5 ms·

Clearly worth investigation, but when I hear arguments about soy being a serious endocrine disruptor, I can't help but wonder about the hundreds of millions of

Clearly worth investigation, but when I hear arguments about soy being a serious endocrine disruptor, I can't help but wonder about the hundreds of millions of people throughout Asia eating it daily...

cageface 9y ago
There are two different kinds of estrogen receptors. Up to a certain amount of soy it affects mainly the receptors not associated with harmful effects. So a certain amount of soy per day is safe & healthy. But beyond that it can be problematic. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-soy-is-too-much/ https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-soy-is-too-much/ It should be noted that feeding babies milk from cows is an "experiment" too and there's a lot of evidence it's not good for them.
mcone 9y ago
Something to note is that 93 percent of soy grown in the United States is genetically modified [0]. [0]: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetical...
- losteric 9y ago
  Also worth noting what kind of GE we're talking about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_soybean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_soybean tl;dr: mostly pesticide resistance. That has significant environmental/economic consequences, but those edits (probably) don't change how soy interacts with endocrine receptors.
  - Danihan 9y ago
    >That has significant environmental/economic consequences, but those edits (probably) don't change how soy interacts with endocrine receptors. Pesticide resistant crops being completely doused in glyphosate right before harvest probably does have an impact on health though. http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/ITX_2013_06_04_Seneff.pdf http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/ITX_2013_06_04_Seneff.pdf
    - losteric 9y ago
      Absolutely, but that's not isolated to soybeans. Plus we've been abusing toxic pesticides for decades - that's just greedy human shortsightedness.
  - boyaka 9y ago
    Ive only heard of herbicide resistance, aka roundup ready. The bt modification (Cry1Ac protein from Bacillus thuringiensis), afaik, is itself a pesticide, or produces pesticide. Edit: I suppose "pest" could refer to weeds and insects? I may have been thinking insecticide.
- Falling3 9y ago
  I don't know how different the number is for the US specifically but around 85% of soy grown is used for animal feed. I don't know what the intersection of GMO and animal feed is, but anecdotally, a lot of the soy I see for human consumption is non-gmo. But that raises the question of what soy's GMO status has to do with its affect on the endocrine system?
- gervase 9y ago
  Is there any evidence to suggest that genetically-modified soy has higher or lower phytoestrogen content as compared with non-GMO soy?
  - dp-tyvek 9y ago
    Soy (and other crops) are modified to be resistant to pesticides and pests, so I presume it makes no difference for their phytoestrogen contents. For example, glyphosate ("Roundup") resistant crops are only modified to have a different version (which still preforms the same function) of the enzyme that would otherwise have been inhibited by glyphosate, IIRC.
t3soro 9y ago
Asians who eat much soy probably have evolved a different response to it than other populations. Similar to how northern Europeans evolved better lactose digestion than the rest of the world.
- dgfgfdagasdfgfa 9y ago
  Probably? On what basis?
deleted 9y ago
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biggerbistro 9y ago
Many of the forms of soy eaten in Asia are fermented or otherwise chemically changed to the point that their negative effects could be less pronounced. Soy sauce, miso and natto are some of many examples.
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jadell 9y ago
This is addressed explicitly in the article: > Cultures with a long-time reliance on soy protein apparently realized this early, Patisaul adds. For instance, the compounds in soy are known to interfere with the body’s uptake of iodine, an element necessary for healthy functioning of the hormones produced by the thyroid gland. Chinese farmers first cultivated soybeans about 1100 B.C., so it’s not surprising, she notes, that many Asian diets gradually evolved to contain foods that contain extra high levels of iodine, such as seaweeds.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

cageface 9y ago

There are two different kinds of estrogen receptors. Up to a certain amount of soy it affects mainly the receptors not associated with harmful effects. So a certain amount of soy per day is safe & healthy. But beyond that it can be problematic. https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-soy-is-too-much/ https://nutritionfacts.org/video/how-much-soy-is-too-much/ It should be noted that feeding babies milk from cows is an "experiment" too and there's a lot of evidence it's not good for them.

mcone 9y ago

Something to note is that 93 percent of soy grown in the United States is genetically modified [0]. [0]: https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetically-engineered-crops-in-the-us/recent-trends-in-ge-adoption.aspx https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/adoption-of-genetical...

losteric 9y ago
Also worth noting what kind of GE we're talking about: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_soybean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetically_modified_soybean tl;dr: mostly pesticide resistance. That has significant environmental/economic consequences, but those edits (probably) don't change how soy interacts with endocrine receptors.
- Danihan 9y ago
  >That has significant environmental/economic consequences, but those edits (probably) don't change how soy interacts with endocrine receptors. Pesticide resistant crops being completely doused in glyphosate right before harvest probably does have an impact on health though. http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/ITX_2013_06_04_Seneff.pdf http://people.csail.mit.edu/seneff/ITX_2013_06_04_Seneff.pdf
  - losteric 9y ago
    Absolutely, but that's not isolated to soybeans. Plus we've been abusing toxic pesticides for decades - that's just greedy human shortsightedness.
- boyaka 9y ago
  Ive only heard of herbicide resistance, aka roundup ready. The bt modification (Cry1Ac protein from Bacillus thuringiensis), afaik, is itself a pesticide, or produces pesticide. Edit: I suppose "pest" could refer to weeds and insects? I may have been thinking insecticide.
Falling3 9y ago
I don't know how different the number is for the US specifically but around 85% of soy grown is used for animal feed. I don't know what the intersection of GMO and animal feed is, but anecdotally, a lot of the soy I see for human consumption is non-gmo. But that raises the question of what soy's GMO status has to do with its affect on the endocrine system?
gervase 9y ago
Is there any evidence to suggest that genetically-modified soy has higher or lower phytoestrogen content as compared with non-GMO soy?
- dp-tyvek 9y ago
  Soy (and other crops) are modified to be resistant to pesticides and pests, so I presume it makes no difference for their phytoestrogen contents. For example, glyphosate ("Roundup") resistant crops are only modified to have a different version (which still preforms the same function) of the enzyme that would otherwise have been inhibited by glyphosate, IIRC.

t3soro 9y ago

Asians who eat much soy probably have evolved a different response to it than other populations. Similar to how northern Europeans evolved better lactose digestion than the rest of the world.

dgfgfdagasdfgfa 9y ago
Probably? On what basis?

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

biggerbistro 9y ago

Many of the forms of soy eaten in Asia are fermented or otherwise chemically changed to the point that their negative effects could be less pronounced. Soy sauce, miso and natto are some of many examples.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

jadell 9y ago

This is addressed explicitly in the article: > Cultures with a long-time reliance on soy protein apparently realized this early, Patisaul adds. For instance, the compounds in soy are known to interfere with the body’s uptake of iodine, an element necessary for healthy functioning of the hormones produced by the thyroid gland. Chinese farmers first cultivated soybeans about 1100 B.C., so it’s not surprising, she notes, that many Asian diets gradually evolved to contain foods that contain extra high levels of iodine, such as seaweeds.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]