Soy: healthy superfood or hormonal nightmare? Tyson Ruetz explains just how super it is.

With the ever increasing numbers of vegetarians, lactose intolerant people, and the rise in Asian cuisine in the western world, we now have an astounding amount of soy in our diet. Soy is a staple in many Asian dishes, as well as an important source of protein for vegetarians. Sources of soy are soy milk, soy sauce, tofu, miso, cooked soy-beans, soups and health food supplements, and apart from being a rich source of essential amino acids, soy contains important biologically-active enzymes, which have received scientific praise for their high compositions of antioxidants called isoflavones. Yet studies over the past century have had mixed opinions about the benefits or potential harms of a soy-rich diet, leaving many consumers bewildered.

The biggest health concern for soy protein is that it is composed of phytoestrogens, plant compounds which are capable of mimicking and altering estrogen-processes in the human body. Despite estrogen being present in both sexes, the general population perceives estrogen as an exclusively female hormone. We ignore the fact that estrogen serves important functions during many vital bodily activites, from liver function, wound healing, and water retention to lung formation and regeneration.

Despite such a broad range of activities, there is an ongoing urban myth that any estrogen presence in men can have adverse affects, A quick Google search will find questions like "Will soy give me man-boobs?" or "Will soy make my son gay?" Others have raised concerns about the potential of soy diets to induce breast cancer and sterility in women. Such fears arose from two flagship studies that began in the 1940s, providing compelling evidence to back the estrogenic effects of a soy-rich diet.

The studies were based on sheep consuming extremely high soy diets, composed almost entirely of soy protein (from legume based diets), which lead to the female sheep becoming sterile. This may sound alarming, but the high content of soy phytoestrogens in these mammals simply had the same effect that purified estrogen, found in contraceptive pills, has on women, balacning the monthly cycle of estrogen, thereby preventing ovulation. These diets were composed of soy contents far beyond what a human could ever consume, meaning that these naturaly effects would not happen to women, and that we cannot deduce any harmful effects of the soy diet on men.

Scientific publications uncovering the positive effects of a moderate intake of soy are streaming in from an onslought of research over the past decade. Soy proteins have proven important in both female and male cognition with many studies supporting a role in protecting the neurons of the brain, aiding in memory formation and protecting against degenerative disease. Other studies have shown a significant decrease in cholesterol in people who consume moderate levels of soy. An astounding study from Japan suggested that there are drastically less cases of breast cancer in Japanese women whose diets are rich in soy protein. Estrogen levels are also linked to increasing a man's libido which - although some may interpret as a negative outcome given the world's over-population challenges - can obviously be a good thing for those involved.

Contrary to many urban myths, soy based diets do not produce over emotional men with man-boobs, instead, in moderation, they may increase cognition, heart-health, longevity - and other, sexier activities for all!