Soy — is it right for you?

Miracle food, poisonous toxin, secret to longevity, dangerous conspiracy — the soybean has been called all those things and more. That’s a lot of controversy for a little bean!

We always encourage women to take an active role in deciding what’s right for their health, but unfortunately there is a lot of confusing and misleading information out there about soy. After 25 years of using soy in our medical practice, we think we can explain how soy can help, especially with restoring hormonal balance. But to understand how to make it work for you, you’ve got to understand the basics of phytotherapy.

The truth about isoflavones

First, let’s get one thing straight. The soybean is in fact a bean. It can be processed and prepared into many different forms — soy milk, tofu, edamame, miso, tempeh and more — but it is still a bean and a member of the legume family. Like most legumes, it is high in protein, low in fat and low on the glycemic index — all of which make it a pretty nutritious food.

Yet the soybean is also miles away from other beans because it contains isoflavones. Many studies show that isoflavones help regulate estrogen levels in our bodies, which is the basis of most of the claims about its positive health effects. On the other hand, anti-soy activists claim that consuming soy products is like consuming hormone drugs or birth control pills.

This scare talk is misleading. Isoflavones are not estrogens, nor do they replicate the powerful, direct action of hormone drugs in the body. Isoflavones are phytoestrogens. This distinction is no trivial matter — it’s the difference between soy as a dangerous substance at the root of numerous health problems and as a safe, therapeutic healing food. Fortunately, as we’ve seen in over 25 years of clinical experience, it’s the latter that best describes this ancient healing food.

How can phytotherapy help?

Phytotherapy is the use of natural plants and herbs for healing purposes — both to treat and prevent health concerns. Phytoestrogens are one type of plant molecule that can be used in phytotherapy — specifically, they are plant molecules that bear a resemblance to estrogen molecules, to the extent that they can weakly bind to estrogen receptors. They do not cause the body to produce more estrogen, nor do they replicate the actions of estrogen.

In fact, in women with too much estrogen, phytoestrogens can block excess estrogen molecules from binding to receptors. In estrogen-deficient women, phytoestrogens can calm the body’s need for estrogen, thereby quieting symptoms without the need for estrogen supplements. And because phytoestrogens are adaptogenic, your body can use what it needs and ignore what it doesn’t.

In short, phytoestrogens work gently and naturally with the body to help it use the estrogen it already has, helping to restore natural hormonal balance and alleviate the associated symptoms. That’s how the soybean can be “just a bean” and also a therapeutic agent. If your estrogen levels are healthy it’s just a food but if your hormone levels are off-kilter it will help restore your natural balance.

What can soy do for you?

In addition to its role in hormonal balance, there is substantial research that credits soy with protecting women from certain cancers including breast cancer, preventing heart attacks and stroke, promoting bone health, and helping with weight loss. These “side effects” are nothing to shake a stick at, but the majority of women who ask about soy at our healthcare clinic want to know if it can help alleviate their menopause symptoms.

If you are experiencing any of the following problems you may benefit from adding soy to your diet:

• Hot flashes and/or night sweats
• Anxiety, panic attacks, and/or heart palpitations
• Stiff, achy joints
• Weight gain, or difficulty losing weight
• Weak or porous bones, concern about bone density

In our clinical experience, these are the symptoms most likely to be alleviated with the help of soy, especially when soy is layered over a foundation of support such as what we offer in our Personal Program.

The Personal Program — a natural approach to health and wellness

We’ve been advocating soy to our patients and members of our Personal Program for many years. We have always found it appropriate to reassure women that soy is safe and effective to include in a holistic approach to health. We have been frustrated, however, at the quality problems with many soy products in the marketplace, and so recently made the decision to develop and offer our very own soy supplement.

SoySational soy supplement shakes contain 80 mg of concentrated soy isoflavones — a dosage considered safe and therapeutic based on dozens of studies. The soy protein and isoflavones we use come from the whole bean and are not genetically modified. SoySational comes in two delicious flavors, dark chocolate and French vanilla. Our new eco-friendly boxes contain 30 convenient, single-serving packets.

SoySational is available only to members of the Personal Program. If you’re a member we encourage you to try it. You know to expect a product that’s been developed to the same rigorous quality standards as our pharmaceutical-grade Essential Nutrients and Herbal Equilibrium. And as always, if you’re not satisfied for any reason, simply return the unused packets (the empty box will do if you’ve used them all) within 60 days for a full refund of your purchase price.

If you’re not yet a member of the Personal Program, consider joining. The Personal Program is a holistic, natural approach to women’s health and wellness. It’s designed to help women heal the symptoms of hormonal imbalance that commonly arise in our stressful lives and worsen as we approach menopause. It is offered in four versions to match your level of symptoms.

To find out which version of the Personal Program is right for you, take our online Hormonal Health Profile.

 

Last Modified: 08/17/2009