Are soy products healthy?

This article is evidence based: click the - (link) to see the research or that particular study.

In short, we cannot say yes or no. Though soy is a plant based protein and this topic is very controversial.

Many people believe that having soy products give you boobs or lower testosterone levels, which aren't true at some point.

Soy Products have lots of nutrients like protein and many vitamins and minerals and also for a good sense, because soy is a plant derived foods and we know that fruits and vegetables have tremendous amounts of vitamins and minerals.

The one who chooses a vegan or plant based diet which is a trend nowadays, always chooses soy as their main protein source in the name of tofu (made with soy milk), tempeh, soya chunks and a lot.

As this vegan trend goes on, industries are producing vegan meat or vegan egg using soy. Why?

So, you might have understood that soy is way more beneficial because it gives us a good amount of protein and vitamins and minerals. No! Everything doesn't end up here.

Many people believe that having too much soy products causes breast cancer, messes up human hormones, hinders thyroid functioning, and also gives men boobs or gives feminism effects in men.

We always see the dark side but with protein and minerals soy have many health benefits like, soy helps reduce blood sugar levels, help improve healthy heart, help reduce menopause and also help fight with certain cancer as well.

So, let's discuss something more about soy.

Soy And Nutrients

We have just discussed that a plant derived soy has a lot of nutrients and has lots of vitamins and minerals.

Soy is the only plant product with this much higher amount of protein. An 100grams of soy contains around 52grams of protein which is way more than chicken as well.

Talking about protein, soy not only has protein but it also contains all the essential amino acids that are needed to build muscles. Though we can say that soy contains high quality protein.

Plant based foods have high fiber content, so that soy does. Soy products are high in fibers, contain important vitamins and minerals and also contain various important plant compounds which are beneficial for the human body.

There are numerous soy products in the marketplace, which are soy chunks, tofu, tempeh etc. Here are some nutritional values of them.

Click on each link to know about these nutritional values.

• Soybeans, mature cooked, boiled, without salt.

• Tofu, raw, firm, prepared with calcium sulfate.

• Tempeh, cooked

• Soy Yogurt

• Soy Milk

With nutritional values like vitamins and minerals, soy also contain antioxidants, which helps to prevent cell damage in our human body and also improve heart health as well. (link) (link) (link) (link)

Okay! Here is the main twist with soy products. These antioxidants are derived from the thing known as isoflavones. Isoflavones are believed to stimulate estrogen receptors in the human body.

These soy isoflavones are believed to be the main reason why many people avoid soy products. Soy has lots of health benefits and people only avoid soy because of its isoflavones which seems to be unhealthy but it's not.

100grams of boiled soy contains around 90-135mg of isoflavones in it, depending on the type of product (soya chunks, tofu, tempeh etc). (link) (link)

Many people believe that isoflavones help to increase the levels of estrogen in male and reduce testosterone levels which isn't like that. The plant derived isoflavones which stimulate estrogen are way different then the estrogen present in our human body.

As studies say that isoflavones have many health benefits and should not be avoided. (link)

It was also found that soy products are the main source of food for Japanese people. They used to have soy products on a regular basis and I think they are fit and don't have many boobs.

As research is going on, many found that soy doesn't relate to any hormonal problems and doesn't hamper human estrogen receptors.

My opinion:

When I started building muscles and losing fat, I always consumed soy chunks in my diet, from the start and I do love tofu personally. I haven't found any problems eating soy, though i consider eating both veg as well as non-veg. I left eating meat or chicken because I feel it creates digestive problems and reduces bowel movements.

Soy or soy products have fibers and help your health in the correct way. We will discuss various health benefits about soy in our next upcoming blog with some science based results.

Risks

Some people have concerns about the consumption of soy. We cover these concerns in more detail in the sections below.

Thyroid function

There is some concern that soy intake may interfere with thyroid function.

In one 2016 study of 548 women and 295 men who ate soy foods as part of a vegetarian diet, researchers found that women with higher soy intake had a higher chance of having elevated levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH).

A high TSH level may signify an underactive thyroid. Researchers did not find the same results in men.

The authors explain that soy is likely to be safe. However, consuming excessive amounts may create health risks in some people, such as those with undiagnosed hypothyroidism.

Conclusion:

It's good to add soy products in your diet because they have way too few downsides and many amazingly health benefits. We will let you know about the amazing health Benefits of soy in our upcoming blog.

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