Everything about soya indicates that it’s one of nature’s superfoods.
A Harvard University article “Straight Talk About Soy” sums up that most studies have shown soy to be beneficial, although there are some studies that raise questions about possible negative aspects.
“Part of the uncertainty is due to the intricacy of soy’s effects on the body.
Soy isoflavones and soy protein appear to have different actions in the body based on the following factors: Type of study (animals or humans), Ethnicity, Hormone levels, and Type of soy in the study.
Thus, there are many factors that make it difficult to construct blanket statements about the health effects of soy. That said, soy foods are rich in nutrients. Unlike some plant proteins, soy protein is considered a complete protein, containing all nine essential amino acids that the body cannot make which must be obtained from the diet.”
Nutitionfacts.org considers a study showing a possible downside of links to breast cancer, and concludes that as the study was based on use of mice, with very different bodily mechanisms to humans, it doesn’t provide any real evidence, in the face of human studies showing soya to be neutral or beneficial.
For example, a 2009 article “Soy food intake and breast cancer survival”, in the Journal of the American Medical Association, concludes that: “Among women with breast cancer, soy food consumption was significantly associated with decreased risk of death and recurrence.”
The Cleveland Clinic reports that the American Heart Association “advocates that eating foods containing soy protein to replace foods high in animal fats may prove beneficial to heart health.” Specifically
• Eating soy is a great way to increase your plant protein.
• Soy foods are naturally cholesterol-free and low in saturated fat.
• Eating soy-based foods is a great way to boost your fibre intake.
• Soy foods are a good source of polyunsaturated fat.
• Soy foods contain omega-3 fats.
• Soy foods are a great source of vitamins and minerals.
• Soy foods are a good source of phytochemicals.
Link to my post on “Breakfast”