just a discussion on the effects of soy based protein on testosterone levels in both males and females. though i believe mostly will be responses by male individuals, healthy and open discussion is appreciated.

do you think that soy based products reduce testosterone production in males?

my current understanding from the literature i've read is that it does.

let's take a look at japan which i believe has a diet that is rich in soy based foods. could this be the reason why japanese males tend to be androgenous due to much lower testosterone?

From what I've read, it takes a pretty big amount of soy consumption to begin to affect test levels, and even then the decrease is not very considerable. I'll try to look for the literature when I'm home.

this

i do agree that one would have to take a 'big amount' (this is a relative statement imo) of soy products in order to reach such a state but with regards to the typical asian diet, i believe the presence of soy is very relevant. especially people who on a vegan/vegetarian diet as soy based alternatives to the meat derivatives are commonplace.

whilst testosterone levels may not necessarily drop, the amount of isoflavones which has estogen-like properties in a person consuming soy products would definitely be higher than someone who doesn't consume soy.

looking forward to reading the literature you have.

there was an article that came out in Men's Health malaysia a few years back about this...since reading that article i avoided soy products...not entirely but i stop drinking soy milk which was then i thought as a healthier choice of protein...

i woud avoid excessive soy products. to say i avoid them complete would be too extreme, but i almost don't ever take anything that contains soy, even soy sauce if thats possible.

that's the discussion i'm trying to have.

in a typical malaysian diet, do we actually consume soy and it's derivatives? i would think from a cultural point of view, chinese tend to consume more soy products.

another point to note is the soy derivatives found in a lot of processed/prepackaged foodstuff you can find in the market.

so, should we be concerned? this not only applies to males but apparently females as well as one journal i've read recently noted that whilst estrogen levels in males increased, testosterone in females increased. i find this rather interesting.