Soy Protein VS Animal Protein?

K

Kathy02

Cathlete
I'm just really curious because I honestly prefer the taste of soy milk to cows milk. Is there something that is more benificial about soy pretein than animal protein? I keep reading about how great soy protein is for people, but what is it that makes it so great?
Once again, I'm just curious, and too lazy to do a search on the internet for it.;) So, if any of you know what the differnce is or what the claims are, please help me. Thank you!

Kathy
 
I think it's better for people who are lactose intolerant. But I'm not educated about this--it's just a guess.
 
I think you will find a lot of information about soy on the internet. The scariest thing about it to me is the phyoestrogens. It also is stated to cause feminization in men because of the estrogens. Too must estrogen in men causes excess bodyfat and this bodyfat causes gynomastia (breasts) in men. The breast tissue of the men is the identical breast tissue found in women and some men even have larger breasts than women!

But it is hard to avoid soy protein. It is in so many prepared foods that contain meat. And even more foods that dont. If you read lables, anything called "vegetable protein" is soy. You will find it is in lots and lots of things that you would never suspect.



Madonna
 
I am no expert, but the idea that phytoestrogens are similar enough to real estrogens to be a problem is still controversial. It's hard to find an unbiased source for this, and I hope someone knows the answer. I've heard that the fats in soy are better for the heart and there are anti-inflammatories in soy that milk lacks. Of course, there are the casein and lactose problems that are avoided with soy. On the other hand, I've heard too much soy is bad if you have an underactive thyroid as well as the possible problem with phytoestrogens.

On another level, the milk usually contains bovine growth hormone, pesticides and herbicides and antibiotic residues unless you buy organic milk.

And on yet another level, dairy animals do go through more animal abuse than the industry would like you to know, not the least of which is being constantly pregnant and then constantly having their babies "stolen", half of which end up as veal.

I choose to use only soy milk, but it isn't a cut and dried situation, I sometimes buy or use cows milk products, but only a little bit. Fortunately for me, I don't like cheese.

OK,that's my 2 cents, or more like 7 cents, that was pretty long.
 
Strange. Soy products (milk, beans, nuts) make me feel sick and bloated. I've heard about lactose intolerance but is there such a thing as soy intolerance?

I can drink skim milk 'til the cows come home (excuse the pun) and have no adverse reaction to it. It does sadden me, however, to hear about the animal abuse.

Patricia
 
Here's a link that I hope would be helpful:
http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2000/300_soy.html

I eat meat, but am not that big on red meat. My meat sources are usually chicken breast and fish. However, like most everyone, there aren't enough hours in the day for me to prepare lean meat, so this is where dairy comes in. I'm lactose intolerant and drink a lot of soy milk. I can use regular milk in its different forms (condensed, evaporated, skim, etc...) in small amounts, but drinking glasses of it greatly upsets my stomach. Small amounts of cheese is also okay.

Like the article says, soy isn't magic food and every health claim has its differing schools of thought. I hate to be redundant but you do have to see if soy works for you as every body is different.:) If you have a reaction to it, it might pay to talk to your doctor about it and avoid soy altogether. I love certain vegetables, but some of them, like asparagus and broccoli, when I eat too much of them, can do a number on me.

I've gained a pretty decent amount of muscle with lots of soy, lean chicken, fish, egg whites and low fat dairy. It's a combination of all these foods that helped me, not just soy alone.

Pinky

Editing to add that whey protein has also helped.:)
 
Oh my goodness.....forgive me for laughing, but I'm currently trying to figure out how to sneak some soy milk into my ex's fridge......
 
There have been some studies suggesting that soy can increase risk of breast cancer, but this contradicts the epidemiological (population study) evidence of populations that have large amounts of whole soy foods (tofu, tempeh, soy milk, edamame, etc) in their diets and have lower instances of certain types of cancers. Processed soy foods that use only part of the soy (isolated soy protein, concentrated soy protein like what is used in most soy burgers and such) may be more problematic, and may be what the studies are refering to.

Soy is a good vegetarian source of complete protein (as are quinoa and hemp).
 
I guess most everything we eat or drink is bad for us in it's own way. At some point don't we need to trust our bodies natural defenses for fighting off disease?
 
Thank you all for your help! I was really just bored and curious. I figured that there would be a few opinions on the matter and it was very intersting to hear all of this. I had no idea that soy might be bad for you. But then again, like Candi said, I guess that everything we eat could be bad for us. Heck I remember hearing once that the air that we are breathing is bad for us too. this was a long time ago, but I remember thinking, "I knew it!" and then laughing.
Thanks again for your help!

Kathy
 
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