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Ultra Meal is a medical food, which targets conditions associated with abnormal body composition (having too much body fat). It contains non-GMO soy protein. Ultra Meal has been demonstrated to help people preferentially lose fat while maintaining lean healthy tissue. A study that compared Ultra Meal with a popular over-the-counter meal replacement product found normal thyroid function in the Utra Meal group while the "over-the-counter group" developed abnormal thyroid blood values.
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There are several ways the human body may have a negative immune reaction to a food. One mechanism involves the production of IgA antibodies against the food. This is a genetic intolerance. Diagnos-Techs lab offers a test from a saliva specimen, which measures IgA levels against soy, milk, egg, and gluten. Although soy is fine for most people, it is not fine for people with elevated soy IgA.
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"THE DIRTY DOZEN"
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The following foods have been found to have the highest levels of pesticides. Do your best to only consume "organic" versions of these:
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Greetings!
Welcome to the July, 2013 issue of NUTRITIOUS BYTES where we delve into Soy, Science, Lies, and Hysteria. |
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"Give me a soy burger, a side of science, and hold the hysteria."
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Soy - It's just a bean!
One of the foods embroiled in greatest controversy is soy. Some people with strong opinions feel soy is health food. Others with possibly louder voices warn that soy is actually dangerous to your health.
Let's try to check our prejudices and emotions at the door and see what the science shows.
It is my contention that much of the popular information on soy is not grounded in reality. To back up my claims I will be citing references, which you can check for yourself. I am going to use data from peer-reviewed scientific publications, which are available in the National Library of Medicine.
I believe the subject of soy and human health is fraught with myths and misinformation. Some of this is spurred by ignorance. Some of the dissemination of misinformation on soy is the result of dishonesty, seemingly motivated by ulterior motives (financial gain).
The discussions I have read about the "horrors" of soy are not based on solid science, although they pretend to be. There is much extrapolation and theorizing, largely based on in-vitro (test tube) and animal studies. Dishonesty and deception are often part of the anti-soy dissertations.
To get right to the point, I feel that for most people, soy is indeed a health food. There are, however, some exceptions. The most important caveat is that I am not referring to genetically-modified soy. Most soy in this country is genetically-modified. If you are going to eat soy, make sure it is not genetically-modified.
No food is "healthy" for everyone. A legitimate concern about soy and a reason not to eat it is allergy. A qualified healthcare professional can perform lab tests to identify soy allergy and sensitivity. Soy allergy is not a problem for the vast majority of people.
Eating soy can impair the absorption of the thyroid replacement hormone, Synthroid. This is also true of other foods and supplements. Don't eat soy for several hours after taking Synthroid.
Another situation where soy consumption deserves caution is in cases of hypothyroidism. A study of people with subclinical hypothyroidism found a worsening of thyroid function in response to consuming soy.1 This adverse effect of soy on thyroid function appears to be related to low iodine status. If you correct an iodine deficiency there should be no concern about soy and thyroid function. Importantly, a review of 14 other studies found no negative effect of soy on thyroid hormone status in 13 out of the 14 studies . 2 Additionally, soy may be protective against thyroid cancer. 3
I have just laid to rest one of the big objections to soy: It is bad for your thyroid. Make sure you are not iodine deficient and you don't have to worry about this. It is important to note that soy is not the only food that may potentially reduce thyroid hormone production. Other foods with this effect include cabbage, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, cauliflower, corn, turnips, sweet potatoes, lima beans, bamboo shoots, mustard greens, onions, green tea, peanuts, pinenuts, walnuts, almonds, sorghum, cassava, millet, grapefruit and apples. With all these foods, as with soy, the risk is minimal. If you only ate these foods and nothing else you might get into trouble. However, in moderation there is no problem.
One of the arguments against soy that I feel is particularly dishonest is that soy contains substances that impair nutrient absorption. "WARNING!: Eat soy and you'll become malnourished." NONSENSE!
Soy like many plant foods contains phytic acid. One of the effects of phytic acid is to reduce mineral absorption. The important question is, "How much does it take?" How much soy would you need to eat to have a significant negative impact on mineral absorption? If you eat a moderate amount of soy, this is not a concern. A study published in 2011 by one of the foremost soy researchers examined this issue. Study participants were fed the equivalent of 2-3 servings of soy for ten weeks. Zinc and iron status were measured at the beginning and end of the study. Soy was found to have no adverse effect on levels of these minerals.4
So, theory did not translate into a real effect. You don't need to avoid soy in moderation because it will impair your mineral status. How can the soy-bashers justify raising concerns about phytic acid in soy related to mineral absorption without telling you what I am about to tell you? The evidence for health benefits of phytic acid is actually much stronger than any evidence for adverse effects. Another name for phytic acid is inositol hexaphosphate or IP-6. Do an internet search on IP-6 and you will find this substance being sold as a natural supplement purported to help immunity and cellular health. There is indeed some evidence to support these claims. Here is a quote from a scientific paper entitled, Protection Against Cancer by Dietary IP-6 and Inositol: "Preliminary studies in humans show that IP(6) and inositol, the precursor molecule of IP(6), appear to enhance the anticancer effect of conventional chemotherapy, control cancer metastases, and improve quality of life. Because it is abundantly present in regular diet, efficiently absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, and safe, IP(6) + inositol holds great promise in our strategies for cancer prevention and therapy. There is clearly enough evidence to justify the initiation of full-scale clinical trials in humans." 5Possibly the most polarizing and misunderstood aspect of soy is its influence on estrogen metabolism. Soy contains substances, which have been named phytoestrogens; in other words, plant-derived estrogens. This name is not accurate. Soy does not contain estrogen. It contains the isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, which have a structural and functional similarity to estrogen. Phytoestrogens are actually Selective Estrogen Response Modifiers (SERMs). They seem to replicate some of the beneficial effects of estrogen and reduce some of the negative effects. What is a negative effect of having too much estrogen? The most concerning is certain cancers, particularly breast cancer. Estrogen metabolism is a very complex subject. Relative to estrogen, breast cancer is not simply the result of "too much estrogen". There are three main estrogens in the human body with dozens of estrogen metabolites, which have activity. Some estrogens seem to play a major role in breast cancer initiation and progression while others are neutral or protective. Importantly, soy modifies the human body's estrogen metabolism in a beneficial way. Soy stimulates the activity of enzymes that result in the production of more of the safe estrogens and less of the risky estrogens. 6 Another aspect of estrogen metabolism involves estrogen receptors. For estrogen to produce an effect it must bind to receptors on the cell, sort of like a lock and a key. There are two different estrogen receptors: ER-alpha and ER-beta. Breast cancer activity is related to estrogen binding to the ER-alpha receptor. Soy isoflavones preferentially stimulate ER-beta. 7 Importantly, ER-beta seems related to protection against breast cancer. 8Now, let's examine the evidence for "the bottom line". Plausible biochemical mechanisms are valuable but what is most important is evidence from human studies examining morbidity and mortality (disease incidence and death rate). One line of evidence is epidemiology. This involves looking at populations that consume soy and determining if there is increased incidence of breast cancer and reduced lifespan because of it. Forget about how loud and frequently and confidently you may have heard supposed experts and even oncologists warn that soy increases breast cancer risk. What does the evidence show? A paper published in 2006 reviewed data from 21 different studies and found that consuming soy was associated with protection against breast cancer. 9
Finally, I want to discuss an important study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2009, entitled "Soy Food Intake and Breast Cancer Survival". This study involved 5033 surgically-treated breast cancer patients. This study found that the women who ate more soy had less cases of breast cancer recurrence and lived longer than women who ate less soy. These effects were seen in women with both estrogen receptor-positive and -negative breast cancers. The effect of soy held true regardless of whether the woman was using Tamoxifen or not. The study conclusion: "Among women with breast cancer, soy food consumption was significantly associated with decreased risk of death and recurrence."10
No food is a panacea. No food is right for everyone. However, hopefully you can now see that the warnings about soy consumption are baseless. Next month I will give you more reasons to consider making soy a regular part of your diet.
1. Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2011 May;96(5):1442-9. Epub 2011 Feb 16.
The effect of soy phytoestrogen supplementation on thyroid status and cardiovascular risk markers in patients with subclinical hypothyroidism: a randomized, double-blind, crossover study.
Sathyapalan T, Manuchehri AM, Thatcher NJ, Rigby AS, Chapman T, Kilpatrick ES, Atkin SL.
2. Thyroid. 2006 Mar;16(3):249-58. Effects of soy protein and soybean isoflavones on thyroid function in healthy adults and hypothyroid patients: a review of the relevant literature. Messina M, Redmond G
3. Horn-Ross et al. Phytoestrogens and thyroid cancer risk: the San Francisco Bay Area thyroid cancer study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2002 Jan;11(1):43-9.
7. Int J Oncol 2006 May;28(5):1185-91. Modulation of estrogen receptor-beta isoforms by phytoestrogens in breast cancer cells. Cappelletti V, Miodini P, Di Fronzo G, Daidone MG.
8. Lazennec et al. ER beta inhibits proliferation and invasion of breast cancer cells. Endocrinology. 2001 Sep;142(9):4120-30.
9. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2006 Dec;52(6):428-36. Soyfood intake in the prevention of breast cancer risk in women: a meta-analysis of observational epidemiological studies. Qin LQ, Xu JY, Wang PY, Hoshi K.
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Sincerely,
Joseph Debé, DC, DACBN, CDN
Board Certified Nutritionist
38 Great Neck Road
Great Neck, N.Y. 11021
(516) 829-1515
www.drdebe.com
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