 7 to 8 grams of protein and 15 to 45 milligrams of the estrogen-like phytochemical known as isoflavone.

Concentrated dairy (cow-milk) protein, when consumed by people, causes large and important loses of calcium contributing to osteoporosis and kidney stones. You would hope that replacement with soy protein concentrates would eliminate this health hazard. Unfortunately, recent research on people has demonstrated that the addition of 40 grams of concentrated soy protein to a diet, already low in protein (40 to 50 grams daily) and high in calcium (1100 mg daily), causes significant net losses of calcium from the body.[27] Other research shows isolated soy protein is just as damaging as meat protein to the bones.[28]

Another recent study showed how 40 grams of soy or cow-milk protein concentrate added to the diet significantly increases levels of a powerful cancer-promoting growth hormone, called Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 — IGF-1.[29] However, soy protein was almost twice as powerful as the milk protein concentrate — doubling the levels of IGF-1 with 40 grams of soy protein isolate. This growth promoter has been strongly linked to the development of cancer of the breast, prostate, lung, and colon.[30] Excess IGF-1 stimulates cell proliferation and inhibits cell death — two activities you definitely don't want when cancer cells are involved.[30]

What does 40 grams of isolated soy protein mean to you? In real life, a person seeking excellent health by following a low-protein version of the McDougall diet with 1100 mg of calcium (which would have to be added with a calcium supplement) becomes at risk for osteoporosis, kidney stones, and cancer with the daily addition of a soy "candy bar" and a soy shake. One soy "chicken" patty for lunch and 2 soy burgers for dinner will also add that 40 grams of isolated protein daily — and so will just four soy breakfast patties. Now soy has real meaning in your life.

The effects of adding soy protein concentrates on people already consuming the bone-losing, high-animal-protein Western diet (100 to 160 grams of protein daily), or worse yet, the Atkins diet (up to 300 grams daily) have yet to be determined.31 Because of the very low incidence of osteoporosis, and breast and prostate cancer, among people who consume traditional soybean foods, there is every reason to believe that only the synthetic soy foods need to be of concern. (Studies have yet to be done to specifically test the effects of traditional foods in laboratory settings — in the meantime, we will keep these as a small part of our diet.)