The Science of Soy

What do we really know?

A stroll through nearly any American grocery store or pharmacy yields ample proof of the soybean’s increasing role in the U.S. diet. Food packaging offers statements about products’ soy content and the purported associated health benefits. Products such as tofu, soy milk, soy-based infant formula, and meatless “texturized vegetable protein” burgers are widely available. Shelves of dietary supplements and nutraceuticals are stocked with isoflavones, naturally occurring estrogenic compounds found in soy. The general impression is one of certainty that both soy and soy isoflavones deliver many health benefits, including prevention of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and osteoporosis, as well as treatment of menopausal symptoms. The science is less absolute, however, and still evolving.

Purported

- Cambridge Dictionary

1. that has been stated to be true or to have happened, although this may not be the case

2. to present, especially deliberately, the appearance of being; profess or claim, often falsely: a document purporting to be official.

Above quote from:

Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Jun; 114(6): A352–A358.
doi: 10.1289/ehp.114-a352
Environews Focus
The Science of Soy: What Do We Really Know?
Julia R. Barrett

PMCID: PMC1480510     PMID: 16759972

Soybeans and soy foods contain a variety of bioactive components, including saponins, protease inhibitors, phytic acid, and isoflavones.

Known to cause Ill Health

• Saponins
• Proteaes inhibitors
• Phytic acid
• Isoflavones