I've recently been told that soy milk has estrogen that cause men to develop feminine qualities. My first reaction was disbelief/denial but later I couldn't help but get scared that the many years I have spent eating tofu and drinking soy milk will cause me to lose my semi deep voice and develop women-sized breast! I immediately got back home and frantically read a ton of articles regarding this subject. Article after article warned about the "evil soy bean" that will not only destroy your health but bring down our whole society by making our kids gay. After a good hour of searching, I finally made up my mind about the subject in one word: Moderation. Reason: Not enough evidence to determine the consumption of soy products lead to emasculation. More research is needed in this area.
Here's a list of articles that I thought were noteworthy from both sides of the aisle:
Pro
Con
Edit (3.18.2010): I've been reading some of people's comments on this issue and there was this one comment that really got me thinking about the bigger picture. One commenter brought up the issue of cows being injected with growth hormones as well as estrogen. Another reader, named Beto, responded by stating:
"C'mon, get real dude! This site, westonaprice.org, has for many long years been promoting highest qualityanimal quality flesh and dairy products, which are healing/strengthening for the humans consuming them, and less damaging for the planet from low impact, green practices on such farms & businesses. "
The problem with this statement is that even though the Weston A Price Foundation is a more reputable source than others, the organization is indeed run by humans and therefore is not infallible.
Then he started talking about the health benefits of raw milk:
"I've always had mucus coating my mouth,& in my sinuses & throat after consuming commercial cow's milk and cheeses since childhood. And I drank LOADS of commercial milk until age 15 throughout my entire childhood. When I was in India for 6 months in 1997 @ age 32, I noticed the fresh, unpasteurized, non-homogenized daily milk and curds(yogurt) I consumed caused me ABSOLUTELY NO MUCUS and was an important and yummy part of my daily diet there! Unfortunately, most Indians are consuming mass produced dairy products similar to ours and the family cow has largely disappeared. Though it can be searched for & found obviously there. I was vegan/vegetarian for 17 years, and I got weak, thin & pale from deficiencies. Now I eat a modified Primal diet I can live happily with: I eat a lot of veggies, some nuts,some coconut & olives and olive oil, some fruits and very little grains. I eat generous amounts of avocados, wild seafood, organic organ meats, some raw dairy, and loads of organic spices and medicinal mushrooms. I am happy and healthier than when I was in the latter part of my veganism."
If raw milk is so healthy why aren't people buying them instead of regular and soy milk? The reason is raw milk (at least in NYC) cost $5 for half a gallon!
(Source: http://www.uddermilk.com/shop.php#35) I can buy a whole gallon for even less than $5. Beto mentioned earlier that "goat milk & goat yogurt/kefir have loads of health benefits & none of the allergenic properties of cow's milk." But goat milk is even more expensive than raw milk: $8 for half a gallon. So for the majority who can't afford specialty diary products and must stick with cow or soy milk, which one is better?
Even though more research is needed, lets say that soy milk did have harmful health effects. But it is well known that cow milk has it own set of "evils". So I believe the real question is which one is the lesser of the two evils?
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