My doctor wanted me to up my protein intake and I want to remain vegan. So I found a product called Soy One which is a protein drink just like the others only no dairy. It has 27 mg of isoflavones which I thought were good and are being promoted heavily. My mom just found an article that says soy in women slows and impairs thyroid function. This would be a problem as I have thyroid issues as it is.

Linda, you seem to be fantastic at ferreting out information on health,etc. I was hoping you might know something about this, or if you could perhaps direct me somewhere. It seems to me like this might be damage control on the part of some other prevailing interest, but want to be sure. I really want to use this product.

Thanks!
Wendy
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Maranatha!!!

Wendy,

Why does your doctor want you to get more protein? We don't need anywhere near as much protein as most people think. Most Americans eat far too much, and it is cause of many health problems, such as kidney disease and osteoporosis. It is absolutely impossible to get a diet that is balanced in all other nutrients and deficient in protein. Unless your doctor is very well acquainted with vegetarian nutrition, which would make him very unusual indeed, I don't think I would pay much attention to that advice. Unless you are having some symptoms of actual protein deficiency, it is unlikely that increasing your protein intake would do you much good. But if you really do need more protein for some reason, it would probably be better, both for your health and for your budget, to eat more legumes than to buy some expensive protein drink.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

Hi Cathy,

I tend to be borderline hypoglycemic and when my blood sugar is low, I turn into a meanie. So, the protein boosts the blood sugar and doesn't cause high swings like you probably already know. I'm one of those unusual americans who doesn't eat much protein. Fruits,veggies, and complex carbs, no meat, no eggs or milk. Now, I'm starting to eat some gluten and meat analogs. But not everyday by any means. So, maybe that is his concern. Other than that, I'm not sure why he wants me to up the protein. I'll have to email him and see if he can explain it for me a little better.

Thanks
Wendy

Okay Linda....What now?

Wendy
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Maranatha!!!

Sorry Wendy,

I was preparing a reply and had it just about ready to submit but I wanted to check one more thing. Wouldn't you know it, my computer froze up completely which meant a reboot and my post is lost. So I'll start again.

Since I have several family members with hypoglycemia, I understand why the doctor ordered more protein. I'll talk more about that soon.

I need to check about the soy protein and the isoflavones. There is some conflicting information so I need to look.

In the meantime, the National Institutes of Health has a webpage on hypoglycemia you might want to look at. http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/diabetes/pubs/hypo/hypo.htm.

I put more in in just a little while. Not going to take anymore chances in case this machine decides to lock up again.

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For I know that my redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
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Linda

That is such a bummer when that happens. Whenever you have time is fine. No big rush. I feel bad you spent all that time. Thanks for doing all this work for me.

God bless,
Wendy

Hypoglycemia is becoming a "discredited" disorder unless you are a diabetic. Hypoglycemia is seen in diabetes as insulin shock which occurs when a diabetic takes insulin and then doesn't eat. Many doctors never believed in it anyway, so now they don't have to. However, since I have several family members with the disorder, it is evident that something in the body having to do with glucose metabolism doesn't function normally. Even the 5 hour Glucose Tolerance Test has been discredited with the epitaph that it caused hypoglycemic reactions itself.

The Hypoglycemia Foundation lists these possible causes for the disorder.

• inborn errors of metabolism


• defects in enzyme systems


• disorders of various glands and organs (hypothalamus, pituitary and adrenals, nervous system, kidneys, and liver)


• The most common cause of symptoms is a diet high in carbohydrates and caffeine, which disturbs the blood-sugar regulating systems of the body

The symptoms of hypoglycemia include dizziness, sweating, confusion, nausea, irritability, trembling, palpitations, and mental dulness. This occurs when the blood sugar levels have spiked high then dropped rapidly leaving the body with little glucose reserves to carry out its functions. The energy source for the cells and the brain to function is glucose.

Doctors usually recommend an increased level of protein because such a diet digests more slowly and raises the blood sugar levels at a slower more steady rate, and help maintain proper blood sugar level. The best dietary measure a hypoglycemic can take is to cut out the intake of sugar and foods containing sugar which we usually call desserts. Sugar whether it's white, brown, honey, or fructose, is rapidly absorbed into the blood stream raising the blood sugar level. The pancreas then secrets insulin to metabolize the sugar. In hypoglycemia too much insulin is released causing the level to drop too fast and too low.

A diet that contains more protein foods such as legumes will digest more slowly thus preventing the rapid rise and drop of blood sugar levels. Carbohydrates should be of the complex type found in fruits and vegetables. These digest more slowly because the sugars are in the form of starches interspersed with fiber and small amounts of protein and other nutrients.

As far as soy isoflavones go, I found some interesting information but will need to look more for anything about the thyroid.

Data from epidemiological studies suggest that isoflavones in soy may have a protective effect on the development of colon cancer in humans.

Isoflavones are present in soybeans and its products in concentrations up to 300 mg/100 g, have estrogenic and antiestrogenic properties, and may be protective against hormone-related cancers.

These findings (from mouse research) suggest that soy isoflavones might lower cholesterol levels by increasing LDL receptor activity, and the reduction in cholesterol may offer some protection against atherosclerosis.

The evidence that natural isoflavones protect against several chronic diseases is both observational and experimental. In humans, epidemiologic findings clearly show a higher incidence of some common types of cancer (i.e., breast, prostate, and colon) and of coronary heart diseases in Western populations exposed to limited amounts of soybean isoflavones (i.e., genistein, daidzein) in the diet. Further evidence for cancer and cardiac protection and antiatherogenic effects resulting from soybean isoflavones administration has been noted in various experimental animal models. Isoflavones may also prevent postmenopausal bone loss and osteoporosis.

Legumes play an important role in the traditional diets of many regions throughout the world. In contrast in Western countries beans tend to play only a minor dietary role despite the fact that they are low in fat and are excellent sources of protein, dietary fiber, and a variety of micronutrients and phytochemicals. Soybeans are unique among the legumes because they are a concentrated source of isoflavones. Isoflavones have weak estrogenic properties and the isoflavone genistein influences signal transduction. Soyfoods and isoflavones have received considerable attention for their potential role in preventing and treating cancer and osteoporosis. The low breast cancer mortality rates in Asian countries and the putative antiestrogenic effects of isoflavones have fueled speculation that soyfood intake reduces breast cancer risk. The available epidemiologic data are limited and only weakly supportive of this hypothesis, however, particularly for postmenopausal breast cancer. The data suggesting that soy or isoflavones may reduce the risk of prostate cancer are more encouraging. The weak estrogenic effects of isoflavones and the similarity in chemical structure between soybean isoflavones and the synthetic isoflavone ipriflavone, which was shown to increase bone mineral density in postmenopausal women, suggest that soy or isoflavones may reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Rodent studies tend to support this hypothesis, as do the limited preliminary data from humans. Given the nutrient profile and phytochemical contribution of beans, nutritionists should make a concerted effort to encourage the public to consume more beans in general and more soyfoods in particular.

Actually eating the soybeans and other legumes would probably be better, to say nothing of cheaper than the soy suppliment, unless you are more than borderline hypoglycemic.

I have a topic is this forum about Nutribase Free software. This is a free program that you can download and use to check the nutrients of almost any food you can think of, even the vege ones. It would help you track the amounts of proteins and carbohydrates in your diet.

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For I know that my redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
_________________________

Linda

Well, after doing a search, I came up with a lot of conflicting information about using soy isflavones with thyroid troubles. At this point, it looks like it would be best if you didn't use the soy protein suppliment but increased your protein intake through the use of foods higher in protein.

You might want to check this page for some information: http://thyroid.miningco.com/health/thyroid/cs/soysdownsides/index.htm

There are people writing very negative information about soy, people writing very positive information about soy and the truth probably lies somewhere inbetween.

Ellen White said years ago that we should eat our food in as natural state as possible. While today, many people are interpreting this to mean raw, I tend to look at it more as eating our foods in as unprocessed a state as possible, i.e., not broken down into different components which usually means you aren't getting balanced nutrition from the food, but only partial nutrition. Too much of one thing and not enough of another.

I think a friend of mine who wrote and published a cookbook was on the right track when she named it Whole Foods for Whole People. Eat whole foods rather than the broken down components of foods when possible.

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For I know that my redeemer liveth,
and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.
_________________________

Linda

Thank you so much Linda for your efforts on my behalf! I appreciate it so much. I am sure that these will be of great help even if I can't use the soy. Perhaps my kids could benefit from it, if not, I'll just have to chuck it or something. I'm sure it won't be the end of the world. Have a good night!

God bless,
Wendy

Wendy,

I used to have serious troubles with low blood sugar, which I mostly eliminated with Dr. Agatha Thrash's pancreas recovery diet. This diet totally eliminates all refined and concentrated foods. This means no white flour, sugar or sweetener of any kind, fruit juices, dried fruits, naturally especially sweet foods, such as sweet potatoes, watermelon, and bananas, no oils, butter, or margarine added to anything, no salt, no animal products, and no concentrated protein foods, such as the kinds of things your doctor wants you to eat.

This is not exactly an easy diet to prepare, but I did it while my twin sons were babies, which was the busiest and most stressful time of my life, and it was well worth it. After one year, I was able to relax the diet a bit, though I still use very little oil or white flour, and no sweeteners, though I avoid the sweeteners because of a yeast problem, not for the sake of my blood sugar.

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The Lord is the strength of my life and my portion forever.

[This message has been edited by Cathy Sears (edited March 15, 2001).]