Is it suitable for men to drink soy milk?

There is a saying that drinking soy milk regularly is bad for the health of male citizens. The most direct reason is that it will lead to premature aging, memory loss, and even sexual dysfunction. This saying makes many men stay away from soy milk, but is it really the case?

Soy milk is one of the most popular health foods nowadays, and the hot sales of soy milk machines also prove this point. Drinking soy milk regularly helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases and helps the middle-aged and elderly people prolong their lives. However, another rumor says that drinking soy milk regularly is not good for the health of male citizens. The most direct reason is that it will lead to premature aging, memory loss, and even sexual dysfunction. It is said that soy milk contains "soy isoflavones", which is a kind of estrogen. Men who drink it will have feminine characteristics such as breast development, no beard growth, and effeminateness, so it is not suitable to drink it.

In fact, the saying that men cannot drink soy milk is ridiculous and pure misunderstanding.

First of all, "soy isoflavones" are substances similar to hormones. They are similar to estrogen in structure and properties, and have the ability to bind to estrogen receptors in the human body, so they have always been called "phytoestrogens". This "phytoestrogen" is different from drug estrogen. Drug estrogen has a one-way effect on the human body, directly increasing the hormone content. The "phytoestrogens" in soy products have a two-way effect on the human body. When the human body lacks estrogen, it can be supplemented; when the human body is not lacking estrogen, phytoestrogens have positive physiological effects such as anti-oxidation.

Since the biological activity of "phytoestrogens" is only one thousandth of that of drug estrogen, for young women, a cup of soy milk a day is not enough to cause a significant change in estrogen levels. For men, the phytoestrogens in soy milk cannot reverse the hormone balance, let alone affect male sexual characteristics or the normal development of boys. Soy milk is rich in plant protein, calcium, vitamins and other nutrients that can regulate the function of the female endocrine system. It is also one of the best foods for men to prevent osteoporosis.

Drinking soy milk in moderation is beneficial and harmless

Eating soy in moderation is beneficial to men. This is because women have an estrogen receptor in their bodies, and soy isoflavones can only exert an effect similar to estrogen after binding to this receptor. Men do not have this receptor in their bodies, so the isoflavones in soy milk have no effect on men.

Menopausal women who are deficient in estrogen can supplement estrogen by eating more than 50 grams of dry beans or an equal amount of soy products every day, which can partially compensate for the problems caused by the decrease in estrogen levels, such as decreased skin elasticity, accelerated bone calcium loss, accelerated heart rate, facial flushing, and irritability.

Therefore, soy products are very beneficial to middle-aged and elderly women, and will definitely not change the hormone levels of men.

Who should drink less soy milk?

No food should be consumed in excess. Nutrient-rich soy products may not be suitable for everyone. First of all, the purine content in soybeans is high, which is not suitable for gout patients.

Patients with acute gastritis and chronic superficial gastritis should not eat soy products to avoid stimulating excessive gastric acid secretion and aggravating the condition, or causing gastrointestinal bloating.

Beans contain a certain amount of oligosaccharides, which can cause symptoms such as belching, intestinal irritation, and abdominal distension, so friends with gastric ulcers should eat less.

Patients with gastritis and renal failure need a low-protein diet. Beans and their products are rich in protein, and their metabolites will increase the burden on the kidneys, so they should be avoided.

The oxalate in beans can combine with calcium in the kidneys, easily forming stones and aggravating the symptoms of kidney stones. Therefore, people with kidney stones should not eat beans.