How good is drinking Soy milk?

[Suroj123]

Hi,
  I drink appx 2 cup of Soy milk daily. Is it good for health to drink that quantity daily?

Thanks in advance
Suroj

[Fruttibiscotti]

Some things to consider though us that soy in US and some other parts of the world are GMO and sprayed with Roundup herbicide, causing health issues:

http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416

Also, there is a great deal of misinformation and conjecture on how much soy Asian cultures eat.  For instance, Asians eat fermented soy as a condiment, as in very little, and not main bulk of meal.  Here's scientific evidence:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10868587

Soy oil is high in omega 6 oil, which is not healthful:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19022225
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21118617

Soy contains large amounts of isoflavones, which function as phytoestrogen,
which are endocrine disrupters.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11305594
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16965913

Soy iso flavonoids have been shown that they can cause breast cancer:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11431339
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11577007
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11694625
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/68/6/1431S.long
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/5/10/785.short

Soy has been shown to inhibit function of the enzyme thyroid peroxidase, which is essential for production of thyroid hormones:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9464451
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1241182/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1868922

It has been shown that girls who were fed soy formula as a baby were much more likely to go through puberty at a younger age:

http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/ref/collection/etd/id/3971

I'm not making soy, in either form (milk, oil, etc) a common ingredient in my diet.  I don't have good reasons to do it.

[Paxiled]

By the way, I don't personally advise using soy if you don't want to.  All beans are good sources of protein and nutrition, though soy is the most complete protein outside of animal food.  I'm not a vegetarian, but I do use soy milk in my cereal but that's all, and I do eat tofu products a couple times a week at least, but that's all.  So I have no dog in this fight, I just worked in the health food industry for many years and remember when the meat industry started this anti-soy campaign when people were starting to question eating meat.  I'm sure some of the research is legit, but most isn't, and I can't tell which is which.  So I'm very dubious of the claims given the intense amount of soy eaten in some of the healthiest and long-lived and overpopulated cultures in the world.

[Paxiled]

None of the above has proven true in actual humans, though the meat industry has paid for a lot of research to stop people from moving from meat as their protein source.  The areas of the world that use the most soy do not have any of the problems associated with it, so we have to wonder, why not?  In China and Japan they drink soy milk every day because they consider dairy to be far more a problem food traditionally, and you just don't find these problems there.  I agree that fermented soy is better, but fermented everything is better, including vegetables, as it breaks down phytates and preserves food.  But in China and Japan they eat a lot of unfermented soy such as soy milk and tofu.  Soy milk is just the liquid left over after making tofu.  But there is a concern with soy -- it is a common allergen and most brands have a lot of sugar in them ( so does milk, by the way, though it's naturally there).  Gymdandee is a passionate opponent of soy but has never cited a single case of an actual human suffering these problems, but he opposes any regulation of petroleum products, which have been associated with all these exact effects in actual humans.  Use the soy milk in moderation and you should be okay, such as in your cereal, but tofu and miso and tempeh and the like are better ways to eat soy if nutrition is your goal.  

[gymdandee]

Correct! I use butter and heavy cream in just about everything! You know I can't recall the brand of tea but it contained soy in the contents. If you look at just about everything in the markets soy is in it!!

[Fruttibiscotti]

I'm not a fan of soy milk either. Long list of potential imbalances and hormonal effects.  I'm also not a big fan of drinking milk anyway (I prefer getting my dairy through yogurt, kefir, cheese, etc) and for drinking I prefer water (for cold) and tea or espresso (for hot).  And I enjoy my one glass of red wine for dinner. I also eat full fat dairy, use cream and butter and ghee in my food, opting always for grass fed free range, to get very high quality macro and micronutrients.

[gymdandee]

The use of soy milk, soy hot dogs, vegetable burgers, tofu, cheeses, etc., results in a host of mineral and vitamin deficiencies. Besides all of the deficiencies caused by soy, one of the most distressing adverse effects of the use of non-fermented soy foods is that it causes thyroid problems.
More than 75 years of medical research has shown that soy adversely affects thyroid function. Why does soy do this? It is the phytoestrogens in soy that adversely affect thyroid function. Soy is a known goitrogen, a substance that causes goiter. In fact, researchers have reported that infants have developed goiter and hypothyroidism because of soy formula.
Furthermore, soy formula has been associated with the development of autoimmune thyroid disorder.
Soy has been known to decrease fertility in many different animal species. This includes cows, sheep, rabbits, cheetahs, guinea pigs, birds, and mice.
The large amounts of phytoestrogens in soy are responsible for lowering the libido in men. A newborn male experiences testosterone surges after birth.
There can be consequences of having a newborn male ingest soy formula, which contains a large amount of phytoestrogens.
Most products containing soy contain soy-protein isolate. Soy-protein
isolate is made in the factory, where soy is mixed with an alkaline solution, then acid-washed in an aluminum tank. This results in high levels of aluminum found in many soy products, particularly those with soy-protein
isolate. The resulting product is spray-dried at high temperatures to produce soy-protein isolate. Soy-protein isolate then can be converted into soy meats, and all the other soy-containing products readily available.
Soy is the cheapest crop to grow in the United States. Therefore, soy has become a plentiful substance that has found its way into too many products. Estimates are that more than half of supermarket food has soy as an ingredient.
fermented soy products, when used in moderation, do not have the same
negative influence on minerals, vitamins, and the thyroid that the non-fermented form of soy does. Natto, one form of fermented soy, is a very good source of vitamin K2 that can help treat osteoporosis and bleeding disorders.
It is best to avoid nonfermented soy products in your diet, including soy
milk. For substitutes to soy milk, try almond milk or rice milk or coconut milk.