Fuck Tofu

[nyuanshin]

Soya, flax, and sesame seed all contain significant amounts of phytoestrogens, which structurally resemble a kind of estrogen that's used for cell signalling in humans -- enough to bind to our estrogen-β receptors. Cells in your hippocampus and cortex have these receptors, and when estriadol binds to them it stimulates neurogenesis and inhibits

Comments

[mausoz]

YUM, THIS TOFU THAT I AM EATING RIGHT NOW IS SOOOOO TASTY.
TOO BAD YOU WERE BORN MALE AND WON'T EAT IT. =D

[nyuanshin]

YOU CAN HAVE YOUR DAMN TOFU AND I'LL HAVE THE CHICKEN.

[smandal]

By contrast, does not red meat have testosterone precursors?

Yum.

[zarex]

I sure hope so.

[csn]

Hmm, I really don't buy it considering how it has been around for a few millenia. Show me evidence that Asia has a greater proportion of dementia than the West, and I might consider it. It's just too simplistic. It's the same thing how we still have those nice little food pyramids/triangles/rainbows/whatever they call them now. Well, according to that chart, fish should only constitute a small percentage of your diet, with fruits and vegetables being the most, but the trend is opposite of that in Japan--which I think still has the highest life expectancy of any country. I skimmed the study and I know they mention some of these things, but interestingly enough, as wikipedia (of course, a paragon of all that is truthful) points out

[smandal]

To be fair, Japanese people eat fish in *everything*. Good way to get vitamins and essential fatty acids. Tofu, bean curd and dairy products are widespread, but chicken, pork and grains are more popular.

Moreover, as meat consumption has increased, the average stature has risen drastically. This is an imperfect proxy for brain development. I don't know if tofu can meet this need (both because it is less tasty, and whatever biochemical issues), and fish stocks probably can't produce enough sustainably.

FYI, PETA has issued an in vitro meat challenge; also, a fun article.

[nyuanshin]

Tofu is about as popular in East Asia as eggs are here -- widely eaten but for most people not more than a couple of times per week -- and as smandal points out they arguably eat healthier in other respects than we do. Not to mention their genetic background is quite different from ours. What would be too simplistic would be a direct comparison of both populations when there are so many other confounding dietary and genetic variables, many of which we wouldn't even know how to control for. The study done is the best kind: take a bunch of people with similar genetic makeup and control for their diets and health. Lots of other correlations dropped out of significance but the tofu one stayed strong

[csn]

Yeah, that's probably true and about how often I eat it myself.

Well, it could indeed be correct, I would just be very surprised.