The
so-called dangers of soy is misinformation propagated primarily
by Sally Fallon and the Weston Price Foundation, who
claim not only that meat and animal products are essential for
health but that soy is supposedly harmful.
This
just doesn't stand up to scientific scrutiny. In
his article "What
About Soy?," John Robbins refutes these claims
conclusively and in detail. Another article, "Is
It Safe to Eat Soy?," by Virginia Messina, MPH, RD, and
Mark Messina, PhD, professors at Loma Linda University,
concludes, "Based on the bulk of the evidence soy appears
to be perfectly safe for nearly all healthy individuals when it
is consumed in reasonable amounts. We would say that a
reasonable amount of soy is two to three servings per day."
A
multiyear study of 5,000 women published in the December
2009 JAMA, reported in many media outlets, concluded that
soy was not only safe but beneficial: "Among women with
breast cancer, soy food consumption was significantly associated
with decreased risk of death and recurrence."
A
search on the New York Times site for "soy and cancer"
reveals that back in 1998 and '99, articles about soy
described its benefits. Fallon's first book was published in
October 1999, and in the 2000s (coincidentally ...) coverage
started to become negative.
The
idea that an animal-based diet is healthier than a vegetarian
diet is simply not supported by the statistics. For
example:
-
Increased
risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared
to less than once a week: 3.8 times
-
For
women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times
-
For
women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times
-
Increased
risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or
more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times
-
Increased
risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat,
cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6
times.
- Average
U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent
- Risk
of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent
- Risk
of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4
percent
- Amount
you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of
meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent
- Amount
you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by
50 percent: 45 percent
- Amount
you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from
your diet: 90 percent
It's
true that one needs to buy soy products made from organic
soybeans, to avoid chemical contamination and GMOs, but other
than that, the ostensible dangers of soy are a myth.