Soy or cow's milk?

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edit: thanks minimoney saver for the links, I'm obviously cr4pola with google!

j.e.j. wrote: »

I think soya does have beneficial health properties. However, I can't stand the stuff, so I don't drink it!

I had heard bits and pieces about that, but after googling for a while couldn't really find anything substantiated.

j.e.j. wrote: »

Many Eastern cultures don't have dairy as part of their cuisine, and these cultures tend to have lower incidences of, say, breast cancer. Having said that I think they have higher rates of other cancers, maybe stomach cancers,

also had heard about cows milk and a link to cancer, but again can't find any real info....

Jox

I've heard that cow's milk has casein which acts like a glue in our intestines and stops vitamins being absorbed in the small intestine.

Also when the cows are constantly being milked their udders get sore and infected and milk can contain their pus....

If the whole animal rights aspect is looked into I'm sure lots of us would give up meat and dairy.

I'm not sure of the merits of soya milk other than it being a substitute for dairy, if the soya is genetically modified then who knows what that will do to our bodies in the long run.

It is possible to make milk from nuts, I haven't done this but I'm sure it's quite easy to do.

minimoneysaver

Benefits of soya milk

http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/6-health-benefits-of-soy-milk.html
http://www.livestrong.com/article/434089-soy-milk-benefits-for-women/

http://www.pingminghealth.com/article/515/benefits-of-soy-milk/

claire16c

j.e.j. wrote: »

I think soya does have beneficial health properties. However, I can't stand the stuff, so I don't drink it!

I don't drink cows milk, either, because if I do my skin gets really bad and I get abdominal problems, so maybe I'm a bit intolerant to it.

Many Eastern cultures don't have dairy as part of their cuisine, and these cultures tend to have lower incidences of, say, breast cancer. Having said that I think they have higher rates of other cancers, maybe stomach cancers, I'm not 100% sure, so I guess no diet is perfect.

Ive heard about that too. I read an article that said if you buy anything organic, it should be organic milk, because dairy cows are pumped full of hormones and thats why they think it could be attributed to the high rates of breast cancer in say the US and UK compared to Asian countries where in some the rates are much much smaller than here.

But with soy, I was reading the other day about that having too many hormones in for young girls to drink or something and they shouldnt consume too much. And people do take soy isoflavone tablets for ovulation purposes. So god knows what youre supposed to drink and not drink!

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are there any health 'watch outs' for drinking soy/a?

j.e.j.

Adeline Yen Mah was a physician for many years before becoming a full time writer. To quote from her book 'Watching the Tree':

How do soya beans prevent cancer? Depending on the site and type of cancer, isoflavones and oligosaccharides play separate and different roles. The isoflavones have a similar structure to the naturally occurring human hormone called oestrogen. Breast cancer is caused when oestrogens combine with oestrogen receptors in breast cells. Isoflavones ‘compete’ with human oestrogens by binding with the same receptors and blocking the entry of the oestrogens. In this way they help to prevent the onset of breast cancer.

The above is from a fascinating chapter in the book called Let Food Be medicine. The writer goes on to detail a bit more about how soya can help to prevent other types of cancer. She is definitely not one of those modern woo-woo types, it is primarily a book about Chinese culture and history which happens to contain this information about soya, and other things.

Jox

For men, drinking soya milk may lead to slower motility of sperm and development of breasts according to some articles I have read but I don't know first hand about that!

Soya mimics oestrogen so too much in a man may feminise them.

Soya is contained in lots of processed food products to bulk them out as it is cheap so men may be ingesting more than they know, perhaps this is contributing to fertility issues.

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Thanks for the info j.e.j.

Do you personally recommend a soy/a brand? seems to be a lot out there....

minimoneysaver

Alpro Soya light is my favourite

j.e.j.

GoldenJill wrote: »

Thanks for the info j.e.j.

Do you personally recommend a soy/a brand? seems to be a lot out there....

It depends if you need it to have the texture of cows milk, or if you don't mind it tasting like soya. I used to buy plain soya milk which was just made of hulled soya beans and water (like Provamel unsweetened), but a lot of the brands add stuff to their soya milk to give it more of a creamy texture.

I don't like the stuff myself, otherwise I'd happily drink a glass of it a day