Are you trying hard to lose weight? If yes, then you should certainly know the effect of eating soy-rich foods as this could have a harmful effect on your overall health and sabotage your dream of shedding those extra pounds quickly. If you are obese, then the excessive intake of soy can also sabotage all your weight loss goals.

Let us have a look at the factors that make excessive intake of soy unhealthy for the human body.

The Phytates:

Not many people are aware of the fact that soy contains chemical toxins, and one such toxin is phytic acid or the Phytates. These are the acids that prevent the body from absorbing the most needed minerals like zinc and iron. Even methods like long or slow cooking do not help in removing these toxins from soy.

The Enzyme Inhibitors:

Soy or soybean is known to contain enzyme inhibitors, which usually block the intake of trypsin, an enzyme that also helps in the digestion of the proteins. This can cause a lot of gastric trouble and can lead to some chronic deficiencies as well.

Abundant Isoflavones:

Soy is also known to contain very high levels of isoflavones or phytoestrogens that interfere with the ability of the thyroid glands to manufacture the thyroid hormones. This in turn stops weight loss, and at times can cause depression. Research states that one glass of soy milk contains about 45 milligrams of isoflavones. With thyroid being weakened, losing weight becomes very difficult.

The Process Of Manufacturing:

The manufacturing process of soybeans nowadays is very quick and cheap, and hence, they carry many harmful toxins. This is one of the reasons soy is not taken as a main course dish in many countries. As per some studies, soy was once taken only at the time of food shortage. Moreover, during those days, a lengthy process of manufacturing soy was adapted to remove the toxins from it.

Thus, these facts reveal that soy is unhealthy and can definitely make you gain weight by disturbing your digestion, metabolic rate and weakening the functioning of the thyroid hormones.

Some Facts On Soy And Weight Gain:

According to a study conducted by the University of Illinois and presented at the Experimental Biology meeting in Washington D.C, the rats, when injected with soy proteins, lost weight rapidly despite being provided unlimited access to food. Based on this study, the researchers have theorized that soy acts similar to the leptin metabolic hormone in the mammalian body and signals the brain to stop eating.

Another study discussed at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior concluded in 2010 that soy helps in preventing weight gain in postmenopausal rats because of the presence of estrogen compounds in soymilk. According to Michelle Murphy, the lead researcher, soy milk, thus, can help postmenopausal woman control weight gain.

So, What Is The Conclusion?

Studies do suggest that consumption of soy milk in moderate quantities stimulates weight loss. However, just as it is with the other beverages and calorie-containing drinks, excess consumption of soymilk reverses the effect causing weight gain. So, it’s not the soy milk, but the amount of consumption that decides whether you gain or lose weight with soy milk.

On the contrary, when it comes to soy milk consumption, one must be all the more careful as it directly affects the working of thyroid hormones that stimulate weight loss. Hence, you have to be extra careful about how much amount of soy milk you gulp down every day, or you are sure to add fat around your waistline.

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by Maanasi Radhakrishnan via STYLECRAZE