Alternative Therapies

Till now, most of us have been thinking that soy is one of the healthiest foods ever, ummm…but not anymore folks. There have been several studies in recent times that show that soy is not that good for your health and especially for pregnant women.

Soy consumption by pregnant women has been linked to birth defects in babies. A British study showed that vegetarian moms, who typically consume more soy, have a high risk of birthing a boy with hypospadias. It has been seen than 1 out of every 125 male babies is now born with the once-rare condition, hypospadias, which is a gruesome malformity of the penis, where the urethra opening lies somewhere along the underside of the penile shaft instead of at the end. The penis has also been found to be shorter, in fact 2.6 inches shorter in the more severe cases.

And the malformity is also associated with homosexuality. These moms also risk giving birth to babies who are more likely to get leukemia.

Soy has indeed become a craze in the U.S in recent times, with its sales hitting $4 billion in 2004, from a mere $850 million in 1992. Some folks go out of their way to eat energy bars, pseudo-meats, soymilk and soy-laced cold cereals. And health- conscious moms-to-be consume tall, cool glasses of soymilk.

The American Heart Association has also announced that soy does not lower cholesterol and does not prevent heart disease. Infact, now, soy consumption is said to increase the risk of birth defects, infertility, cancer and heart disease.

You may be surprised to have read ‘heart disease’. But it has been noted that soy indeed worsens cardiomyopathy. It’s a condition where there are enlarged, swollen heart muscles that cannot pump adequately and cause heart failure. Cardiomyopathy is the usual cause of death when a young athlete drops dead on the football field.

How else does soy harm the heart? Soy isoflavones may interfere with potassium in the heart, which can cause arrhythmias. And soy protein can also elevate your homocysteine levels, a known risk factor for heart disease.