Confused about soya milk, does anyone know about it?!
Confused about soya milk, does anyone know about it?
I have recently cut out dairy products from my diet (I have been meat free for the last couple of months also). The reason for cutting out milk is because I have read lots of information recently suggesting cows milk can cause spots due to the fact the cows are milked during pregnancy whilst the hormone levels are high (and because I think its cruel). So I have been drinking soya milk, but doing research on the internet I have found two totally contrasting views. Some say it is good some say it is toxic, I am so confused as I thought I was being healthy! Is their anyone out there who has looked into this deeply and knows the truth! Please let me know as I am very confused. Thanks!
Answers:
Hiya. Congratulations on taking steps to improve your health :)
A lot of the anti-soy propaganda comes from the meat and dairy industry. So be wary of where you read this information. It's worth reading the forums here: www.veganforum.com
Soya is linked to lowering cholesterol. Drink soya milk in place of cows milk, and you will be cutting out the saturated fat, cholesterol, blood and pus cells and hormones.
I think a soy-heavy diet isn't the best thing for you (no high protein diet is). Drinking a glass of soy milk here and there is fine. If you're really worried, try rice milk, oat or nut milk. I personally love rice milk (prefer it to soy) as it's so versatile. Remember our obsession with milk isn't natural for the human body anyway- it's just a bad habit that works itself into our lives.
I always buy organic soy products by a reputable, health-friendly brand.
Remember, Asia have been eating soy FOREVER! Most of the scare mongering comes from the west, no surprise there, given the threat it is to the dairy and meat industries.
Have a bacon sarnie - you'll feel better.
Everyone in dairy industry is doing their best to prove that soy is bad for you. But dont worry, just look at asian countries where soy is consumed more than anywhere else, and ppl are healthier in general comparing to Americans that get sick and obese on meat and dairy.
Yeah, Tests were done on animals concerned with soya. They took isoflavones from the soya bean, pumped animals full of them and some developed cancer.
This is as you would expect as if you take certain parts from anyfood it can be toxic.
For instance if you drank to much water, an imbalance would be created as the proportion of salt and sugars would be too low.
Or if you ate a lot of apple pips which contain mild amounts of cyanide, you would be ill.
The amounts that the animals were fed is far more than you would consume so there is no need to worry. Look at some unbiased sites. I think that there is a big myth about soya out there and it is mainly meat eaters that think it as some need some way for eating animals seem better.
Soya milk is in no way toxic it is used by those that are lactose intolerant in place of cows milk Soya milk is sweeter than cows milk if you don't like soy you can use Goats milk which also is not toxic
also cows milk will not cause spots, spots are caused by a build up of natural oils in the skin they can be hormonal females may notice spots during their "time of the month" or they can be commonly be noticed during puberty a good cleansing routine will reduce the risk
I agree that there is a lot of anti-soy propaganda out there. For every study you find that says soy is unhealthy, there is another that says it is healthy.
I think of it this way: here in Taiwan, most people have some form of soy every day (usually in the form of dou-jiang, or soy milk)
This is also especially common in China, Japan and Indonesia. I figure, that is approx. 1/5 of the world's population that drinks a soy-based product every day. They have been doing this for centuries, and there are no wide-spread health concerns related to soy in these cultures.
If it works for over a billion people, it will work for me too.
But, if you are still concerned, buy organic, Non-GMO soymilk whenever you can.
Where is no full report what says Soya milk is safe or not.
But with any soya product is has to be cooked to destroy known toxins that can be dangerous to health. While soya products have been eaten for many years in the Asian lands, they have do not eat it as much as what the average vegan or veggie in the west eats it, then they do eat soya products they will almost have a meat dish with it. I think I read somewhere that soya products leech a chemical from the blood that is needed by the body and that meat counteracts this and this is what asian people have been doing for hundreds of years.
Meanwhile there has been some scientific data to suggest that that soya plant hormones effect human ones to some degree and in the case of males it can effect them even more.
Mind you nowadays Soya products are becoming a big business and anything that slams them is going to get rubbished you have to think for yourself.
In Asian they have known how to make it for about 2000 years, so during that time lots of people have been drinking it. You can check online to find various recipes on how to make it. The thing to watch out for is if it is GMO (genetically modified organism) soy. Most brands will say non-GMO. If you get the standard Asian style it will be unsweetened and most Western people are not used to that. That is why the Western styles are vanilla flavored, sweetened, chocolate, or something.
Really the only people saying it is "toxic" is people connected somehow to the dairy industry because if you buy the soy product they lose sales.
Check out a Chinese menu, how many dairy items are on there? Probably none, or very few, since Asian people rarely consume dairy, they use soy instead. If there were really lots of problems you'd think they'd know about it by now after hundreds of years.
Well, i drink soya milk all the time. Tastes like cardboard but at least the cows are not troubled by me.
I doubt there are any health implications, the meat industry has a lot of money to pay for research. Money they would be better spending on animal husbandry.
I've been there...confused if soy was worth consuming or not. but after doing my own research I decided that I will have my soy. I do agree with FM, try getting Non GMO and organic whenever possible. And btw congratualtions!
You need to consider a few things. Who is threatened by the soymilk industry? And, who benefits from it? Considering those two points, who has the most money to push their agenda?
The dairy council has behaved this way before. They took on the margarine industry, and continue to do so. At one point they were strong enough to have a tax put on margarine, to make the prices equal to butter. They have challenged the soy industry for using the word "milk" in describing soy milk, it is not actually milk.
They pay small financially strapped research firms money to find the facts they want to push, this is how "milk helps you lose weight," "Is good for strong bones," and so many other ridiculous claims that firms have found. These firms will not be paid if their findings do not benefit the milk industry, and the Dairy council will purchase the research once it starts to show any sign toward the positive. This way the research can never be finished, and positive findings can't turn negative.
If milk is so good for you why is it that the countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis also drink the most milk?
Why is it that osteoporosis is not prevalent in countries that eat a diet lower in proteins?
I make my own soy milk, with organic soybeans, there is no way this is more damaging than milk from a cow that has been injected with hormones and steroids, fed a cannibalized diet and other questionable food stuffs.
firstly well done on cutting out dairy I;ve been vegetarian for the past 6 years and I'm cutting dairy out now too.
I've drank soya milk for years, it isn't bad for you, as someone else had said, people in the dairy industry and ignorant people who think that if you're vegetarian/vegan you will almost probably die say bad things about soya, usually because for them its a yuck factor.
the sweetened alpro soya might be less good for you but only because of the sugar content, still mega tasty tho!
and what about people who are lactose intolerent???? thye dont really have a choice but to eat/drink soya/rice milk products!
soy milk is actually soy juice made to look like milk so as to be more acceptable generally,its very high in protein and naturally low in fat.The comedian lewis black said soy don't lactate and don't have nipples so it can't be milk