What's the deal with soy being bad for you?

I haven't had a chance to read up on the whole new thing about too much soy being bad for you. Being vegetarian (and somewhat vegan), I eat a lot of soy. Not in extreme excess, but usually a glass or two of soy milk a day and tofu/tempeh/etc a few times a week. Can somebody give me some background on this claim? Thank you!

According to the Food and Drug Administration, it is not clear whether the soy isoflavones used in pills and powders are healthy. However, the FDA says that soy protein in the form of food is healthy and can reduce the risk of heart disease.

"A yearlong review of the available human studies in 1999 prompted FDA to allow a health claim on food labels stating that a daily diet containing 25 grams of soy protein, also low in saturated fat and cholesterol, may reduce the risk of heart disease."

"FDA determined that diets with four daily soy servings can reduce levels of low-density lipoproteins (LDLs), the so-called "bad cholesterol" that builds up in blood vessels, by as much as 10 percent."

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Information on the soy bashers:

You will always come upon a few names whenever you dig a bit into the anti-soy campaign, especially Mercola and Fallon.

Joseph Mercola is on the advisory board of the Weston A. Price Foundation. To give you some idea of where Mercola is coming from, he says that it is a myth that a vegetarian diet is good for you.

Sally Fallon is the Founder of the Weston A Price Foundation. This organization is devoted to warning against the consumption of soy foods and attacking low-fat diets, particularly the vegetarian and vegan lifestyle, while strongly promoting meat and dairy consumption.

If you look up the articles cited by Fallon in her writings, you will notice a few interesting patterns. (1) Unlike the books of reputable medical professionals and scientists, most of Fallon's citations do not refer to well-established peer-reviewed journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Lancet, and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Instead, they refer to very old discredited studies or to studies published in the "house" journals of the Price-Pottenger foundation -- a foundation devoted to the promotion of meat and saturated fat. The latter journals are not peer-reviewed, are not carried in university or medical school libraries, and are not considered reliable sources by reputable scientists. (2) Of the few cited studies that are published in reputable peer-reviewed journals, the articles either do not support Fallon's claims (i.e., she misrepresents them), or the findings are not reproducible by other researchers.

Soy contains relatively high amounts of Phytoestrogens - plant hormones which can disrupt your body's hormones if eaten in excess. Apparently, soy was taken by monks to reduce thier libido.

Also, many supermarket soy products are produced poorly in a way that involves much processing. Processed foods can contain toxins such as heavy metals, e.g. aluminium.

However, I am certain that soy is much healthier for you than dairy. Cow's milk contains blood, pus, horrendous animal fats that will just clog up your blood vessels and growth hormones intended for calves.

If you are still concerned about soy, then I would suggest switching to rice milk or even buying a milk maker and making your own from grains, nuts & seeds. I hear that almond milk is delicious & that hemp milk is excellent for you.

You shouldn't have to rely on faux meats and cheeses in your diet, either. Try making that bolognaise with lentils, instead, or you could try yeast flakes in your lasagna.

Im really confused by that too. I eat A LOT of soy on a daily basis.

Soy is good. Learn it. Live it. Love it. Whoever says too much soy is bad for you probably works for the beef industry. Don't worry about the amount of soy in your diet, it is probably good.