Is it harmful to eat soy for the thyroid gland

Recently, I have been asked a lot of questions about the harm of soy to the thyroid gland. I will try to be clear.

There is a huge amount of information on the Internet about the goitrogenic (or strumogenic effect - increasing the need for the thyroid gland for iodine) effect of soy and its products.

Let's take a look at what is known about soy products.

One of the most reputable food and drug control agencies in the world, the FDA issued in 1999 authorization for manufacturers of soy products label them as healthy foods for cardiovascular health.

In general, this organization issues such permits on the basis of very serious evidence, so there is no reason to doubt the validity of such a decision.

Everyone knows that cardiovascular disease has been the leading cause of death worldwide for several decades

In 1991, famous researchers Messina M and Barnes S emphasized in their work anticarcinogenic effect of soy isoflavones and the need for further study of these properties.

Now a huge number of works are devoted to the effect of soy isoflavones (daidzein and genostein) on estrogen receptors with their blocking effect on alpha oncogenic receptors and activating on β oncoprotective receptors. You can read about the mechanism of development of epithelial forms of cancer on the example of prostate cancer in scientific work, in which I also participated.

Soy is an essential source of protein. It is known that plant proteins are assimilated in the human body to a lesser extent than animals. So here soy is the most digestible protein of all plant sources.

100 grams of boiled soybeans with a low calorie content of about 170 kcal contains 17 grams of protein and 10 grams of carbohydrates, half of which are a valuable nutritious raw material for the intestinal microflora, in the form of insoluble fiber, which does not load carbohydrate exchange. There is very little fat in soy - about 9 grams for the same volume of product.

In addition, soybeans contain selenium (an extremely important component of thyroid metabolism), copper, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, B vitamins, vitamin K, calcium, and more.

It is also known that soy contains phytates, substances that bind trace elements such as iodine, calcium, iron, zinc and prevent their absorption. But quite often soy products are subjected to fermentation processes - fermentation, which destroys phytic acid and significantly reduces its negative impact. This is how tofu is prepared, for example.

In other words, soy cannot harm if a person consumes enough iodine. There is a lot of iodine in seafood, baked potatoes (with skin), beans, even in boiled eggs. Also, iodine is usually included in multivitamins, which are prescribed by default to all citizens.

So eat soy in peace, take a multivitamin, and add a little salt to your food before meals (not while cooking) with iodized salt.

Your Doctor Pavlova.