Soy Milk Dangers

Soy milk has been heralded as a wonderful milk substitute that is plentiful and full of goodness. But in reality, soy milk contains dangers that might just make you think twice.

Although this site is entitled Soy Milk Dangers, I’m not about to start telling you not to drink soy milk or that it is an evil product that we need to get banned.

Yes there are some dangers and possible side effects to soy milk but they need to be kept in proportion with the amount of people that drink it world wide and the number and type of people that it adversely effects through drinking it.

What Is Soy Milk?

Soy milk is often referred to as soya milk, soymilk, soybean milk, or soy juice and sometimes referred to as soy drink/beverage. It is a beverage made from soy beans. Soy beans come from plants that originated from China but are now grown all over the world.

The milk is made by cleaning and soaking dry soy beans and grinding them with water. The solids or pulp (called okara) are strained out, and the resulting liquid is boiled for approximately 10 minutes. This is a simplified version but basically the standard method. It is actually very easy to make soy milk and can be done so in your own kitchen with a soy milk machine.

The soy milk is primarily an alternative source of protein to cow’s milk. The soy bean contains approx 40% protein, 20% oil and 35% carbohydrates. It is also much higher in fiber than cow’s milk.

Besides the high levels of protein and fiber, the biggest benefit to soy milk is the isoflavones it contains. Isoflavones are chemicals very similar to the hormone estrogen and have been linked to the prevention of many cancers, heart disease, menopausal symptoms, the prevention of osteoporosis and more.

Why Do We Need Soy Milk?

More and more people are becoming intolerant or allergic to cow’s milk and other dairy products like eggs. Dairy products are our main source of protein which is needed for growth and overall health. Soy milk provides this protein and is much less allergenic than cow’s milk. It is also 100% Lactose-free, so a great alternative to those whom suffer from lactose intolerance and to vegetarians and vegans.

Soy milk is easy to produce and can be produced in large quantities if needed. The soy bean can be used in a variety of ways including feeding livestock and as fertilizer.

So What’s All The Fuss About?

If you’ve read so far, you’ll probably be wondering what all the fuss is about and what soy milk dangers there are. Like a lot of food sources, there is always a flip side to the touted benefits. Your whole take on soy milk might come from reading just one article, in which case you could easily be pro, or anti soy milk.

First of all let me tell you, I am no expert and have no qualifications to back up anything I write. I am simply someone who wanted to find out more about soy milk and possibly drink it as a more nutritious and healthy alternative to traditional cows milk. I believe I eat a little too much dairy products and wanted to see what else there was available.

After some considerable research, my findings probably won’t surprise you. I try to take a common sense approach to this research and not be drawn onto any one particular bandwagon.

The Dangers of Soy Milk

So here’s what the people (like the guy in the video above) against soy milk, have to say. – The 2 main concerns regarding soy milk are that of non-fermented soy milk and genetically modified soy beans.

Non-Fermented Soy Milk

The fermentation process prepares the soy bean and kills toxins and bacteria that may be harmful if ingested. The major problem with non-fermented soy milk is due to the high amounts of phytic acid it contains.

Non-fermented soy means phytic acid prevents the body from absorbing essential vitamins and minerals like calcium, magnesium, copper, iron, and especially zinc in the intestinal tract. This can lead to a number of different problems.

In the case of children and menstruating women, the phytic acid in soy can have serious consequences, as iron is much needed by children and women. Women need iron to replace the loss during their menstrual cycle and in children iron is required for growth and development.

Phytic acid also inhibits absorption of iodine, the most important mineral needed for growth and metabolism, used by the thyroid gland in the production of thyroid hormones. In infants, consumption of soy formula has been linked to autoimmune thyroid disease.

Soy phytoestrogens disrupt endocrine function and have the potential to cause infertility and to promote breast cancer in adult women.

Consuming even small amounts of unfermented soy milk on a regular basis could cause some adverse effects in our body. In contrast, consuming organic fermented soy milk and soy products can be quite beneficial.

Genetically Modified Soy

This is the second cause for alarm amongst the anti soy camp and is a debate that continues to rage in all other areas of food production. If your take on GM products is negative, then so will be your view towards GM produced soy milk. It would take far too long to discuss the possible dangers of GM food in this article and is an area you may like to investigate further.

Other Soy Milk Dangers and Side Effects

Soy Allergies – Especially among infants and young children.

Lack of calcium – Calcium is often added to soy milk as an additive.

Increase in de-forestation to make room for soy plants.

Conclusion

The dangers therefore are primarily associated with non-fermented and genetically modified soy.

As you can imagine, I have only just touched the surface of this debate. There are studies and ongoing research that come out in favor and against soy products and soy milk.

Unless you believe yourself to be in one of the ‘at risk’ categories such as being pregnant, have an allergy or some illness that diet is a big consideration, or consume a lot of soy on a daily basis, I wouldn’t worry too much about the dangers.

The reason I say this, is because you can take almost any food source, whether it is organically grown, from animal, mineral or vegetable, there will always be some cause for concern that it might be dangerous in some form.

Even drinking water has a whole host of people saying it’s bad for us and contains this, that and the other! Where will it stop?

If you are really concerned about the health risks of soy milk, my advice would be to seek soy milk that is organic and fermented and that is calcium-enriched.

I hope you find this article helpful and hopefully from a common sense point of view. If you have any comments or questions, please drop them here.

Warmest regards,

Peter