Recently a post about soya chunks was made on this sub and I commented my views on it, some of you wanted to know more about my reasoning behind avoiding soya chunks so I thought to make a post for it so that it reaches a wider audience.
The biggest concern with Soy starts with it’s antinutrient profile. It is not only rich in protein but antinutrients as well that too in large quantities. It has trypsin inhibitors, phytoestrogens, saponins, tannins, phytic acids, which not only affect the digestion of various micronutrients but also pose a negative effect on reproductive hormones and thyroid hormone. Also, it also induces less muscle protein synthesis compared to whey.
There is a counter argument used by many that almost every plant-based food item has antinutrients, like legumes, vegetables, etc. But the point to note here is that most of the other food sources have one or two antinutrients and that too in very small quantities. Whereas Soy has almost every antinutrient you can think of and that too in very staggeringly huge quantities.
Here is the comparison of Isoflavones content of Soybean vs other beans and legumes.
Isoflavones content of Soybean vs other food items (source: https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/80400535/Data/isoflav/Isoflav_R2.pdf)
And the trypsin inhibitor content of Soybeans vs other beans and legumes.
https://preview.redd.it/p3xe1atd0c4...bp&s=e3a472e30d3faae95ce2bec9d09f375f1cf3968b
Also, the second argument which comes after this is that by cooking these antinutrients are reduced but because the total content of antinutrients in soy are so overwhelmingly high versus other food products. Even after cooking a lot of them remain comparatively. On the other hand, to get a decent amount of reduction in Antinutrients from prolonged heating(cooking), the amino acids of soy gets damaged which further causes issues in digestion.
Now here are some studies and their findings about Soy.
To conclude, avoid soy as much as possible. If at all there is a very strict budgetary concern, where you are not even able to meet 1-1.2 grams per kg bodyweight protein, you can consider having it otherwise avoid it completely.
Feel free to ask your doubts.
I hope this helps.
The biggest concern with Soy starts with it’s antinutrient profile. It is not only rich in protein but antinutrients as well that too in large quantities. It has trypsin inhibitors, phytoestrogens, saponins, tannins, phytic acids, which not only affect the digestion of various micronutrients but also pose a negative effect on reproductive hormones and thyroid hormone. Also, it also induces less muscle protein synthesis compared to whey.
There is a counter argument used by many that almost every plant-based food item has antinutrients, like legumes, vegetables, etc. But the point to note here is that most of the other food sources have one or two antinutrients and that too in very small quantities. Whereas Soy has almost every antinutrient you can think of and that too in very staggeringly huge quantities.
Here is the comparison of Isoflavones content of Soybean vs other beans and legumes.
Isoflavones content of Soybean vs other food items (source: https://www.ars.usda.gov/ARSUserFiles/80400535/Data/isoflav/Isoflav_R2.pdf)
And the trypsin inhibitor content of Soybeans vs other beans and legumes.
https://preview.redd.it/p3xe1atd0c4...bp&s=e3a472e30d3faae95ce2bec9d09f375f1cf3968b
Also, the second argument which comes after this is that by cooking these antinutrients are reduced but because the total content of antinutrients in soy are so overwhelmingly high versus other food products. Even after cooking a lot of them remain comparatively. On the other hand, to get a decent amount of reduction in Antinutrients from prolonged heating(cooking), the amino acids of soy gets damaged which further causes issues in digestion.
Now here are some studies and their findings about Soy.
- Volek (PMID: 24015719) compared the effects of whey concentrate with soy isolate during 9 months of strength training. Whey built more muscle, 3.3 kg vs 1.8 kg for soy. But here’s the kicker. The placebo group built more muscle (2.3 kg) than soy despite consuming less total protein (1.1 g/kg/day vs 1.4g/kg/day). In other words, if you want to build muscle, it’s better to consume less protein than to get it from soy.
- Kraemer (PMID: 24015701) gave resistance trained men either whey isolate, soy isolate or a carbohydrate placebo for 14 days before getting them to the gym for a heavy strength training session. The results? Lower testosterone & higher cortisol in the soy group compared to whey & placebo. In other words, if you want more testosterone, it’s better to consume less protein than to get it from soy.
- Goodin (PMID: 17416779) gave young, healthy men a soy protein powder for a period of 28 days & reported, “Serum testosterone decreased 19% during the 4-week use of soy protein powder & increased within 2 weeks after we discontinued soy protein powder”.
- Thorpe (PMID: 12548304) fed 20 healthy men three pastries daily made from either wheat or soy flour. Testosterone fell from 19.3 to 18.2 nmol/L in the soy group.
- Habito (PMID: 11103227) showed that replacing meat with tofu lowered FAI (Free Androgen Index) by 7%
- Case studies featuring two men aged 60 (PMID: 18558591) & 19 (PMID: 21353476) showed that over consuming soy causes gynecomastia, erectile dysfunction, low libido, low testosterone & high estrogen. Eliminating soy solved all their problems.
- Ishizuki (PMID: 1868922) showed that just 30 grams of pickled soybeans wreak havoc on thyroid function. In their own words, “Hypometabolic symptoms (malaise, constipation, sleepiness) & goitres appeared in half the subjects in groups 2 & 3 after taking soybeans for 3 months, but they disappeared 1 month after the cessation of soybean ingestion.”
To conclude, avoid soy as much as possible. If at all there is a very strict budgetary concern, where you are not even able to meet 1-1.2 grams per kg bodyweight protein, you can consider having it otherwise avoid it completely.
Feel free to ask your doubts.
I hope this helps.
