OFF TOPIC- SORT OF- New, different info about soy

[Guest guest]

..

>

>October – December 2001 No Greater Joy

>

>Soy Alert by Debi Pearl

>

>This past month a dear friend of mine called with the disturbing news that

>she had estrogen receptive breast cancer. She asked, “What do you know

>that

>could help me?†I knew nothing, so I got busy on the web trying to find

>everything I could on the subject. I found more than I could have

>imagined.

>

>In the course of my research, I discovered that I had been swallowing a lot

>of propaganda. If you say something loud enough, often enough, and

>convincingly enough you can make anyone believe anything you say. The

>commercial side of the health food industry in America has vigorously

>promoted soy products and additives, turning a deaf ear to research that

>should throw up red flags. While other countries have acknowledged the

>potential danger and taken steps to warn their citizenry, powerful, rich

>concerns in this country have not admitted the problem.

>

>Soybeans! Healthy, right? Full of vitamins? Full of protein? Yes, everyone

>knows that. Not according to new research. It is common knowledge that

>soybeans are loaded with plant compounds that mimic estrogen, a female

>hormone. Many post menopausal women use soy products to help control hot

>flashes and other problems caused by hormonal imbalances. And soy is very

>effective in supplying the hormones needed! Think about it. If soy

>products

>supply sufficient hormones to balance out older women, what are they doing

>to

>newborn babies fed soy formula? What is this female hormone doing to men

>who

>have a constant diet of tofu and soy milk? What about younger women who

>already have a full supply of estrogen; how does a diet of estrogen rich

>soy

>affect them? Research is now strongly pointing to some very disturbing

>facts.

>I have summarized many studies and reports and have tried to give a brief

>outline of the increasing volume of research now being done.

>

>Some studies on the effects of soy products on humans have been in progress

>40 years. They are now examining the brain tissue of the deceased. There

>are

>many recent studies done on animals. They noticed that birds fed soy

>developed their adult plumage at 2 months instead of the normal 18 months.

>At

>first this was a real plus because the young chicks could be marketed

>better

>with their full adult color. Then they noticed that the early maturing,

>soy-fed birds aged prematurely and died young. This caused much

>consternation

>among bird handlers, for they also noticed a great increase in growth

>disorders, thyroid problems, infertility, and tumor growth.

>

>This was a wake-up call. People were asking, “If soy does this to birds,

>what

>is it doing to us?†National health agencies and physician associations

>of

>some countries have warned their populace to exercise caution in using soy

>based infant formulas. In the U. S. two of the Federal Drug

>Administration’s

>own researchers, Doerge and Sheehan, have stepped forward to

>protest their own agency’s allowance of health claim labeling regarding

>the

>effects of soy protein on coronary health. In a letter to the FDA, they

>cite

>their deep disturbance over potential risk to the public by the FDA’s

>failure

>to require that the same safeguards be put in place for soy use as for

>estrogenic (prescribed hormone substances) and goitrogenic drugs (thyroid

>medication), i.e., that people be informed of the risks and be under a

>physician’s care while using it.

>

>

>

>Our Babies

>

>Preliminary studies are indicating that children given soy formula go

>through

>puberty much earlier than children who were not fed soy products. Why?

>Because the phytoestrogens/ isoflavones in soy act like a hormone in the

>body, causing the infant to have hormones like the adult body. A 1994 study

>done in New Zealand revealed that, depending on age, potency of the

>product,

>and feeding methods, infants on soy formula might be consuming the

>equivalent

>of up to 10 contraceptive pills a day. By exposing your baby to such large

>amounts of hormonal-like substance, you are risking permanent endocrine

>system damage (pituitary gland, pineal gland, hypothalamus, thyroid, thymus

>gland, pancreas, ovary, testis, adrenal glands). Phytoestrogens (substance

>in

>soy) are now strongly implicated, through research, in thyroid disorders,

>behavioral and developmental disorders and cancer. Thyroid problems are now

>in epidemic proportions. Theodore Kay of the Kyoto University Faculty of

>Medicine noted in 1988 that “thyroid enlargement in rats and humans,

>especially children and women, fed with soybeans has been known for half a

>century.†Recent research leaves little doubt that dietary isoflavones in

>soy

>have a profound effect on thyroid function in humans. If you were fed a soy

>formula or soy products and suffer from a thyroid disorder, contact

>www.soyonline-service.co.nz/thyroid.htm for help.

>

>

>

>Little Boys

>

>“Early puberty (caused by consuming soy products) may increase a boy’s

>chances of developing testicular cancer later in life, because it means

>longer exposure to sex hormones,†said University of North Carolina

>researcher Marcia Herman-Giddens. Congenital abnormalities of male genital

>tracts are also increasing. Recent studies found a higher incidence of

>birth

>defects in male offspring of vegetarian, soy-consuming mothers.

>

>The hormone issue is not the only concern. Research now in progress

>strongly

>ties aggressive behavioral problems in children to soy. Soy formula has

>manganese levels that are 50 times higher than the level found in

>mother’s

>breast milk. Research is now showing that high levels of manganese found in

>soy beverages may be neurotoxic to babies, causing brain damage. These

>studies suggest a correlation to the dramatic increase in ADHD and violent

>behavior seen in adolescents today. The website:

>www.insightmag.com/archive/200106252.shtml reviews a study of unusually

>high

>manganese levels found in the hair of hyperactive children and youths

>convicted of felony crimes. Manganese is a trace metal that is essential

>for

>life, but when it is on overload it becomes “manganese-toxicity

>syndrome.â€

>If I had a child who was a soy child and showed signs of aggressive

>behavior,

>I would study oral chelation to see if the manganese levels could be

>removed

>naturally.

>

>Allergies are a growing concern. Soy is one of the most allergenic foods in

>modern diets. It is reported in several research reports to contain at

>least

>30 allergenic proteins. Many of our prepared foods from MSG to crackers and

>cookies, to frozen fish sticks, and TV dinners, to drinks and most

>everything

>in between contain soy. Many soy products are listed as natural ingredients

>or natural flavorings. Health authorities in other countries are taking

>products off the markets until they are clearly labeled due to the wide

>spread allergic reactions to soy. Does your child have asthma? If so, then

>it is time for you to do your own homework and find out what can be done to

>clean up your family’s diet.

>

>

>

>Little Girls

>

>We regularly get letters from parents that are shocked and horrified to

>have

>discovered that their babies, as young as 18 months, are, without doubt,

>masturbating. It is a shocking but growing phenomenon. Some of the problems

>are associated with small children clutching vibrating toys, but not in all

>cases. Yet, there must be a predisposing prompted by hormones. Could it be

>caused by the hormone element in soy formula? It is becoming clear that

>our

>little girls’ hormonal levels are being elevated at a very young age by

>the

>health food we eat! Soy-formula provides a hormone level at least 240 times

>higher than breast milk.

>

>In 1982 pediatric endocrinologists reported that their studies indicated an

>increase in the incidence of breast development in girls younger than eight

>years of age. In the first study of 130 little girls, 68% of them had the

>onset of thelarche (breast development) before they were 18 months old!

>Investigators found a positive statistical association between thelarche

>and

>the consumption of soy formulas (affecting 22 girls), various meat products

>(affecting 10 girls) and the mother’s history of ovarian cysts (affecting

>16

>girls). For years, health food gurus have been blaming hormone fed chickens

>(chickens fed soy) for our early puberty problems, but they remained silent

>about the hormones we have been eating in the vast number of soy products!

>

>Little girls that go through puberty early face a greater lifetime risk of

>breast cancer and early ovarian cysts, which is a factor in ovarian cancer

>and of developing autoimmune thyroid disease (ATD).

>

>

>

>Younger Women

>

>Over the years I have known women of childbearing age who guarded their

>diets, were in excellent health, did not have a family history of breast

>cancer, and yet came down with breast cancer and died. Why? What was the

>common factor in these women? You will be shocked to learn that

>phyto-estrogen compounds found in soy may actually increase the risk of

>breast cancer. Dr. Claude , director of the Women’s Health Center

>at

>Cedar-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles said of chemicals found in soy,

>“It

>can speed up divisions of those cells that are already cancer cells that

>depend on estrogen for their growth.â€

>

>Chanfeng Wang and Mindy S. Kurzer, who wrote Phytoestrogen Concentration

>Determines Effects of DNA Synthesis in Human Breast Cancer Cells say,

>“Our

>data suggests the possibility that, at typical concentrations in humans,

>phytoestrogens and flavonoids and lignans may stimulate, rather than

>inhibit,

>growth of estrogen-dependant tumors.â€

>

>It is important to understand that it is not uncommon for hormonally active

>agents to act as both estrogens and anti-estrogens, to stimulate or inhibit

>the growth of certain types of cells, such as those found in the human

>breast. The difference lies in doses and life stages. It is a double-edged

>sword. Risks may greatly outweigh the benefits. Research strongly suggests

>that younger women need to use soy products with care and not upset the

>natural estrogen levels with an overload from an outside source.

>

>Two glasses of soy milk a day, over the course of a month, contains enough

>of

>the chemical to change the timing of a woman’s menstrual cycle. Many

>women of

>child-bearing age are having terrible mood swings, depression, and they

>experience monthly PMS. Could these women be playing havoc with their

>hormones by what they are eating? We already know that women on

>birth-control

>pills are known to have more volatile emotions due to the hormonal upset.

>Just 100 gm of any soy product has the estrogenic content of a

>contraceptive

>pill.

>

>

>

>And OUR MEN? A Half Helping of a Man?

>

>What are phytoestrogens doing to the men? Researcher, W. Kubiak

>reports

>that “...because female hormones or estrogen given to men in small

>quantities

>can quickly overwhelm androgen activity, and soy produces estrogen

>molecules

>in biologically significant amounts, it might be inferred that a steady

>diet

>of miso, tofu, soy sauce, and so on might not be best for leadership

>trainees

>or aspiring Lotharios (lovers).â€

>

>Researchers believe that the trend toward lower male fertility may be due

>to

>environmental estrogens, including the soy phytoestrogens. There is strong

>evidence that soy phytoestrogens inhibit an enzyme which is required for

>the

>synthesis of testosterone and the development of the CNS-gonadal axis. Much

>research is now being done to determine the effects of soy on male animals

>(even male insects) of all sorts. Research with animals and insects from

>the

>grasshopper to the cheetah, are showing that soy affects males by making

>them

>less confident, less aggressive, indecisive, show less sexual interest,

>lower

>sperm count and in some studies less everything male. Research on humans is

>slow (years), but the short-term studies on men are showing the information

>obtained through animal life spans correlate with what is happening in

>human

>research. A Half Helping of Man? Research sure looks that way. I am sorry

>for

>all the soy products I tried to shove down my husband’s and sons’

>throats

>and thankful they were ‘male-stubborn’ and refused my “health

>food.â€

>

>

>

>Old, Old, Old Men and getting older with each serving of tofu eaten

>

>The longest study on soy products began in Hawaii in 1965 with 8,006

>Japanese-American men. It questioned the men about 27 foods and drinks.

>Over

>the years the men were monitored, questioned, and studied. The study shows

>a

>significant statistical relationship between two or more servings of tofu a

>week and “accelerated brain aging†and even an association with

>Alzheimer’s

>disease, says Dr. Lon White, who has been studying diseases and aging in

>this

>Honolulu Heart Program. White said the scientists found “a significant

>link

>between tofu consumption during midlife and loss of mental ability and even

>loss of brain weight.†Tofu was the only consistent link among the men.

>“The

>test results were about equivalent to what they would have been if they

>were

>five years older and the guys who ate none, their test scores were as

>though

>they were five years younger.†Said White. The brains of 300 men who died

>were examined in a unique autopsy study conducted as part of the Honolulu

>aging project. White reports, “But what I did see was the simple weight

>of

>the brain was lower. Shrinkage occurs naturally with age, but atrophy

>progressed more rapidly in those men who had consumed more tofu.â€

>

>At the conference where White presented his findings, Finnish scientist

>Herman Adlercreutz, who led the scientific explosion of interest in his

>studies on soy 20 years ago, said of soy and it components, “I am myself

>frightened a little bit by all this. There is so much we don’t know.â€

>

>Lon White, who has been a researcher in this field for many years said,

>“The

>bottom line is these are not nutrients. They are drugs. They will have some

>benefits and some negative things.â€

>

>

>

>Summary

>

>In my study I noticed several important factors. Those who are speaking out

>against soy products, use extensive data and research reports. They also do

>not have monetary gain as a motive for putting out the information.

>

>On the other hand, those promoting soy show an obvious lack of scientific

>study and research. Information promoting soy products often refers back to

>the Asian people’s dietary habits and their health records. Soy

>advocates

>also do not share critical information about the conditions in which the

>soy

>plant is grown, which can greatly change the chemical structure of the

>plant,

>causing the soy plant to have antiestrogenic effects, rather than

>estrogenic

>effects. Stress, fungus, and other environmental and growth conditions can

>change the types and amounts of phytochemicals responsible for soy’s

>touted

>health benefits or risks.

>

>The way the Asians use soy is also never mentioned. The vast majority of

>soy

>eaten in Asian countries is used in combination with protein foods, such as

>pork, fish, milk or eggs. The animal proteins greatly change the chemical

>structure of the food and how it is digested. Much of the soy in Asian

>countries is also highly fermented (using fungus), the process changing the

>hormone-like properties. In the literature I read that told how healthy the

>Asian people are because they ate soy did not mention that research is

>finding that Alzheimer’s is higher in Asian people than any other group

>in

>the world. As I studied soy’s health benefits, it would have helped if

>the

>soy industry would have addressed some of the findings of the research that

>has been done and is now being done that so clearly points to some serious

>health threats, but I could find no serious rebuffs. Many people would lose

>huge fortunes if this information began to affect the health food markets.

>

>

>

>Conclusion

>

>I have read for days, even weeks. My neck is stiff from sitting in one spot

>researching. There are thousands of pages on soy, stating that it is

>wonderful, and thousands of pages saying how terrible it is. After all I

>have

>read, it is clear that money is the deciding factor, not health. Soy is a

>drug, like many herbs. It is too powerful of a drug to use freely as a

>food.

>I visited a health food store yesterday. There was aisle after aisle and

>shelf after shelf of ready-made, packaged, long lasting, processed, soy

>health food. There were soy based vitamins, medicines, creams, lotions,

>rubs,

>green drinks, baby food, cereal, crackers, milk, soup, cookies, meat

>substitute, noodles, hot drinks, sauces, nut substitute, chips, candy bars,

>and anything else a person eats. While I stood there looking around, I felt

>like I had been a big fool to have thought that all that stuff was healthy.

>When men try to improve on what God gave, it should be questioned. Cereal

>should be grains; milk should be the way it was in the Promised Land; meat

>should be as it was when Jesus fed the multitude, or when Abraham fed the

>angels of God, and vegetables should be garden fresh.

>

>Isaiah 7:15—Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse

>the

>evil, and choose the good. (prophecy of Jesus and what he would eat and

>why)

>

>II 17:29—And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for

>, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The

>people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness. (God’s

>anointed

>man and his army are fed)

>

>Isaiah 7:22—And it shall come to pass, for the abundance of milk that

>they

>shall give he shall eat butter: for butter and honey shall every one eat

>that

>is left in the land. (noted because it was a blessing from God)

>

>Life is learning, and learning is expending an effort to know the truth. I

>have given you just a tiny bit of information. Chances are if you buy any

>prepared foods, you are eating soy. If your child was raised on soy

>formula,

>you need to do research. If your child has unusual behavioral problems, you

>need to study this through. If your child has asthma or allergic health

>issues, then you need to get to work and find out if this concerns you. If

>you have thyroid problems or breast tumors or cancer, this might help you

>find an answer to good health. If your husband lacks leadership and male

>dominance, but you seem to have a strong assertive drive, then stop eating

>soy and do some research. If you have stomach ulcers or lack digestive

>enzymes, stop eating soy. If you have been sucked into the health food

>craze

>like so many of us, you need to do some major homework. Don’t ask me. I

>won’

>t respond to inquiries. It is in your hands now. It is for you to find out

>for yourself and make your own decisions. We are including a starting point

>of several websites.

>

>If you don’t have a computer with the Internet connections, go to your

>local

>library with the websites listed here and give them to the librarian,

>asking

>her to help you find the information and print it out. Most public

>libraries

>will assist you, and charge a minimal fee for any copies of web pages. J

>

>

>

>

>

>Websites for further information

>

>www.soyonlineservice.co.nz - search this site thoroughly

>

>www.insightmag.com/archive/200106252.shtml

>

>www.cdc.gov/epo/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mrk121

>

>www.voyager.co.nz/~patric/soy.html

>

>http://abcnews.go.com/onair/2020/2020_000609_soy_feature.html

>

>http://www.mercola.com/2001/sep/22/soy_protein_policy.htm

>

>Also search the web under “soy infant formula†and it will take you

>

>from there to many other websites.

>

>

>

Trina, mom to four boys: Landon(8yr, autism), Chandler (7yr), Holden (3yr),

Keller (1yr, expressive language delay)

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