Are you a woman who eats soy, drinks soy milk, munches edamame or takes soy isoflavones as a supplement thinking it will help you with hot flashes, night sweats and other inconvenient and uncomfortable menopausal or perimenopausal symptoms?
As it turns out, the risks of soy to hormone health are significant. It is not the middle aged health panacea for women that is is promoted to be! If your doctor is harping on the benefits of soy to alleviate your discomfort, find a new doctor!
Studies show that even small amounts of unfermented soy has the potential to disrupt female hormonal balance. This amount is only 45 mg isoflavones – a bit more than a single cup of soymilk!
“Women taking soy isoflavone tablets to alleviate hot flashes and prevent bone loss at the time of menopause might want to reconsider,” says Silvina Levis, M.D., the director of the osteoporosis center at the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine.
A recent study published in the August 2011 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine examined 248 menopausal women over a 2 year period to see if 200 mg of isoflavones per day were a help in alleviating the symptoms of menopause including bone loss.
200 mg per day is equivalent to twice the highest intake through food sources in typical Asian diets.
At the end of the 2 year period, women taking a placebo versus women taking the isoflavone supplement showed no differences in bone loss or menopausal symptoms such as hot flashes and night sweats.
In fact, nearly half (48%) of the women taking isoflavones experienced hot flashes compared with just 31% of women who took the placebo!
Yes, you read that right. Soy actually makes hormonal problems worse, ladies! Even worse, soy consumption causes precancerous breasts over time as identified via breast thermography imaging.
Stay. Far. Away.
Studies Showing That Soy Messes Up Your Hormones
Soy Wake Up Call #1
A 1991 study found that eating only 2 TBL/day of roasted and pickled soybeans for 3 months to healthy adults who were receiving adequate iodine in their diet caused thyroid suppression with symptoms of malaise, constipation, sleepiness, and goiters (Nippon Naibunpi Gakkai Zasshi 1991, 767: 622-629)!
Still think munching on edamame is a healthy habit?
Soy Wake Up Call #2
Six premenopausal women with normal menstrual cycles were given 45 mg of soy isoflavones per day. This is equivalent to only 1-2 cups of soy milk or 1/2 cup of soy flour! After only one month, all of the women experienced delayed menstruation with the effects similar to tamoxifen, the anti-estrogen drug given to women with breast cancer (American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1994 Sep;60(3):333-340).
Soy Wake Up Call #3
Dietary estrogens in the form of soy foods were found to have the potential to disrupt the endocrine system with the effects in women similar to taking the breast cancer drug tamoxifen (Proceedings of the Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine 1995 Jan;208(1):51-9).
Soy Wake Up Call #4
Estrogens consumed in the diet even at low concentrations were found to stimulate breast cells. The effect is much like the pesticide DDT which increases enzymatic activity leading to breast cancer. (Environmental Health Perspectives 1997 Apr;105 (Suppl 3):633-636).
Soy Wake Up Call #5
The soy isoflavones genistein and daidzein appear to stimulate existing breast cancer growth indicating risk in consuming soy products if a woman has breast cancer. (Annals of Pharmacotherapy 2001 Sep;35(9):118-21).
Soy Wake Up Call #6
Direct evidence that soy isoflavones genistein and daidzein suppress the pituitary-thyroid axis in middle-aged rats fed 10 mg soy isoflavones per kilo after only 3 weeks as compared with rats eating regular rat chow. (Experimental Biology and Medicine 2010 May;235(5):590-8).
Soy Bottom Line
In conclusion, soy messes with your thyroid and disrupts the delicate balance of breast tissue and it doesn’t take very much soy at all to start the snowball down the hill to hormone imbalance with only a cup or so of unsweetened soy milk per day representing a significant risk.
Think you don’t eat much soy?
Next time you go shopping, just for grins check the label on everything you buy.
Surprise!
Soy is in EVERYTHING!
The scary truth is that if you eat processed foods (even organic), you are eating plenty of soy. Worse, you are probably consuming far more than you know even if you don’t drink soya milk or eat soy protein bars.
If you are still unconvinced and need more information, check out this article on the over 170 studies on the adverse effects of soy isoflavones from 1950-2010.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
References
Soy No Help for Hot Flashes, Bone Loss
@Julie, I started last spring experiencing hot flashes and night sweats with insomnia added in for all around fun. Probably 3 months of the nighttime issues, 6 weeks of hot flashes. In June, I started to take moringa olifera via Zija International. Dr. Russ Bianchi formulated the product; he spoke at the Weston A Price conference earlier in November. (Knowing that the Foundation had vetted him before inviting him to speak was what pushed me into taking the product.) I noticed about 4 weeks into my daily consumption of Zija that my menopause symptoms were all gone. I ran out of powder mix in August and went for a week w/o taking a daily dose and the hot flashes returned. Back on the product, they were gone and I will not run out again!
I did not anticipate the moringa would affect my menopause symptoms at all; I was taking it more for some wrist joint pain that has bothered me since the birth of my last child four years ago. Realizing the hot flashes were gone was literally like the “light bulb” moment for me. Such a welcome surprise and relief. The joint pain disappeared, too. Bonus!
Thanks Denise. I plan to read up on the moringa Olivera which you mentioned. I had not heard of it before.
Soy a Big Fat Zero for Menopause Symptoms – The Healthy Home Economist http://t.co/hugDqScU
I’m going to repost here what I posted on FB:
@Erin Bennet, you might believe that it is working for you but I’d be weary of what else it is doing to your body. Soy contains high levels of aluminum that is toxic to your body. About 90% of soy is genetically modified today in our world and if you do not know the effects of GMO’s, I’d suggest that you research it for yourself and not from Monsanto’s own website. Soybeans are also very high in phytic acid and can block the absorption of many beneficial vitamins and minerals to you body. It also hampers your digestive system and if you didn’t know, our digestive system controls about 80% of our immune system. I would also recommend getting your Vitamin D levels checked, your thyroid checked and your B12 levels b/c soy affects all of these areas of health as well. I could go on but to summarize, I would pay attention to your whole self and not just the fact that you believe the soy has taken away your hot flashes. What else has it been doing to your body?
Oh, and yes, soy also causes men to have manboobs! Thats a fact!
Thanks Sarah for continuing to provide great information that will not only impact our health immediately but our long term health as well!
This blog is a no man-boobs zone! Thanks for posting Erin!
I have a soy story to tell. Last year there was a new MLM that a lot of people were getting into. It was a company that sold long term food storage. For $3.00 shipping they sent you 6 servings of food to try out. When I got them they had soy textured veg. protein in them. I had one serving, just one. Two days later I started getting PMS symptoms and a week later I started my period! You might not think that strange except because of menopause I hadn’t had a period for 6 years! It was terrible, I knew soy was bad for you but I didn’t think one serving would mess me up that bad! I am very careful about eating soy now, thank goodness I only had a period the one time.
It doesn’t take much soy to induce hormonal imbalance particularly in children. It’s amazing to me how many people continue to cling to the industry propaganda on this despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.
Oh, and yes, soy also causes men to have manboobs! Thats a fact!
@Erin Bennet, you might believe that it is working for you but I’d be weary of what else it is doing to your body. Soy contains high levels of aluminum that is toxic to your body. About 90% of soy is genetically modified today in our world and if you do not know the effects of GMO’s, I’d suggest that you research it for yourself and not from Monsanto’s own website. Soybeans are also very high in phytic acid and can block the absorption of many beneficial vitamins and minerals to you body. It also hampers your digestive system and if you didn’t know, our digestive system controls about 80% of our immune system. I would also recommend getting your Vitamin D levels checked, your thyroid checked and your B12 levels b/c soy affects all of these areas of health as well. I could go on but to summarize, I would pay attention to your whole self and not just the fact that you believe the soy has taken away your hot flashes. What else has it been doing to your body?
While I’m generally a fan of your newsletter and articles, I find your evaluation of soy a bit sensationalist. For instance, numerous studies have found NO effect on serum thyroxine levels, and the most studies examining the “hormonal” effects of soy have found that risks for estrogen-sensitive conditions are DECREASED with soy. I completely agree that GM soy should be avoided, but soy IS a healthy food when consumed in food-like amounts. While some early studies did suggest that soy was thyrosuppressive and may increase the risks of breast cancer, etc., these findings were not replicated. The only caution is that iodine intake must be adequate.
What are your thoughts on these studies?
http://www.ajcn.org/content/93/2/356.short
http://ebm.bmj.com/content/15/2/55.extract
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16571087
If you call 170 studies sensationalist, then I would suppose that there is no convincing you! LOL
Do you have a list of these 170 studies? Are they in-vitro or in-vivo? I’ve extensively reviewed soy research, and most well designed research does not support claims that it is dangerous. Phytoestrogens, like those found in soy, are estrogen modulators. In other words they will reduce estrogen dominance in high estrogen environments, and help to reduce estrogen deficiency when receptors are empty. I don’t advocate for using processed soy products like TVP, but I certainly haven’t seen any compelling research that would convince me that soy, as a FOOD in moderation, is unhealthy.
I understand that we are on opposite sides of a fence here, but there are many more studies in favour of soy than there are against. If you’re going to cite studies arguing that soy is unhealthy, you owe it to your readers to present the other side of the story as well.
Yes, see the link at the end of the post to click through.
Yes, but that’s not representative of the bulk of research. It’s very selective, and very biased. Did you look at the links I posted? Any thoughts? I would be curious to hear them.
As for the research cited on the WAP site…
1. Much of it is animal research, not human research. And, the doses used were much higher than what one would consume with food.
2. Some studies are simply stating the presence of phytoestrogens in urine and/or blood. That doesn’t mean much, especially since soy increases SHBG. Just because you can measure something doesn’t mean it’s biologically active. In fact, it may be more likely to be inert due to the SHBG effect.
3. Most human research looking at food doses of phytoestrogens have NOT shown any measurable biological activity. Sure, undesirable effects can be induced, but that can be said for almost any substance.
What are your thoughts on the phytoestrogen content of flax, lentils and other beans?
Mostly animal research? I guess you didn’t look very closely at all at those 170+ studies. Most of the ones I reviewed were human .. and how are they biased? Because they weren’t funded by the soy industry?
What do you recommend for hot flashes and night sweats?
Maca root (I use powder, but it is also available in other forms) is used by many people with good results. I started using it a couple years ago when I started having hot flashes and either it was a coincidence, or it really worked because I haven’t had any since. Maca root is supportive to the endocrine system in general, so it helps with things beyond menopause symptoms, such as fatigue.
Can you wirte ab article like this on the impacts of soy consumption for men so I can show my Dad? He eats so healthy, but he loves soy milk in his tea. I have no idea how to explain to him that it’s not a healthy option!
Yes, I need to do this! I wanted to cover the dangers of soy for boys/men in this article but it would have been way too long.
And for young girls too please. I know folks giving children soy milk and even soy peanut butter to replace peanut butter due to peanut allergies. Thanks for all the great info Sarah!
Also most soy is genetically-modified so it should be avoided anyways.