Soy protein 24 August 2017 at 7:59PM in Sports & fitness MoneySaving 4 replies 2.8K views

furry_tractor

Hi,
I have recently bought SIS (Sport in Science) Rego to help me recover from intense exercise. They use soy to add protein rather than whey and since buying it i've seen a lot of conflicting reports about the use of soy. Some of the points that I have read are;
Use of pesticides
Contamination during processing
Cancer issues (on the other hand some reports said it can prevent cancers)
Phytoestrogen which causes a chemical imbalance
Now i'm not suggesting any of this is true or not, but was just hoping for other thoughts, experiences using the said product or soy in general, feelings on the points made.
Thanks in advance

jenniewb

I've read/heard similar, I can't digest dairy very well (side effects are a bit TMI for this forum!) and so I switched to soya. I don't consume protein type products but did used to take on a lot of soya milk and soya products.


I cut back on the soya for other reasons and found I stopped having night sweats which used to be a nightly occurrence- though having said that I used to get the same issues before I switched from dairy to soya. I hadn't really meant to cut out the soya so entirely, it was just because I switched something else and ended up with no soya in my diet. However having found a way around what had been a nightly hell (night sweats where I could literally ring out my clothes!) I am wary of switching back to try my theory out. It's been nearly two decades of night sweats and I'm not even 40 so couldn't have been period related. I have not however noticed any other changes other than this with regards to curbing the soya I used to have.


I've no idea on the links to Cancer but always felt they were linked to higher oestrogen levels which do naturally occur in soya products. But when you consider the rest of the animal kingdom we consume in one way or another is also fed on soya (so higher oestrogen levels), people taking oral contraception (the pill) which again is hormones but this time peed out and ending up in our water (all water as it cannot be filtered out) and then there are the plants which consume that water....sorry but there are already way too many hormones to reliably escape- I don't think that a few protein drinks or not is going to make a lot of a difference- and I'd place bets on just as many of those diagnosed with Cancer consuming a lot of soya as many who were diagnosed who didn't consume a diet high in soya. Which leads me to think that if soya is a cause, it's not something we can avoid. Because we cannot purify it out of water and everything we consume requires water either to create or to process or both.


If you did want to switch to a different type of protein, I know there are things like hemp and pea protein, but these are not as cheap or easily available and I don't know how much of a complete protein they are- you'd need to do your own research on that to ensure all 9 of the required amino acids are available per product to ensure you are taking on protein your body can use rather than pee out or store for calories.

UKTigerlily

I know the studio I train at only use Whey & I can't have Soy for medical reasons.

furry_tractor

I have spoken to nutritionists and 'professionals' in the area and they have asked me to cite the sources which I have. Being relatively educated I have conceded that the evidence isn't from medical or scientific journals but there are too many questions being asked. They kind of echoed my original point that what I had showed them was not from credible enough sources (studies, journals) yet they didn't even try to provide credible evidence to the contrary (such as a study showing that soy supplements show non of these negative effects). I was a bit surprised as I thought they might want to fight the negative suggestions that are being attached to one of their most used ingredients ��

Robinio

There is no such thing as recovery protein. What they mean, is that they have probably added dextrose or some carbs to the formula, and some BCAAs and whatnot.

Drink some orange juice after you work out, and eat some complete proteins. 20g or so after is more than enough. For example, a slice of toast with 1 egg and some baked beans and a glass of orange juice, and a BCAA supplement would work better. Supplements are what they are - a supplement. If you cannot get it from your diet, you use them. Otherwise, work your diet around it. If you are worried about soy - eat something else.

If you must use a "recovery" shake, you could try whey protein. If you are vegan, there is pea protein and rice protein, too.

Also, some stuff you mention there could apply to just about anything:

Use of pesticides - if this is worrying, you should probably cut out all fruit and veg

Contamination during processing - there is always this risk. Pretty sure, by law, they need to state if it may be contaminated with allergens. SIS is a well-known company, so would assume they are cool. Lots of little known supplement companies where their ingredients are their sources are "suspect" you should steer away from.

Cancer issues (on the other hand some reports said it can prevent cancers) - everything causes cancer, apparently. There are far more studies linking animal protein to cancer than soy protein (not sure I have ever heard of soy causing cancer)!