Sunday 3 July 2011

Soy Consumption Effects On Men

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 health are shown below.

Most men worry about soy as it is a well-known fact that it contains enough isoflavones, and this substance produces the results of estrogen, which is the female hormone. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill conducted a study on this and within, huge quantities of soy were fed onto men.

Keep in mind that this was in very large amounts of soy intake and the results were (in mega doses!): nipple discharge, breast enlargement and also minor 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. However it is not easy to eat so much soy, in fact it is quite difficult!

David Jenkins, professor and chairman of nutrition and metabolism at the University of Toronto and St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto affirms that the richest in soy benefits are soy milk and tofu. He also categorized as being very effective, the soy from meatless burgers and hot dogs. As far as soy sauce is concerned, it is on the other side of the scale because of the scant quantities of active soy within it.

So how 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.

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.

Because Japanese consume isoflavones regularly throughout life, scientists do not know the period during which the effects of isoflavones on prostate cancer are preventive.

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.

It is an observed fact that the incidence of prostate cancer is considerably lower in Asian countries when compared to Western countries and that is due to the fact that Japanese men’s diet contains much more soy foods than the Westerners’.

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! Enjoy soy!

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