Anyone else? Or should that be…’Everyone else?‘ 🙄 Because if I had a dollar for every cracking encounter I’ve had with people that included this line, I wouldn’t be writing this line – so too, if I’d been persuaded by the push-back against this lovely little legume. It just happened again the other night, out to dinner with relatives. But my all-time favourite Soy Scream Scene was when I was invited to meet a ‘wellness celebrity’. We caught up in a cafe & when I ordered my beverage of choice, she just about leapt across the table (entirely unnecessary given her elevated volume) to shout, “I can’t believe you drink soy?!” I think she felt it was her civic duty that the entire balcony benefitted from her wisdom – or at least just a way to ensure more individuals had clocked her presence 😎
And these encounters, of course, are not limited to those without qualifications.
That’s not to say that I expect, or ever desire, those of us that do to be unified on all issues. That sounds far from ideal. We’re free thinkers after all and each of us has been privy to different information & our own experiences. Me siding with soy (& not in all individuals or instances ofc!) is both personal and professional. On the n=1 front, I was 18, living my best life in Byron Bay (which often did not include shoes) when I was introduced to soy milk in lieu of cow’s. I loved it. Never having been a big fan of the old moo juice and less & less as a teenager, I preferred the taste, the texture, the principle. I was a vego. (Side-note: ‘plant-based’ was not invented until long after the 80s!) So, I also got right into plant proteins – namely tofu & tempeh. Miso was our main go-to as a way to add flavour to our cooking, even lacquering toast with it as a tasty spread! Ahhhh my glory days & mine were swimming in soy!
Go forward a few years &, having readjusted to the rigors of footwear, I am sitting in a lecture room listening to my herbal medicine teacher talking us through the chemical structure, physiological functions & potential applications of isoflavones.
I have a vivid visual memory of the whiteboard and her words. These were none of the reasons I loved this legume but I was enthralled by the revelation about its potential role as a health intervention. I still am. Because despite the sequential Soy Scream Scenes that have punctuated my life – I think the body of evidence demonstrating its beneficial effects is too large to ignore and why would we? Either it’s because of evidence that is well out of date (feeding babies infant formula made from soy flour!), a hypothetical that has since been disproven (clinically meaningful goitrogen) or mis and dis information. But look I get it! Check out soy’s wrap sheet – it’s not for the faint (food) hearted !
Potentially allergenic, as well as interacting with our immune cells in other myriad ways!
It contains phytates, trypsin inhibitors, lectins, purines, goitrogens, oligosaccharides & oestrogens!!
Agriculturally it’s one of the biggest mono-crops & a major contributor to deforestation, heavy on the pesticides, and often GMO
So, if we were cops profiling for potential culprits in a case of: farting, digestive discomfort, unexplained nutritional deficiencies, hypothyroidism, immune issues, food allergy, reproductive disorders or gout – certainly bring the guy in for questioning! (among a LONG list of other food and also non-food items included in the line-up!) And ensure you’ve read the research & understood all of the evidence enough to know what is plausible (theoretical but without in vivo real world confirmation), possible (it has been shown to happen but not commonly) & probable (it’s deserving of its place on your list of differentials but is still just a suspect, not a certainty). If all this sounds sizeable (and it is) then get the cheat notes. We just recorded an Update in Under 30 episode on the very latest evidence for SIFs in perimenopause including an update on adverse effects 🤓
Oh & if you’re qualified in nutrition I don’t need to tell you to choose: locally grown, organic, non GMO, whole forms, which you ferment frequently & include as part of a balanced diet, right?
But is that any different from your advice generally about good eating principles? 🙄
Image by Alexander Krivitskiy via Unsplash
Soy’s Second Act in Perimenopause explores how one of nutrition’s most debated foods has moved from early promise, through backlash, into a far more nuanced clinical role. This episode unpacks receptor selectivity, equol, bone preservation, vasomotor symptoms, and why SERMS such as isoflavones may matter most during a phase defined by instability. This is a fresh look at where soy genuinely earns its place in modern peri/menopause care.