http://www.mercola.com/ was the link someone else had put up. I just typed in soy and it popped up a page of articles.

Jenn

What do you think about drinking soy milk?

I have two servings daily. I am not familar with this topic.

I am going to keep my one soymilk smoothie a day that I make with 1 cup of enriched soymilk, at least for now. I think it's the same with all things. Moderation! You know almond milk is WONDERFUL I haven't bought any in forever. I can't remember what the carbs are like on it. I have recipes to make it from scratch though if it came down to it and I had to make it myself just to avoid sugars.

Jenn

Generally, I'd agree with the moderation idea, but I was "moderating" my soy intake before. After all, I'm a carnivore, so I was only eating it maybe three to five times a week. But already, I'm noticing hormonal changes. It could be a coincidence, so I'll stay soy free for another few months to see what happens.

Well I haven't been able to cut it out yet. I had a freezer packed full of nothing but soy meat subs. I'm eating through what I have just to rid myself of it and I'll slowly up the amount of beans I am eating. I mean I have to eat something for protein. Should be interesting to see how it goes. I made tempeh the other day which is supposed to be okay since it's a fermented form of soy. It was delicious and better than tofu. I was glad I gave it another chance. I tried it years ago and hated it but it must have just been the way it was fixed.

Jenn

Hey Everyone,
I have a little advice for you. If you are going to eat soy, make sure you take a really good mineral supplement, and don't take it with your soy meal!

Soy is full of phytic acid (my hubby is involved in research at the University about this stuff). Plants use it for phosphorus storage, hence it is really good at picking up (and holding onto) di- and tri- valent ions (metals) The phytic acid grabs up minerals and takes them out of your body. The big ones are mangenese, copper, zinc.

Of course, mineral supplements won't help with hormone issues.

The protein in soy is hard to digest, so when it is fermented (as soy sauce, tempeh, and miso) the proteins are broken down into more easily digested forms.
(Fermenting is, after all, just 'pre-digesting' your food using bacteria.)
That's one of the reasons fermented soy is better for you. I don't know what fermentation does to the phytic acid, I'll ask my hubby.

Hope this helps.
Well, good luck.

What kind of changes do you mean Kristine? (just curious)

Thanks for the great info batgirl, I hadn't really thought of it that way. At any rate I am trying to switch over to eating only fermented soy. I just had so much in my freezer of the processed soy stuff it was unbelievable. I think I still have enough to take me through this month and half of next. YIKES!

Jenn

OK, I asked my hubby. The phytic acid in soy gets broken down during fermentation. So, it doesn't strip the minerals out of your body. Evidently, fermentation solves at least two of the problems with soy.

I have no idea if it helps with the hormonal problems, though.

I am pregnant which is why I am trying to ditch the processed soy products. My nurse midwife said that women that had tried to stay on the bars and shakes during pregnancy had HUGE (we are talking 12 lb + babies) When I looked on the packages and noticed that all my fake meat products shared the same exact main ingredient (soy protein isolate) I decided to give it up. I have had 3 kids. I wasn't vegetarian with the first, she weighed 7.5oz. My second was 9.11 1/2 oz. My third was almost 9 lbs as well. Maybe it's coincedence but I only ate soy with the latter two and they were huge when compaired to my non-veggie baby. So now I am scared of the soy. By next month I plan on being soy free unless it's fermented.

Jenn