Soy: The Poison Seed.
By: Dr. William Wong, ND, PhD.

This piece will be short and very much to the point.  As Americas largest cash crop, soy is being touted as having a myriad of health benefits.  Far from!  Soy is poison, period! All paid for opinion to the contrary.

What's bad about soy?:

• Contains Isoflavones (Genistein and Daidzein).  In soy the isoflavones are built in insecticides.  If they kill bugs are they good for humans?
• Isoflavones are estrogen like substances which have the same effect as the bodies estrogen.  Cancer comes from having too much estrogen.  Irritability and mood swings, fat gain from the waist down, fibrocystic breast disease uterine fibromas are all associated with estrogen dominance.  Instead of helping prevent the bad effects of environmental or natural estrogen dominance soy isoflavones are now known to increase the bad effect of estradiol and estrone the two major bad guys of the estrogen family.  (1,2,3).
• Kills testicular tissue.  In men it permanently reduces testicular function and lowers Luteinizing Hormone production. LH is what signals your testicles to work.  This increases the probability of estrogen dominance in men with its hair loss, swollen and cancerous prostates. (4,5).   Male children fed soy formulas and soy products may not ever get to like girls.  Doris Rapp MD, the worlds leading pediatric allergist, asserts that environmental and food estrogens are responsible for the increase in male homosexuality and the worldwide reduction in male fertility. (6)
• Isoflavones decrease thyroid hormone production. This can stunt children's growth and make the rest of us tired and fat. (7,8,9).
• Female children fed the estrogens in soy formula and products hit puberty very very early sometimes as young as age 6 to 8!  (10).
• Pregnant women eating soy products may affect the sexual differentiation of their children.  Studies show malformations of the reproductive tract or offspring born with both male and female sexual organs. (11).
• Isoflavones decrease GOOD cholesterol (HDL). (12,13).
• Soy contains Phytin, which takes essential minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium etc. out of the body before they can be absorbed.  Also soy contains Trypsin inhibitors block this vital anti cancer enzyme, anti fibrosis enzyme. (14).
• A 7000 man 30 year epidemiological study done in Hawaii shows soy is connected with a higher rate of Vascular Dementia (Alzheimer's disease).  (15,16).

Any opinions to contradict the facts noted above have been paid for by the Agribusiness giants Monsanto and Archer Daniels Midland.  Once public knowledge of their manipulation of public opinion and of the FDA becomes widely known, expect monster class action lawsuits against these folks.  They'll deserve it in spades!

References:

1. Casanova, M., et al.; Developmental effects of dietary phytoestrogens in Sprague –Dawley rats and interactions of genistein and daidzein with rat estrogen receptors alpha and beta in vitro.  Toxicol Sci 1999, Oct.; 51 (2): 236-44.
2. Santell, L., et al.: Dietary genistein exerts estrogenic effects upon the uterus, mammary gland and the hypothalamic / pituitary axis in rats.  J. Nutr 1997 Feb.;127 (2): 263-9.
3. Harrison, R.M., et al.; Effect of genistein on steroid hormone production in the pregnant rhesus monkey.  Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 1999 Oct.; 222(1): 78-84.
4. Nagata, C., et al.; Inverse association of soy product intake with serum androgen and estrogen in Japanese men.  Nut Cancer 2000; 36(1): 14-8.
5. Zhong, et al.; Effects of dietary supplement of soy protein isolate and low fat diet on prostate cancer.  FASEB J 2000; 14(4): a531.11.
6. Rapp, Dorris J., Is This Your Child’s World.  Bantam Books 1996. Page 501.
7. Divi, R. L., Chang, H.C. and Doerge, D.R.; Identification, characterization and mechanisms of anti-thyroid activity of isoflavones from soybeans.  Biochem Pharmacol 54:1087-1096, 1997.
8. Fort, P., Moses, N., Fasano, M. Goldberg, T. and Lifshitz, F.; Breast and soy formula feedings in early infancy and the prevalence of autoimmune disease in children.  J Am Coll Nutr 9:164-165, 1990.
9. Setchell, K. D. R., Zimmer-Nechemias, L., Cai, J. and Heubi, J.E.; Exposure of infants to phytoestrogens from soy based infant formula.  Lancet 350:23-27, 1997.
10. Irvine, C.H.G., Fitzpatrick, M.G. and Alexander, S.L.; Phytoestrogens in soy based infant foods: Concentrations, daily intake and possible biological effects.  Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 217:247-253, 1998. 
11. Levy, J.R., Faber, F.A., Ayyash, L. and Hughes, C.L.; The effect of prenatal exposure to phytoestrogens genistein on sexual differentiation in rats.  Proc Soc Exp Biol Med 208:60-66, 1995.
12. Ashton, E., Ball, M.; Effects of soy as tofu vs. meat on lipoprotein concentrations.  Eur J Clin Nutr 200 Jan; 54(1):14-9.
13. Madani, S., et al.: Dietary protein level and origin (casein and highly purified soybean protein) affect hepatic storage, plasma lipid transport, and antioxidative defense status in the rat.  Nutrition 2000 May;16(5):368-375.
14. Leiner, I.; The Intraperiotoneal toxicity of concentrations of the soybean trypsin inhibitor.  J Biol Chem 193:183 (1951).
15.  White, L., Petrovitch, H., Ross, G.W. and Masaki, K.H.: Association of mid life consumption of tofu with late life cognitive impairment and dementia: The Honolulu-Asia Anti Aging Study, The Neurobiol of Aging 17 (suppl. 4):S121, 1996a.
16. White, L, Petrovitch, H., Ross, G.W., Masaki, K.H., Abbot, R.D., Teng, E.L., Rodriguez, B.L., Blanchette, P.L., Havlik, R.J., Wergowske, G., Chiu, D., Foley, D.J., Murdaugh, C. and Curb, J.D.; Prevalence of dementia in older Japanese-American men in Hawaii. JAMA 276:955-960, 1996b.