July 26, 2012

Soy

Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.

How many of you think that soy is a healthy protein source that can be substituted for some meats in your diet? We’ve been told that you need to reduce saturated meat fats and eat more ‘vegetarian.’ This is how most ‘health’ providers will council you when it comes to heart health, cancer prevention and good nutrition. What does good research say?

Research done by commercial soy producer’s claim that Asians have a diet high in soy and yet they have lower rates of breast, prostate and colon cancers.  Asians have been found to eat, on average about 10 grams, or fewer than 2 teaspoons, of soy per day. About 1.5% of their calories are from soy. Compare that to the 100 grams of soy protein recommended by Protein Technologies International to supposedly reduce cholesterol levels. That’s ten times what the Asians consume. In 1992, the Swiss Health Service estimated that 100 grams of soy protein provided estrogen equivalent to the pill.