In recent years, the popularity of plant-based diets has surged, with many individuals adopting veganism for ethical, environmental, and health reasons. A significant component of vegan diets includes soy-based meat alternatives, touted for their protein content and versatility. However, a growing number of vegans are reevaluating their reliance on soy meats due to several alarming concerns. In this article, we delve into six reasons why some vegans are choosing to steer clear of soy-based meat substitutes.
1. Many vegan women are understanding the risk of soy meats causing cysts, tumors and cancer in the body. According to a 2001 report by Annals of pharmacotherapy, soy help existing breast cancer growth. The estrogen from soy has been found to disrupt the endocrine system with the similar effects as women with breast cancer.
2. Several vegan men are finding out that consuming soy is bad for testosterone, an important sex hormone for men. A 2005 study showed that 12 men ages 18 years and older, testosterone dropped 19% after consuming just 56 grams of soy meat daily for only 28 days.
3. Several people in the vegan community have reported numerous health issues after eating soy regularly.
According to a 1991 study, researchers concluded that soy led to thyroid
suppression, constipation, sleepiness, malaise and goiters in their
subjects, where the healthy participants had these results after eating
only 2 TBL/day of roasted and pickled soybeans for 3 months.
4. Many vegan men have also stopped eating soy meats after reports on it causing infertility. In a study, the intake of 15 soy-based foods in the previous 3 months was assessed for 99 male partners of subfertile couples who presented for semen analyses to the Massachusetts General Hospital Fertility Center. There was an inverse association between soy food intake and sperm concentration. In the multivariate-adjusted analyses, 95% of the men in the highest category of soy food intake had 41 million sperm/ml less than men who did not consume soy foods.
5. According to reports, many pregnant vegan women are avoiding soy meats and it is a good thing. Scientific research in a 1991 study found that the developing male fetus which is exposed to soy may suffer from a higher chance of getting prostate cancer later in life.
6. Many vegan parents have stopped giving their daughters soy meats. One study showed that soy effected female rats where they had the effect of significantly accelerated puberty.
