Soy benefits and disadventages

Question
Tanya
I have eliminated red meat and dairy from my diet as a therapy for my I.B.S. It seems to be helping.
I am eating more soy now-soy milk, soy burgers. On investigating soy there is one school of thought that says soy increases your metabolism and another that says it lowers it. This is a concern to me as I have a very slow metabolism but am not actually hypothyroid. Do you have an opinion and is soy safe to eat?

Answer
Dear Bud,

The soy pros and cons are debated for decades including soy's metabolic effects. In animal studies, soy and phytoestrogens reduced fat depots and improved glucose uptake. In mice or rats fed soy-rich diets, food intake and voluntary physical activity were higher than on a standard diet (1, 2).  Beside their increased energy expenditure, these animals preferred to use fats for fuel (Cederroth et al., 2007) similar to humans after strenuous exercises.

In another study, in rats on a soy-based an approximately 40% levels of so called neuropeptide Y in the hypothalamus were increased (3). Neuropeptide Y stimulates food intake both in experimental animals and humans and hypothalamus is a brain structure responsible for many energy-related control loops.

I suggest that you read more about soy to have a better picture of its health benefits and concerns.

Soy pros and cons
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Nutrition-Dieting-939/2008/3/Soy-pros-cons.htm

Soy and the brain
http://agelessbrain.com/2011/04/soy-and-the-brain/


Sources:

1.  J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 85 (2003), pp. 299?09
2. Diabetes 57 (2008), pp. 1176?185
3. Nature 404 (2000), pp. 661?71.  

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