Wrong about soy?

[Lizzee]

I wanted to ask you girls what your thoughts were on soy products. I recently read that women trying to lose fat should stay away from soy products because soy increases estrogen levels, and estrogen is what makes us girls hold on to more fat to prepare for child birth and other crap (which really sucks, in my opinion)....but anyway.....do any of you guys know anything about this? And this makes sense to me though because whenever women are going through menopause they're told to drink soy milk, soy products, etc.

Thank you,

[Emma-Leigh]

Originally posted by Lizzee
I wanted to ask you girls what your thoughts were on soy products. I recently read that women trying to lose fat should stay away from soy products because soy increases estrogen levels, and estrogen is what makes us girls hold on to more fat to prepare for child birth and other crap (which really sucks, in my opinion)....but anyway.....do any of you guys know anything about this? And this makes sense to me though because whenever women are going through menopause they're told to drink soy milk, soy products, etc.

Thank you,

Hey Lizzee!!

In my opinion - It is a load of old bolux. ;) It is just another thing that people use to focus on and get worked up about (esp with all the 'anti-oestrogen' body building information out there).

The phyto-oestrogens in most soy products (that do not have 'enhanced' phyto-oestrogen contents or those suppliments that are concentrated phyto-oestrogens) are at such a low value that they are hardly effective in 'increasing your oestrogen levels' to start with!

Also, oestrogen is not primarily responsible for our fat stores - this is another 'myth' that will not die... Sure, our fat stores ARE hormone related, BUT it is thought that progesterone is more important in these areas!!

(link here:
http://www.avantlabs.com/magmain.php?issueID=12&pageID=123

And here:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/23/12729

And while you are at it
http://forum.avantlabs.com/index.php?act=ST&f=12&t=4640

http://www.brinkzone.com/soy.html ;))

Lastly - the phyto-oestrogens in soy are both agonists (ie: they target oestrogen receptors and act like oestrogen) and antagonists (ie: They BLOCK oestrogen receptors and prevent your STRONGER oestrogen from binding) in their action.... What this means is that, as they are weaker in their agonist action in comparison to your natural oestrogen levels, when they bind to receptors they act like oestrogen BUT they also prevent your natural oestrogen from binding which means that they can help to decrease the overall level of oestrogen activity in your body!

There is a WEALTH of knowledge out there about the other great properties of soy (helps in preventing some cancers and other nasty things)....

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=168470&highlight=soy%2A

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=139894&highlight=soy%2A


Anyway - I use soy all the time. I use the powder in my breakfasts sometimes and I cook with it a lot. I also eat roated soy nuts and I eat tofu as well.... I have also managed to maintain a low BF% through all of this!! ;)

But, at the end of the day, it is about what you feel comfortable with using. If you don't want to use it - then don't! But I have no problem with it at all!!

[Lizzee]

I knew I could count on you for a wonderful response, and btw that Avantalab website rules, they have got some really really interesting stuff in there. Thank you so much.

I'm so glad for this information because I really enjoy soy products. I have a really really hard time trying to create good snacks that I can put together and carry to work with me without a lot of cooking and creating involved (time is always an issue with me) so when I found out that my grocery store carried soy tortillas, I've been buying them since (got kind of sick of cottage cheese). It's very simple to put together a little taco, put it in a plastic container and go...which is key for me! So I was about to be super bummed if my thoughts on soy were confirmed.

Thank you very much!