It is well known that eating soy is healthy but nowadays more and more specific studies show soy’s protective effects on our bodies. Some of soy effects on men’s health are shown below.
Most men worries about soy were that it is loaded with isoflavones, substances that mimic the effects of the female hormone estrogen. For these concerns to vanish, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill fed mega doses of soy to men.
Results were (in mega doses!): nipple discharge, breast enlargement and slight decreases in testosterone. But "we still couldn't find anything that was serious, and we went up to doses that are probably 30 times what you could get from normal foods," the researcher said. "I don't think that there are a lot of estrogenic worries. Your testicles will not shrink and you won't have massive breast enlargement" from eating soy.
"It's quite difficult to over consume soy, to be honest," said Setchell. Soy is a rich source of high-quality protein and also contains complex carbohydrates that don't raise blood sugar as high as more processed carbohydrates. It has fiber, folic acid (a key B vitamin), healthy fat and antioxidants that help protect against cancer. Also evidence show that soy plays the role of a probiotic –that is to promote growth of healthy bacteria in the gastrointestinal. So ho much soy should a man eat to benefit from it? A third of a cup a day, will give good protective levels in terms of heart disease. David Jenkins, professor and chairman of nutrition and metabolism at the University of Toronto and St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto affirms that soy milk and tofu have the best test of time concerning their efficiency on health, yet, the soy found in meatless burgers and hot dogs "have also been shown to be very effective," Jenkins said. On the contrary, soy sauce has minimal levels of active soy. Don’t eat raw soy! It is deadly for horses, "Don't ever eat soybeans raw" said Steven Zeisel from University of North Carolina.
Five cooked soy health benefits:
1. Bone health - While most of the research has been done in women, scientists affirm that there's no motive to recommend soy to older men as it can prevent osteoporosis in their case as well.
2.Cholesterol - Soy lowers blood cholesterol when combined with a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. About 25 grams of soy protein daily helps lower the most damaging form of blood cholesterol
3. Diabetes - Soy has low glycemic index, so they do not raise blood sugar levels as other carbohydrates.
4. Muscles - As a protein source, soy is in the first position -the top. However, one doesn’t have to "overdose" with soy. A handful of soy nuts or a soy hot dog, or a soy smoothie is enough to help repair muscle.
5. Soy Protective Help Against Prostate Cancer - The effects of isoflavones on prostate cancer development may differ according to disease stage, according to the results of a study run by researchers at the National Cancer Center in Japan.
Intake of isoflavone chemicals, derived largely from soy, decreased the risk of localized prostate cancer but increased the risk of advanced prostate cancer. One possible explanation is that isoflavones may delay the progression of latent prostate cancer only; once tumors lose estrogen-receptor beta expression and become aggressive, isoflavones may fail to protect against the development of advanced cancer, and might even increase the risk of progression, possibly by reducing serum testosterone. It is also possible that advanced and localized prostate cancer may be different tumor subtypes, which may react differently to isoflavones. Because Japanese consume isoflavones regularly throughout life, scientists do not know the period during which the effects of isoflavones on prostate cancer are preventive. However, the researchers recommend that Japanese men continue to consume isoflavones through their food and not through supplements.
Athough consumption of isoflavones from traditional Japanese food throughout life may protect against the incidence of prostate cancer, the researchers cannot recommend the use of isoflavones from supplements for people who do not regularly consume these chemicals, because the relationship between isoflavones and the risk of advanced prostate cancer is not yet clear. Japanese men eat significantly more soy-based foods than do Western men, and the incidence of prostate cancer is much lower in Asian countries than in Western countries. They also found that the protective effect of isoflavone-rich food was strongest in men who were older than 60: the more isoflavones they ate, the more they reduced their risk of developing localized prostate cancer. "Isoflavone may be protective for localized prostate cancer only in men aged more than 60 years, and may not have a protective effect in the early stage of prostate cancer in younger men," the researchers conclude in their study.
I hope you are not among the people allergic to soy and you can benefit from all these positive effects!