The damaging truth about soy & low testosterone & imbalanced thyroid

[Rob1414]

I personally experienced the problem soy has.. it's loaded with phyto-estrogen... plant estrogen. when I began my vegetarian trek 3 years ago.. I did what i read & was suggested by all the vegetarians I knew.. I bought vegetarian substitutes for the meats I had been accustomed to eating.. veggie: burgers, hot dogs, pizza, turkey, etc... well, I began having mental confusion, extreme low energy, low sex drive, weight gain, high cholesterol, etc.... I went to dr & they tested my blood. Turns out my testosterone had plummeted to ridiculously low levels. I then went on a regimen of gel testosterone treatments.. that did nothing. Then I started testosterone injections & got some help.

It wasn't till I went pescatarian... vegan that eats some seafood... I learned the truth about how harmful soy is! it's loaded with phyto-estrogen. for a man... It's like eating female birth control pills. The more soy you eat... the lower your testosterone will plummet! Soy is not only listed as: soy, soybean, soybean oil, edamame, & tofu... but also as lectithin. I can't find a single cookie or cracker in my local grocery stores that doesn't contain soy in one form or another. since the us gov decided to subsidize soy... it's added to almost all processed foods. I learned to avoid soy, in all of it's forms like the plague!

For women, eating soy makes it very hard, if not impossible to loose weight. In both men & women... soy disrupts the thyroid gland. You should look at the chart re the correlation of soy being subsidized by the us gov & to the rate of increase in thyroid disorders. Coincidental...I definitely think not!!!

Since going pescatarian & cutting out soy, I have lost over 75lbs, gotten off all 14 prescription meds, my: testosterone level is now in the high range.. & I am 47 yrs old! my bp & cholesterol were abysmal... now in good to above average levels! My insulin resistance is now good. I had previously been pre-diabetic for a long time.

I pray this helps someone out there. I sure wish someone had told me about this!!! Here is a short video clip of Dr. Gundry (World Renown Cardiologist)discussing SOY:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg3IDHrHUp4

God Bless!!!

Rob1414

Moderator Edit: All-caps

[Daves_Not_Here]

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@Dominique wrote:

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@Daves_Not_Here wrote:

we have an obesity epidemic in 6 month-olds.  Are they lazy?.

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I must admit it’s the first time I hear about obesity in children that young. Do you have a source for this?

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Hi @Dominique -- I've come to believe there is an increased rate infant obesity based on two sources - (1) my wife is a pediatric nutritionist and has observed an alarming increase in infant obesity over her 20+ year career.  When I browse her professional journals, there are frequent articles on increased infant obesity, and (2) Robert Lustig mentions the trend in https://youtu.be/dBnniua6-oM .  I haven't independently validated the conclusion, but just now ran a Google search on "Infant Obesity" and pulled up a number of citations, some of which appear to be credible.

For me, there are two questions - (1) is there an actual increase in rate of infant obesity, or are we just more observant?  And (2) if there is an increased rate, what is the underlying cause?  Lustig certainly has an opinion and I'm inclined to believe him, at least until I hear a stronger alternative explanation. 

[Daves_Not_Here]

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@Rob1414 wrote:

Thank you for your input, my friend. I can only respond by "Yes" on all accounts! When I was harkening back when to All food being "Organic", I was referring to the prior generations. I TOTALLY agree that the "something else" that is going on, that you refer to may be the indisputable fact that our the "Food Pyramid" that the US Government has been molded & remolded does NOT Induce Health, but is literally FALSE ADVERTISING for the Sugar, Meat, & Dairy industries. As more & more countries adopt the American "lifestyle"... within 2 generations, they are just as FAT & SICK as America is.  The system just wants to Bankrupt your estate BEFORE your Premature Death! 

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@Rob1414 - Thank you!!  You "went there" in your post.  You touched on a number of realities, many of which are uncomfortable to contemplate.  I have come to believe that institutions tend to act in their own parochial interests, sometimes contrary to the interests of the constituencies they purport to serve.  There is no altruism, nor pursuit of "truth" to the extent that it conflicts with institutional interests.  

The healthcare establishment acts to enrich its beneficiaries (doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, government bureaucrats, politicians, insurers, etc.) at the expense of the unrepresented masses (patients).  It is therefore incumbent upon each of us to aggressively establish our agency and independence when dealing with this highly untrustworthy, corrupt, and arrogant institution.  

In my opinion, just as you don't trust car salesmen when buying a car, you shouldn't trust medical practitioners when obtaining medical care (apologies to car salesmen who may be reading).  I mean, give full consideration to what they have to say, but understand your interests and well-being are not in the top 5 of their priorities.  (If you doubt me, observe elderly patients hobbling in from the outer parking lot past the young doctors' reserved parking spaces)

[Mukluk4]

You kids and your tinfoil hats!

I'm sorry, but the good ol' days were not that much better than today.  DDT was being used on just about every farm, Smoking was considered an athletic enhancement, Health inspections of factories that produced food were not being completed as often as they are today.

The problem that the medical profession and YOU have is that there is some kind of assumption that everyone's body is the same.  Guess what? (a) They are very complicated organisms that aren't created in a factory or strict isolation and (b) the theory of Darwinism doesn't apply.  There are some foods that some people can tolerate better than others. People have varied diets and exercise levels and  can either be fat or skinny.  All that you and they are saying is that you have "a better chance" of living a healthy life following X advice, but that doesn't guarantee anything.

[CoachJay]

Hi Rob

I don't think soy was your main issue for having low testosterone. In fact, soy is a staple food in most parts of Asia. And their men are doing just fine. I trained with Thai kickboxers and tofu was included A LOT in their diet.

The compound known is phyto-estrogen isn't the culprit. It's very different from the HORMONE estrogen. Clinical studies have actually shown phyto-estrogen having absolutely no impact on testosterone. In fact there's a study that show soy consumption being good for prostate cancer.

The main problem stems from the fact that Big Food in north america relies on cheap genetically modified soy beans grown by Monsanto. An NPR investigation was conducted that shows farmers use herbicides and chemicals not approved by the FDA. 

It's been known in the recent decade that cases of allergic reactions, liver changes, sterility, infant mortality were linked with GMO crops. People still don't believe that GMO foods can wreck havoc on your body because of all the alterations they produce and the little research done to know the effects of these on the human body. 

Coach Jay

[Rob1414]

Coach Jay,

Your post is Mis-Information personified. I EXPERIENCED the return of my
Testosterone to levels I could not achieve... even while on Prescribed
Testosterone Cypionate injections... by ELIMINATING SOY. The Blood tests I
have had are testimony to the fact that this is TRUTH. I now wake up every
morning like I am 18 again, & I am almost 50 years old. In addition...
When Soy Milk 1st came out... the school nurses sent home notices NOT to
allow my boys to drink it because it would POSTPONE their onset of Puberty.

The HEAVILY Subsidized Soy industry attempts to sell itself as a "Health
Food". If you seriously buy into this lie... you may still believe
cigarettes are healthy too... since one time Dr's prescribed smoking to
reduce stress & relax.

Coach Jay, please don't waste my time with a reply if you simply seek to be
argumentative or have nothing INTELLIGENT to say.

Thanks,
Rob

[Esya]

I agree with @Dominique that you cannot blame soy for weight gain. I totally agree that you cannot pinpoint one food group and it is all about the total calories deficit created by exercise and diet. However, for me health is more than just weight.

For hormone balance soy has an impact. This was also discussed in the program "The Food Hospital". Unfortunately I can't remember which episode. Now I am not saying that everybody should stop eating soy. I think in a varied diet for a healthy person it is totally fine to eat soy. And if you have issues in that department it is worth it to have a good look at it. For some it means eliminating soy from their diet might be a good move while for others (myself included) it actually is beneficial to add soy to the diet.