Soy Bad for Body Builders?

Doctor Mercola says that Soy Protein is bad for men and women and has a special warning for body builders. Here's what he had to say.

 Soy Protein Isolate -- What is It, and How is it Getting in My Food?

The Soyfoods Association of America has a soy protein "fact sheet" defining soy protein isolate as the following:

"Soy protein isolate is a dry powder food ingredient that has been separated or isolated from the other components of the soybean, making it 90 to 95 percent protein and nearly carbohydrate and fat-free."

Soy protein isolate can be found in protein bars, meal replacement shakes, bottled fruit drinks, soups and sauces, meat analogs, baked goods, breakfast cereals and some dietary supplements.

Bodybuilders beware: because many weight gainer powders, bars and shakes contain this dangerous ingredient and it can cause troubling side effects such as diminished libido and erectile dysfunction -- and this is just the start. You'll find out more about these disturbing health effects later on in this article.

Even if you are not a vegetarian and do not use soymilk or tofu, it is important to become a label reader. There are so many different names for soy additives, you could be bringing home a genetically modified soy-based product without even realizing it. Dr. Daniel offers a free Special Report, "Where the Soys Are," on her Web site. It lists the many "aliases" that soy might be hiding under in ingredient lists -- words like "boullion," "natural flavor" and "textured plant protein."

Here are a few other names soy tends to hide under:

* Mono-diglyceride
* Soya, Soja or Yuba
* TSF (textured soy flour) or TSP (textured soy protein)
* TVP (textured vegetable protein)
* Lecithin
* MSG (monosodium glutamate)

Not all textured vegetable protein is made from soy, but a great deal of it is. Lecithin can be made from soy, eggs, sunflower or corn. Be sure to contact the manufacturer to find out which is in your product if the label doesn't reveal this information.
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Foodrenegade.com also claims soy is not a good health food pointing out in particular that it has damaging effects on the thyroid, and that soy is higher in phytoestrogens than just about any other food source. Phytoestrogens are plant-based estrogens that mimic estrogen in our bodies. From a body builder stand point that right there is enough to make you not want to eat soy products. Who wants excess estrogen in your body when you are trying to get stronger?

hip2bfit.com webmaster comments - So if the negative information out there on soy is even half correct I would at least avoid taking soy protein shakes. After all you pay good money for protein shakes to aid in getting stronger and making your muscles bigger. It would be a shame if you were throwing your money away, and having just the opposite effect of what you wanted with a protein shake. Here's a shake that claims to be soy free. I the hip2bfit.com webmasters just started taking it myself.

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