Soy and infertility
Okay, so, as usual, I've gone through the tags and read all I can find about soy and whether or not it's as fabulous and some sources claim. I'm more reasured now than I was an hour ago, but I still feel like I need a little more. So, bare with me while I ramble on about what it is I'm wondering. I would have put this in my own journal, but almost no one reading it would understand my concerns as they aren't vegan or are childfree, and I really need feedback here.
I was recently alerted to a study done on adults who'd been fed soy infant formulas and that these people (not ALL, I'm assuming) were found to be infertile or have trouble concieving and that it does something to the sperm count in males and also the testicles. Who told me this? My cousin's wife, who heard it from her doctor. Her children are age 5 and 2, and her eldest has serious wheat and dairy allergies, so she gives them rice milk, instead of soy, after hearing about this study. As a result she and my aunt now seem to be very 'Soy = BAD'. Also, I'm not exactly fond of believing everything a doctor says.
Alarm bells didn't ring for me at first because a) I was breastfed and b) I thought "Oh jeez, just some more crazies trying to get everyone to use animal products", but after a while I thought I'd do some investigating anyway. I do want to have children one day I don't want my consumption of soy to prevent me doing so, nor do I want to give my child dairy based formulas should I be unable to breastfeed. These things led me to visit Google and search a bit. Most of what I found sounded as though it was written on the bias by someone who's probably working for a company that needs people to consume more animal products. Great. And then the articles I found that argue for soy's benefits sounded like THEY were bias and written by a bunch of aggressive veg*n's that want the whole world to turn vegan (it's a nice thought, but terribly unrealistic) and damn anyone who says otherwise.
It's incredibly confusing and for once I would like to find a credable study done by non-bias people so we can actually have a proper idea here. The cynic in me imediately says "HAHAHAHA, as if that'll happen any time soon!!"
After reading serveral posts and the comments at veganpeople I'm a bit more reassured that soy in moderation is probably unlikely to make me infertile and cause me to develope cancer/heart desease, etc.
However, I'm still concerned because most studies are done on non-human animals, and I know I'm not going to react to something 100% the same as a rat does, so no one really knows exactly if soy is as good as some sources claim, and also no one can really know if soy is as bad as some sources claim. I want to know for SURE if soy infant formulas will make my future children infertile, put them at higher risk of it or have some other bad effect on them (I don't plan on using formula, but you never know). It's a really frustrating thing and ignorance is bliss, really. Up until recently I always thought soy was great in moderation, but that's for an adult. An infant would be consuming ONLY that up until about 6 months of age, so could that be too much?
I'd like to know what people think "moderation" is when it comes to soy consumption for an adult. Obviously having it at every meal, every day is exsessive.
My genral intake of soy is:
-a bit of milk in my tea, 1-3 daily, sometimes none a day.
-milk in cereal most mornings
-I might have 1 or 2 soy based sausages at a meal, maybe 3 times a week.
-1-2 blocks of tofu every 2 weeks, give or take some.
-in total I use (to drink/have with cereal or in cooking) about 2 litres of soy milk a week, give or take some.
That's not including any other soy that might in whatever else I eat (soy flour in crackers and so forth).
How much is too much?
I'm planning on substituting some of my soy milk intake with rice milk (I've never tried it before, so hopefully it's nice).
Also, I'd like to know if anyone else is a bit concerned like I am? I think people tend to be really biased alot of the time and see one opinion that they like, so they agree with it completely and don't care about any other point of view, even it that other one is just as valid and could potentially help you avoid harm. I feel like alot people are like this with the soy debate. A bit of healthy concern is good for you, right?
I sound like a complete worry-wort and should probably chill out some, but I can't help being concerned, especially since so many vegan diets are heavily based on soy, and, being in a small town with minial "exotic" (and by that I mean anything that doesn't come from an animal *insert sigh and eye rolling here*) ingredients available, it makes it hard to substitute soy with other things.
Thanks for taking the time to read through this. I hope you're not snoring just yet ;)
I was recently alerted to a study done on adults who'd been fed soy infant formulas and that these people (not ALL, I'm assuming) were found to be infertile or have trouble concieving and that it does something to the sperm count in males and also the testicles. Who told me this? My cousin's wife, who heard it from her doctor. Her children are age 5 and 2, and her eldest has serious wheat and dairy allergies, so she gives them rice milk, instead of soy, after hearing about this study. As a result she and my aunt now seem to be very 'Soy = BAD'. Also, I'm not exactly fond of believing everything a doctor says.
Alarm bells didn't ring for me at first because a) I was breastfed and b) I thought "Oh jeez, just some more crazies trying to get everyone to use animal products", but after a while I thought I'd do some investigating anyway. I do want to have children one day I don't want my consumption of soy to prevent me doing so, nor do I want to give my child dairy based formulas should I be unable to breastfeed. These things led me to visit Google and search a bit. Most of what I found sounded as though it was written on the bias by someone who's probably working for a company that needs people to consume more animal products. Great. And then the articles I found that argue for soy's benefits sounded like THEY were bias and written by a bunch of aggressive veg*n's that want the whole world to turn vegan (it's a nice thought, but terribly unrealistic) and damn anyone who says otherwise.
It's incredibly confusing and for once I would like to find a credable study done by non-bias people so we can actually have a proper idea here. The cynic in me imediately says "HAHAHAHA, as if that'll happen any time soon!!"
After reading serveral posts and the comments at veganpeople I'm a bit more reassured that soy in moderation is probably unlikely to make me infertile and cause me to develope cancer/heart desease, etc.
However, I'm still concerned because most studies are done on non-human animals, and I know I'm not going to react to something 100% the same as a rat does, so no one really knows exactly if soy is as good as some sources claim, and also no one can really know if soy is as bad as some sources claim. I want to know for SURE if soy infant formulas will make my future children infertile, put them at higher risk of it or have some other bad effect on them (I don't plan on using formula, but you never know). It's a really frustrating thing and ignorance is bliss, really. Up until recently I always thought soy was great in moderation, but that's for an adult. An infant would be consuming ONLY that up until about 6 months of age, so could that be too much?
I'd like to know what people think "moderation" is when it comes to soy consumption for an adult. Obviously having it at every meal, every day is exsessive.
My genral intake of soy is:
-a bit of milk in my tea, 1-3 daily, sometimes none a day.
-milk in cereal most mornings
-I might have 1 or 2 soy based sausages at a meal, maybe 3 times a week.
-1-2 blocks of tofu every 2 weeks, give or take some.
-in total I use (to drink/have with cereal or in cooking) about 2 litres of soy milk a week, give or take some.
That's not including any other soy that might in whatever else I eat (soy flour in crackers and so forth).
How much is too much?
I'm planning on substituting some of my soy milk intake with rice milk (I've never tried it before, so hopefully it's nice).
Also, I'd like to know if anyone else is a bit concerned like I am? I think people tend to be really biased alot of the time and see one opinion that they like, so they agree with it completely and don't care about any other point of view, even it that other one is just as valid and could potentially help you avoid harm. I feel like alot people are like this with the soy debate. A bit of healthy concern is good for you, right?
I sound like a complete worry-wort and should probably chill out some, but I can't help being concerned, especially since so many vegan diets are heavily based on soy, and, being in a small town with minial "exotic" (and by that I mean anything that doesn't come from an animal *insert sigh and eye rolling here*) ingredients available, it makes it hard to substitute soy with other things.
Thanks for taking the time to read through this. I hope you're not snoring just yet ;)