True: Men can eat more soy products
1. Muscle is a symbol of male strength. To build strong muscles, protein is essential. Beans are called plant meat, because the protein in beans is not only rich in content, but also a complete protein. All eight essential amino acids required by the human body can be found in it. Only legumes among plants have such unique nutritional characteristics. The protein content of dried tofu is equivalent to beef, reaching about 20%; the protein content of soy milk and soy milk is close to cow's milk, between 2-3%; the protein content of water tofu is between 5-8%, equivalent to pork belly; the protein content of yuba Up to 45-50%, equivalent to beef jerky.
2. Soybeans are rich in phospholipids. Soybean lecithin can increase the release of acetylcholine in the brain, thereby improving people's memory and acceptance, and helping to prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease.
3. Regular consumption of soy foods can help reduce the probability of men suffering from prostate cancer. Studies have found that men who regularly eat soy foods are 26% less likely to develop prostate cancer than men who don't often eat soy foods. This is because the phytoestrogens contained in soy foods can reduce the cancer risk of male hormones.
Contra: Men should not eat more soy products
1. The isoflavones in soybeans are phytoestrogens, which can cause a decrease in male sperm count, thereby affecting male fertility and even causing infertility. Experiments at Harvard University in the United States have confirmed that on average, you should consume half a cup of soy milk or half a serving of soy milk every day.Men who consumed tofu had 41 million fewer sperm per milliliter than those who did not consume soy milk, which was only half of the normal amount, or even dropped to 1/3. Men who eat more soy products will have relatively lower sperm quality.
2. Long-term intake of large doses of isoflavone phytoestrogens can cause male erectile dysfunction.
3. Soy isoflavones can also affect men’s secondary sexual characteristics, making men’s appearance not masculine, but too delicate or too feminine, showing a feminine tendency.
Nutritionist analysis:
This is currently a controversial topic about soy products. Various related studies are being carried out, but there is no final conclusion yet. Currently, there is no clear evidence that soy products are harmful to men's health. The amount of soy consumed in daily life will not cause testicular atrophy and breast growth in men at all. On the contrary, it is an indisputable fact that moderate amounts of soy products can effectively reduce the incidence of prostate cancer. Epidemiological studies have shown that there are significant differences in the incidence of sex hormone-related tumors in Eastern and Western countries. The incidence of prostate cancer in American men is 4-10 times that of Southeast Asians, especially among first-generation Asian immigrants. The incidence rate is low, but the incidence rate is significantly higher among second-generation immigrants, showing that there is a negative correlation between the amount of soy products consumed by residents and the incidence of cancer. In other words, soy products help protect male prostate health.
The soy isoflavones in soy products can indeed play the role of phytoestrogens. But there is no need to talk about estrogen for men. There is a certain amount of estrogen naturally present in the male body. Just like women, there is also a certain amount of androgen in the body. Although the amount is small, its importance cannot be ignored. Obesity, stress, beer, high-fat diet, etc., can all increase estrogen levels in men. Regarding the impact of soy isoflavones on estrogen levels in men, I believe that we will have a clearer understanding of this issue in the near future.
It should be noted that everything has a limit, and the same is true for soy products. More is not always better. In 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowed food companies to claim that consuming 25 grams of soy protein a day while reducing saturated fatty acids and cholesterol can reduce the risk of heart disease.
——Author: Xing Yan