I would like to include more soy in my diet, maybe even a vegetarian low carb, but I am worried about what I hear on the health implications with soy. I was wondering, how true is it? I cannot imagine anyone could do a vegetarian low carb without soy......


Thanks!

From what I've read the problem is with processed soy, so cooked whole soybeans or black soybeans should be okay, just maybe stuff made from soy flour should be avoided?
I am not sure where tofu fits in.

My wife developed breast cancer two years ago. After a mastectomy and chemotherapy she has done well. Because the cancer was estrogen-sensitive, the doctor is adamant about avoiding soy. The estrogenic compounds can attach to estrogen-secreting tissue. It's what makes soy good for peri-menopausal women. But with the fear of stimulating more cancer to grow, soy is a no-no.

I thought soy is soy, no matter what form you get it. But I'm not an expert. It's the only vegetable protein source that has all eight essential amino acids.

Soy is a highly processed food. I would avoid it like all processed foods.

Fermented soy (tempeh, tofu, natto and yuba) and whole beans (canned, dried and frozen as edamame) are fine.

Soy protein isolate, TVP, and soy flour are 'processed' but fermented tempeh, tofu, natto and yuba and the whole beans are whole soy foods.

how do people do vegetarian low carb without soy? I gather from what everyone is saying is that soy is not as good for you as we think it is.....

ok...I am confused really...LOL...

Don't be confused. Soy is bad for you.

Well, it's harder...because the more foods that you eliminate or greatly reduce, the less variety in your diet. If you get bored easily, then eliminating foods is a hard way to go. However, there are more than a few low carb non-soy options. Eggs, dairy, nuts, seeds, and vital wheat gluten (if you can eat gluten), as well as small amounts of lentils, are what I usually stick to and they make it possible to maintain a vegetarian diet without a lot of, or any, soy. You won't be able to rely on much processed food, since most processed vegetarian foods include some amount of soy--but I think there are some Quorn products that are mycoprotein only (no soy.) Not all of them are soy-free, though, so read your labels.

OTOH, if you're willing to make most of your own foods from scratch, you should be just fine.



It's really something you need to decide for yourself. As for whether soy isn't good for you, IMO, the jury is still out. There is just as much research that indicates soy is a fine protein source as there is claiming that it isn't. The truth is that it's probably somewhere in the middle, and that moderation is your friend, that it's neither a miracle food nor the road to hell. But everyone's mileage varies, so each of us has to make his/her own decision based on what our own bodies tolerate.

It's amazing how many MDs are still recommending soy. I heard or read recently that Weil is now recommending only two servings a week of the stuff.