Tofu good or bad?

[BigKahuna28]

Anyone eat this stuff?

[BuffedWildCat]

My husband does, I on the other hand, I've tried it and no thanks! It's a good source of protein and fat.

[elescher]

I like it -- if someone else prepares it for me. For some reason I have been very unsuccessful being creative with it

[Emma-Leigh]

Originally posted by BigKahuna28
Anyone eat this stuff?

I love it!

[Ravi Dev]

Originally posted by Emma-Leigh
I love it!

me too!

very good source of protien, every 2.5 ounces contains 2 carbs, 1g fiber, 9g protien, high in certain b vitamins too i cant remember which ones. it IS complete protien, which makes it great for vegans & vegetarians.

it taste great depending on your tast buds & how you prepare it. i have a thick slice of raw tofu in a low carb english muffin w/ soy mayonaise (very lowfat, much healthier than regular mayo) any time during the day as a low GI, high protien snack. you can cook it as a meat substitute, though you have to press the water out of it in order to grill it, otherwise you can use it in stirfrys, soups, shakes, salads, bakes, pot pies, steamed, deep fried, fermented, ect.

great reads on soy & tofu

"The Book of Tofu" by william shurtleff
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/willbrink4.htm

< ------ vegan bodybuilder

[MsFit]

Never tried it. It just doesn't sound good.

[Romac]

"On an ending note, I would like to remind you bodybuilders out there that according to the January 2003 edition of European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, testosterone levels fell in the volunteers eating soy."http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/tietge7.htm

[Emma-Leigh]

Originally posted by Romac
"On an ending note, I would like to remind you bodybuilders out there that according to the January 2003 edition of European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, testosterone levels fell in the volunteers eating soy."http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/tietge7.htm

Pfffttt... I can show you many a study that proves the benifits of soy products. The 'hype' that surrounds this type of this is simply that - hype.

Tofu is great.

[Girlie]

Tofu is yummy! However, I had a friend that was doing research on the effects of soy products on pregnant women. The preliminary results suggest that soy can have a detrimental effect on fetuses. I'm not sure what's been published yet on the topic from his lab, but it's something to keep in mind at the very least.

From other labs:

Reprod Toxicol. 2001 Nov-Dec;15(6):647-63.
Effects of dietary genistein exposure during development on male and female CD (Sprague-Dawley) rats.

Mol Med. 2002 Nov;8(11):742-9.
Early exposure to genistein exerts long-lasting effects on the endocrine and immune systems in rats.

J Urol. 2003 Apr;169(4):1582-6.Exposure to genistein during gestation and lactation demasculinizes the reproductive system in rats.

note: genistein is a compound naturally occuring in soy

[Romac]

Originally posted by Emma-Leigh
Pfffttt... I can show you many a study that proves the benifits of soy products. The 'hype' that surrounds this type of this is simply that - hype.

Tofu is great.

no hype dear, science only thank you:

"If that were not bad enough to convince you to avoid soy, it gets worse. Soy protein contains something known as "anti -nutrients" that block the digestion and absorption of many nutrients. Two of the more important anti-nutrients found in soy are Lectins and protease inhibitors. Lectins are nasty constituents of various plants and can cause all sorts of problems from interfering with the absorption of important nutrients to intestinal damage. Proteases are enzymes that assist in the digestion of proteins. Soy has several protease inhibitors that interfere with the enzyme trypsin and chymotrypsin, both of which are important for the digestion and absorption of proteins in the gastrointestinal tract. Finally, soy is rich in estrogenic compounds such as genistein and diadzein. There are over 300 plant derived phytoestrogens found that vary substantially in their physiologic effect and potency in animals and man. As any bodybuilder worth his weight belt already knows, a change in the testosterone/estrogen ratio in favor of estrogen can lead to increased bodyfat and other ill effects as it relates to the strength athletes goals." read more of this here: http://www.brinkzone.com/soy.html

[Emma-Leigh]

Originally posted by Romac
no hype dear, science only thank you:

"If that were not bad enough to convince you to avoid soy, it gets worse. Soy protein contains something known as "anti -nutrients" that block the digestion and absorption of many nutrients. Two of the more important anti-nutrients found in soy are Lectins and protease inhibitors. Lectins are nasty constituents of various plants and can cause all sorts of problems from interfering with the absorption of important nutrients to intestinal damage. Proteases are enzymes that assist in the digestion of proteins. Soy has several protease inhibitors that interfere with the enzyme trypsin and chymotrypsin, both of which are important for the digestion and absorption of proteins in the gastrointestinal tract. Finally, soy is rich in estrogenic compounds such as genistein and diadzein. There are over 300 plant derived phytoestrogens found that vary substantially in their physiologic effect and potency in animals and man. As any bodybuilder worth his weight belt already knows, a change in the testosterone/estrogen ratio in favor of estrogen can lead to increased bodyfat and other ill effects as it relates to the strength athletes goals." read more of this here: http://www.brinkzone.com/soy.html

This topic has been done to death and I present some arguements here:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...&highlight=soy

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...&highlight=soy

http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...ghlight=soy%2A


Ok - Firstly those 'anti-nutrients' are present in legumes as a whole - not just in soy. This is the reason why white bean extract (Phaseolus vulgaris), is used as a carbohydrate 'blocker'. It is a protection mechanism that has been set up for the plant to survive. So, if you are going to avoid soy based on this, then you also need to avoid white beans, kidney beans, black beans, lentils and other legumes. But, as with all legumes, if you COOK the beans, these anti-nutrient properties are basically 'cooked out'.

Secondly, the phyto-oestrogens present in soy products are VERY WEAK oestrogens - they are far less potent than the natural oestrogens that are found in both males and females. They are also anti-oestrogenic - that is, because of this weaker action they actually act to BLOCK the oestrogen receptors in the body can stop the MORE potent natural oestrogen from binding... Thus - they can DECREASE the action of oestrogen in the body.. (
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showth...&highlight=soy And http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/20/suppl_5/354S AND http://endo.endojournals.org/cgi/con...ll/139/10/4252 )

And on that note it is actually not oestrogen that males need to be concerned with... It is the progesterone in the female body that is responsible for the increased hunger and increased fat storage that females experience due to their cycles (
http://www.avantlabs.com/magmain.php...=12&pageID=123

http://forum.avantlabs.com/index.php?act=ST&f=12&t=4640 ).

Also - if you are going to get all 'anti-phytooestrogen' like, then you are going to have to cut out linseed/flax from your diet as well - as this is also a rich source of phyto-oestrogens.

The effects of soy on infants - well, those studies were firstly done in rats (and, when talking about the effects of soy in rats you can not really make parallels with humans - esp in regards to protein utilisation, due to the rats increased methionine needs compared to humas...) and they are also using HIGHLY concentrated and high doses of these things. Eating Tofu/sou products (in which these bioactive compound are not concentrated) is not the same... Take a look at these articles:
eg:
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/132/3/559S
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/134/5/1220S


Lastly, the HEALTH benifits of soy HAVE been researched thoroughly and are remarkable -

Legumes, soy, phytooestrogens and some of their benifits and random articles:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/70/3/439S
http://jcem.endojournals.org/cgi/content/full/83/7/2223
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/132/12/3577
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/79/5/727
http://care.diabetesjournals.org/cgi...ll/25/10/1715?
http://www.jacn.org/cgi/content/full/20/suppl_5/354S

Cardiovascular and renal benifits:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/70/3/464S?

Prevention of osteoporosis/bones:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/78/3/593S
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content/full/132/9/2605

Prevention of neoplasia:
http://www.nutrition.org/cgi/content...ct/129/9/1628?

Decreases cholesterol:
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/333/5/276
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/95/6/3106

Diabetes and obesity:
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/76/6/1191

Anyway.... Take a look around at some of these articles... You need to get your information from more than one source

[Romac]

Originally posted by Emma-Leigh
Anyway.... Take a look around at some of these articles... You need to get your information from more than one source

no thanks i found 3 scientifically referenced sources that talk about how soy sucks which was more than enough for me because i don't eat soy protein. (I did follow the link to your second forum discussion which provided a link to yet another online article outlining the dangers of soy consumption.)

All the people that need or want to eat soy protein could look at all those articles in an attempt to justify their consumption of such a poor and potentially dangerous source of protein, but then again why bother justifying an extremely poor and potentially dangerous and unhealthy food when you could just eat meat, milk, and eggs?

[sk8_d0g]

sorry dude. to say eating meat, dairy, and eggs are not potentially dangerious isn't exactly accurate.

hormone injected beef, and dairy cattle that are manipulated to produce milk ALL the time when the "safe" alternative would be to collect the milk when the cow is nursing, and 20 chickens crammed into a 2 by 2 foot cage and forced to eat their own feces and are ground up and fed back to each other when they die or are out of calcium to produce eggs are just some examples.

maybe back (waaaay back) when we weren't quite so greedy and our tastes/needs for these things weren't exploited, these were safe sources.

I'm not an animal rights activist, and I'm not advocating anything here because when it comes down to it, it's a choice. but ignorance is bliss I guess, so give 'er buddy.

cheers.

[Romac]

Originally posted by sk8_d0g
sorry dude. to say eating meat, dairy, and eggs are not potentially dangerious isn't exactly accurate.

you are right...if we look long enough and hard enough we can find documentation that absolutely everything we eat is potentially dangerous...but safety squabbles aside...

meat, dairy, eggs have been proven to support massive muscle growth which is the main purpose for us bbers consuming tons of protein. It has not been documented that soy protein supports massive muscle growth, BUT it has been documented that soy proteins carry mild amounts estrogen-boosting components which cause us to increase our body fat and reduce muscularity, testosterone levels in test subjects eating soy DROP, soy has nutrient blockers that prevent nutrient absorption, and has a very low biological value.

So safety aside, soy does not support massive muscle growth while meat, dairy, and eggs do.

Show me one massive bodybuilder that get the majority of their protein from soy.

[sk8_d0g]

your backing up your claims is pretty impressive man, which is more than i can say for some of the other animal protein advocates on here who just growl and bark that eating meat is evolutionarily significant without anything to support.

all i'm saying on this is that I've been vegetarian for a while, and although i switched to whey protein to up my intake (for reasons which you outlined pretty thoroughly), I was eating mainly soy for a while, and still managed to add 1.5 inches to my biceps. With the work and diet I put in, I can't imagine putting on any more size in the same length of time while eating meat.

So i'm posting this pic just to prove the point that while it may not be as easy, it isn't impossible to grow while eating mainly soy protein.

[Romac]

Originally posted by sk8_d0g
your backing up your claims is pretty impressive man, which is more than i can say for some of the other animal protein advocates on here who just growl and bark that eating meat is evolutionarily significant without anything to support.

all i'm saying on this is that I've been vegetarian for a while, and although i switched to whey protein to up my intake (for reasons which you outlined pretty thoroughly), I was eating mainly soy for a while, and still managed to add 1.5 inches to my biceps. With the work and diet I put in, I can't imagine putting on any more size in the same length of time while eating meat.

So i'm posting this pic just to prove the point that while it may not be as easy, it isn't impossible to grow while eating mainly soy protein.

good job on your gains bro!

and yes i don't really think that soy is any more dangerous than meat. I'm just having fun with the debate. It's fun to counter something that's been pushed for so many years as being healthy. My wife is loosely vegetarian and eats lots of soy burgers and soy sausages and stuff like that and i always bug her by calling them 'gay burgers' (no i'm not homophobic) and this little debate is an extention of that.

I've eaten the stuff too on occasion.

This whole soy issue is more relevant to those that want to consume soy for a large part of their protein intake, and doesn't really concern me much at all. I'm just having fun yanking chains...everyone needs a hobby

[Jim Barboza]

"i don't really think that soy is any more dangerous than meat. I'm just having fun with the debate. It's fun to counter something that's been pushed for so many years"

"I've eaten the stuff too on occasion."

"doesn't really concern me much at all. I'm just having fun yanking chains...everyone needs a hobby"

HAHA... so he admits hes just f(_)ckin with yall

[kaylers]

I think that this is a great post! I think that many people fear tofu and other soy products. These are great sources of protein. Personally I will cook up tofu for instance if I am in a rush and do not have a lot of time. Tofu is great because you can do anything with it. You can make it any food you want to make it. It does not take a long time to cook either. I will cycle tofu when I can no longer stomach any more chicken or fish! Also, it is less expensive!

Keep up the great work! I am really glad to see that there are bodybuilders who incorporate protein alternatives into their diet!

[Alinasmommy]

I am a pseudo vegetarian (I do not eat meat or poultry but I do eat dairy and seafood). I LOVE tofu as well as tempeh and eat lots of the veggie food meat alternatives such as Boca products, Quorn products, Morningstar, veggie deli meat, etc...etc...

If you don't eat meat tofu and other soy based products are excellent sources of low fat protein.

If anyone is interested in some recipes just let me know!