four impossible Whoppers a day to reach a level that will affect the physiology of an adult male.
There are two interesting journal articles describing the feminizing effects related to excessive consumption of soy in men.
The first was a case report of a 60-year-old man, who had been habitually consuming three quarts (2,840mL) of soy milk every day, which is just over 11 cups. The man developed gynecomastia, or growth of breast tissue, which resolved on discontinuation of the soy milk consumption.
The second case was a 19-year-old vegan man who was consuming large quantities of soy products (>14 serves) on a daily basis, which resulted in hormonal dysfunction, loss of libido, and erectile dysfunction, which resolved following discontinuation of his extremely high soy, vegan diet.
Soy is a phytoestrogen, or plant-based estrogen. It contains two isoflavones, genistein and daidzein, which act like estrogen (the female sex hormone) within the body. Because estrogen plays a role in everything from breast cancer to sexual reproduction, this is where most of the soy controversy stems.
Soy isoflavones can bind to estrogen receptors in the body and cause either weak estrogenic or anti-estrogenic activity.
According to the Harvard School of Public Health, soy can indeed have estrogenic properties. Because of that, its effects can…
… vary depending on the existing level of hormones in the body. Premenopausal women have much higher circulating levels of estradiol—the major form of estrogen in the human body—than postmenopausal women. In this context, soy may act like an anti-estrogen, but among postmenopausal women, soy may act more like an estrogen. Also, women with breast cancer are classified into hormone type—either hormone-positive (ER+/PR+) or hormone negative (ER-/PR-) breast cancer—and these tumors respond differently to estrogens.
So what about other products with soy in them? Soy products include:
- Soy milk
- Tempeh – this is a product not many people are familiar with – it is a traditional Indonesian food, made by forming whole soybeans into a cake and then fermenting it with a mold
- Tofu
- Edamame
- Soy yogurt
- Textured vegetable protein (TVP)
- Isolated soy protein powders (found in processed foods such as faux meats)
- Miso paste
- Natto
- Soy sauce
- Tamari
So you be the judge. What do you think about the impossible burger?