SOY MILK: IS IT REALLY SAFE FOR CONSUMPTION OR NOT?

Soy milk is the milk produced from soy beans. It is consumed by thousands people round the world, and  it's also  rich in numerous nutrients needed by the body.

Due to its richness in these nutrients soy milk has many health benefits,  but as it's also been said that "every thing has its front view (good) and back (bad) view" soy milk also has negative effects in body.

In this post, we are going to enlighten you on some of the positive and negative effects of soy milk in body. This applies to all soy products as the are from same source; soy beans.

HEALTH/NUTRITIONAL VALUES OF SOY MILK

1.  COMPLETE PROTEIN: Most proteinous plants don't contain complete protein that is they don't contains all the twenty proteinogenic amino acids, but foods from animal source do contain complete protein e. g. Cow milk, fish, beef etc. Soy milk is one among the few plant foods that contain complete protein. It has about the same amount of protein as cow's milk; it can replace animal protein. Hmmmmmm this most really be a good news for most veggies

2.  NO CHOLESTEROL: Unlike cow's milk, soy milk has little saturated fat and no cholesterol. Hence it's good for elderly people and even youth that are conscious of their cardio health.

3.  NO LACTOSE: One unique thing about soy milk is that it doesn't contain the usual milk sugar lactose but instead it contains sucrose. Since soy does not contain galactose, a product  of lactose breakdown, soy-based infant formulas can safely replace breast milk in children with galactosemia.  Since, soy milk contains no lactose, it is an alternative for those who are lactose-intolerant. Lactose-intolerance is a condition mostly experienced by adults when they consume significant quantity of milk, it is characterised with abdominal bloating and cramps, flatulence, diarrhea, nausea, borborygmi (rumbling stomach), and sometimes vomiting. This is due to the inability of adults and some children to digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and to a lesser extent dairy products , causing side effects. It is due to a lactase deficiency , or hypolactasia . In some (rare) cases, individuals have congenital alactasia , a total absence of lactase caused by a genetic defect, which prevents them from being able to digest lactose from infancy.

Lactose intolerant individuals have insufficient levels of lactase , an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of lactose into glucose and galactose , in their digestive system.

4.  REDUCES CHOLESTEROL: Soymilk naturally contains isoflavones, plant chemicals (photo-nutrients) that help lower LDL ("bad" cholesterol) which is the lipoprotein responsible for carrying cholesterol from the liver to the blood vessels. Also isoflavones helps in easing of menopause symptoms, prevention of osteoporosis and reduction of risk for certain cancers (prostate cancer and breast cancer). Incidents of these cancers are very low in countries with high intake of soy products, including soy milk. Isoflavones are also antioxidants which protect our cells and DNA against oxidation.

5.  RIBOFLAVIN AND VITAMIN  B-12

Soy milk rich in B-complex vitamins, and serves as an especially rich source of riboflavin, or vitamin B-2, and vitamin B-12. Getting enough vitamin B-12 in your diet helps your cells produce DNA, aids in red blood cell function and also keeps your nerves healthy. A serving of soy milk provides 3 micrograms of vitamin B-12, more than the 2.4 micrograms you need each day. The riboflavin in soy milk helps your cells produce energy, and it also shields your DNA from damage. Drinking a cup of soy milk boosts your riboflavin by 0.51 milligrams -- 39 percent of the recommended daily intake for men and 46 percent for women.

NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF SOY MILK

1.  PHYTIC ACID: Soy milk contains high levels of phytic acid which reduces the absorption of minerals like calcium, magnesium and zinc. Phytic acid does this by chelating or grabbing these minerals to form their respective phytosterol. 

Phytic acid not only grabs on to or chelates important minerals, but also inhibits enzymes that we need to digest our food, including pepsin, needed for the breakdown of proteins in the stomach, and amylase, needed for the breakdown of starch into sugar. Trypsin, needed for protein digestion in the small intestine, is also inhibited by phytates.

2.  PHYTOESTROGENS:  Soy contains large amounts of biologically active compounds called isoflavones, which function as phytoestrogens  is which are plant compounds that look like estrogen to the body.  Studies have shown that phytoestrogens have an effect on hormone-related cancers, particularly breast cancer and prostate cancer. While studies of the effects of soy milk and other soy products on cancer have had mixed results, some findings have raised concerns that consuming soy milk and other products may stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center; however, the research is not conclusive and more studies need to be done. Phytoestrogens may reduce the effectiveness of the breast cancer medication tamoxifen, and the UMMC recommends not consuming soy milk or soy products if you are taking this drug.

3.  INTERFERE WITH THYROID FUNCTION: The isoflavones in soy also function as goitrogens, which can  interfere with thyroid function.

They can inhibit function of the enzyme thyroid peroxidase, which is essential for production of thyroid hormones.

One study in 37 Japanese adults revealed that 30 grams of soybeans for 3 months raised levels of Thyroid Stimulating hormone (TSH), a marker of impaired thyroid function.

Many subjects experienced symptoms of hypothyroidism, including malaise, constipation, sleepiness and thyroid enlargement. These symptoms went away after they stopped consuming the soybeans.

The above (both positive and negative effects) are only just a few of what is known. You can do more research on your own to know more about the positive and negative effects of soy milk.

This post is made to discourage you from consuming soy and soy-based products, but it is to enlighten you on the possible risks you vulnerable to when consuming such products and most important to let you know that what ever is good must surely be bad in some ways.

The question now is "DOES THE GOOD PARTS OUTWEIGH THE BAD PARTS?"  provide you answer via the comment box and finally minimise the soy consumption THANKS AND GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

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