Concern about Tofu
 

Hi,

I recently started taking TOFU in my diet, at the same time when I did little research about TOFU on the internet I found loads and loads of sites indicating side effects of TOFU and blaming it for reduced brain growth, digestive problems & even cancer, whereas their are sites which says TOFU is a great alternative.

I'm really confused if TOFU is safe to be consumed...can you throw some light on this.

I think you'll find in most of these "studies" that any effects are due to overconsumption. Tofu is not a miracle food (well okay I think it is ;)) and must be consumed in moderation just as any other food. It appears some people react to soy more than others and if that's the case then you'll need to moderate your consumption. I imagine you are also refering to any soy protein and not just tofu?

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. Yes my concern in general was towards SOY Protein, what is the moderate amount you'd suggest for the daily intake.

I personally think that eating soy products that are as close to a whole soybean as possible are fine. It's the overly processed stuff that I'm concerned about. Tofu, soymilk, miso, tempeh, and edamame are all what I'd call "close to the source." Tofu dogs, soy burgers, and all the soy derived additives they add to food should probably be eaten rarely. If the ingredient list is long, I try to avoid it (I do that with most foods.)

You don't hear about the Japanese having excessive percentages of these diseases that they've linked to over consumption of soy. In fact, many diseases that are so prevalent in our society were almost non-existent in Japan until a westernized diet was introduced there.

It's like anything else, don't go crazy and only eat one thing. Over consumption of things widely considered good for you can be bad too. Also, since we are on the subject of protein, excessive meat consumption poses far more health risks then soy. If you eat a variety of foods you should be fine.

Here is a link that talks about how much is too much:

http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives...-much-soy.html

And a quote from that article:

"Recently, a few studies appeared showing potentially negative effects of consuming too much soy. One particularly troublesome study done in Hawaii suggested that men with higher tofu intake had more cognitive decline and brain atrophy with aging than men who ate little tofu.1 This data contradicts evidence that Japanese men, who consume tofu regularly, have better cognitive function and lower rates of Alzheimer's disease than American men.2 Obviously, more studies are needed to clarify these suggestive findings and to determine if there is something in tofu or related to tofu consumption that may be harmful. After reviewing these findings, Dr. Harris had soy products from Hawaii tested for aluminum levels and found a significantly higher level of aluminum in tofu from Hawaii than in tofu from the mainland. The aluminum factor may be a plausible explanation for the alleged "brain aging" properties of soy.

In any case, the evidence is not sufficient to warrant being fearful of consuming soybeans as part of a healthful diet. However, this brings to mind my basic theme of nutritional biodiversity--eat a variety of plant foods, and do not eat a soy-based diet."

I also wonder if some of these problems are due to the fact that a lot of the soy products we consume in the US are made from GMO soybeans. But they don't study the effects of that do they? I try to avoid GMO soy products, so I buy organic.

Well said Zenor!

I personally limit myself to no more then about 2-4 servings of the processed soy a week. By this I mean Smart Dogs, Boca Burgers, any of your "faking meat" items. I don't worry too much about how many servings of soy milk, tofu, edamame, etc I eat.

I always thought the main concern of too much soy - especially in raw form (I thought) like edamame and tofu- was that it is known to create estrogen dominance. My mom, worried that I was drinking too much soymilk and eating too much tofu, has been telling me that for years. I think the jury may still be out on this, but while I love soy (LOVE tofu, edamame, soymilk, etc), I do limit my consumption of it.

I certainly think eating tofu a couple times per week would be fine though.

I have heard that argument too, but when I first heard about the concerns of estrogen dominance it was in regards to plastics that leach and industrial chemicals that get in our water system. Not to mention many of the chemicals they put in cosmetics. The estrogen problem is much more then just soy.

That said, I don't think it's good to over consume anything.

Zenor, you're right about the MANY environmental factors that create estrogen dominance. I do my very best not to store food in plastic - and definitely not heat things up in it - and avoid plastic drink bottles whenever I can. But the phytochemicals (probably not the correct word??) in soy DO trigger estrogen production. This is a separate concern (but equally real) from the other environmental causes of estrogen dominance. I can't cite all the science, though I have read a lot about it. I just try to have it in moderation, but then again, Asian cultures have eaten very soy heavy for hundreds (thousands?) of years, and they have had lower cancer/heart disease rates than the US. So, who knows? I don't think anyone should take soy supplements though!

Thanks guys for all your help ! It just busted all my doubts. I'm so glad I found 3FC :)

I heard that tofu is made in an environmentally inconsiderate way - basically that rainforests are torn down in order to make the stuff. That's why I've never had the stuff, and don't intend to, but this sounds pretty bad too.

Rainforest are torn down to support the meat/dairy industries and the extensive need of the animals for feed. Organic tofu is grown in an environmentally friendly manner. Unless you exclude these items from your diet you are doing WAY more harm as it takes fewer plant acres to feed a human directly from plants then to consume animal products.

As for health concerns I think we can see what meat/dairy have done as compared to soy. Not to say that some people cannot have bad reactions to soy.

Soy is way down on the list of reasons for deforestation:
http://www.mongabay.com/brazil.html

The US is the largest producer of soy crops and one of the reasons is because it helps refresh the land after other crops are grown, especially corn. So usually farmers rotate between corn and soy. If it wasn't for soy, then farmers would have to refresh the land by growing elsewhere and thus would need more land for crops versus needing less due to soy.

Although soy doesn't create the estrogen dominance, some studies have shown that eating large quantities of soy may make balancing the hormones of an estrogen dominant woman even more difficult I am estrogen dominant and use hormone replacement therapy. I must be careful not to consume more than 10-12 grams of soy protein a day. I have found that eating too much soy protein does seem to bring on the traditional signs of menopause...irriritability, moodiness and insomnia

Interesting... thanks for sharing. Have you had your hormones tested? I can never get a doc to do that.

Hi Claire,

Yes, I do have my hormones tested each year. Most gynecologists will do some blood hormone tests if they think you might be having problems or starting peri-menopause. However, it can be difficult to find a doctor that will do tests for all hormones. I take bio-identical hormones that are compounded for me. The best way to find a doctor that will do the testing and help you find your balance is to find a pharmacy that does compounding. These aren't typically your chain pharmacies. These will be locally run pharmacies. They can recommend doctor's in your area who are very knowledgeable about hormone balancing. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, please feel free to PM me.

I completely agree!

Thank you!! At 40, I should probably do that!