0:00

I can't keep this in anymore. I can't even

0:02

believe I'm saying this to be honest. You

0:04

know you can tell me anything. I'm capital

0:07

VFD42 capital Z lowercase m

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underscore lowercase p capital L reverse slash apostrophe

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lowercase rs. I know how you feel. Just

0:14

between us, I'm underscore

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comma dash underscore dollar sign capital G lowercase

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w comma forward slash dash dash reverse slash. No

0:22

way! I am so glad we had this conversation.

0:25

I know, me too.

0:26

Turn on total privacy with end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp.

0:29

Message privately.

0:36

Welcome to the Nutrition Diva podcast, a

0:38

show where we take a closer look at nutrition

0:40

trends and headlines, explain

0:43

how the latest research applies to you, and

0:45

answer your questions. I'm

0:47

your host, Monica Reinagle, and today

0:49

I want to talk about phytoestrogens in

0:51

soybeans and whether they

0:54

have estrogen-like effects in women,

0:56

for better or for worse.

0:58

But first, a question came up in the comments

1:00

section of a post that I wrote on my blog

1:02

at nutritionovereasy.com on

1:05

whether protein powder is

1:07

too processed to be considered

1:09

a healthy food.

1:11

The original post was in response to a question

1:13

from Catherine, who wrote,

1:15

Virtually everyone says to cut

1:17

down on processed foods. It seems to

1:19

be one of the few things everyone from different

1:21

camps generally agrees on. Yet

1:24

a large number of nutrition influencers

1:26

recommend smoothies that include protein

1:28

powder. How the heck are those

1:31

not processed?

1:35

Catherine's absolutely right. There is a lot of talk

1:37

these days about the harms of

1:39

ultra-processed foods.

1:41

But this designation turns out

1:44

to be problematic. Some of the foods

1:46

in this category are exactly

1:49

the ones you might expect. Things like Red

1:51

Bull, or Cheetos, and Pop-Tarts.

1:54

But that category also includes foods

1:56

that we generally think of as healthy. Or

1:59

maybe healthy for you.

1:59

healthier choices such

2:02

as almond milk, soy burgers, cholesterol

2:05

reducing spreads like Benekol,

2:07

high fiber breakfast cereal, baby

2:10

formula, and yes, protein

2:12

powder.

2:14

Rather than painting all processed

2:17

foods with the same brush, it's

2:19

worth considering what the purpose

2:21

of the processing is. Is it to concentrate

2:24

the sugar, increase the intensity

2:26

of the flavor, or otherwise create

2:30

a product that hyper stimulates the reward

2:32

centers of the brain? Is it

2:34

to increase the profit margin of

2:36

a cheap ingredient? Or

2:38

does that processing

2:40

serve to extend shelf life

2:43

or increase the nutritional value

2:45

of a food or

2:46

improve its digestibility or

2:48

make a nutritious food safer

2:51

or more convenient to prepare?

2:54

Obviously the processing

2:56

required to turn peas

2:58

or whey into protein

3:00

powder serves a different purpose

3:02

than the processing required to turn

3:04

an ear of corn into

3:06

a bag of cool ranch Doritos.

3:09

And I think we also need to consider what role

3:12

or function that processed food

3:14

plays in our diets.

3:16

A Pop-Tart for example is

3:19

at best a source of empty calories.

3:21

At worst, it could be displacing

3:24

a healthier breakfast choice.

3:26

Protein powder on the other hand can

3:29

really only be used to increase

3:31

the protein content of other foods. In that

3:34

case the benefit may well

3:37

justify the use of an ultra

3:39

processed ingredient like protein powder. But

3:44

another controversy then unspooled

3:47

in the comments section for that post

3:49

where a reader warned against any protein

3:51

powder that wasn't cold processed

3:54

because heat processing

3:56

would denature the protein. protein

4:01

sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? But

4:04

if you've ever eaten a scrambled egg, you've

4:06

eaten denatured proteins. All

4:08

denatured means is that

4:10

the protein molecule has been twisted

4:13

into a different shape. It still

4:15

contains the same amount of protein, the

4:17

same amino acids, and when it's digested

4:20

and metabolized it will still have the same

4:23

benefits. And good

4:25

thing too, because proteins consumed

4:27

in their raw state will quickly

4:29

be denatured by stomach acid.

4:32

So our ability to make

4:34

use of the protein we eat does not

4:36

depend on the

4:37

shape of the protein molecules.

4:39

So

4:40

denatured protein in our protein powder, one

4:42

less thing to worry about.

4:47

I have a great idea for dinner tonight. How

4:49

about a chicken cheddar broccoli

4:52

rice bowl, which you could whip up in

4:54

just 30 minutes with the help of a nor

4:56

cheddar broccoli rice side. Who

4:58

needs fast food when nor has these delicious

5:01

and nutritious recipes that you can make at home

5:04

in under 30 minutes. Make

5:06

your own taste combo. Show

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us how you create delicious nutritious

5:10

meals at home with nor using

5:13

hashtag nor versus combo

5:15

on social. Visit nor

5:17

taste combos.com to

5:19

find other easy to make at home recipes

5:22

from nor.

5:25

I can't keep this in anymore. I can't even

5:27

believe I'm saying this to be honest. You

5:29

know you can tell me anything. I'm capital

5:32

VFD for to capital Z lowercase m underscore

5:34

lowercase p capital L reverse slash apostrophe lowercase

5:37

RS. I know how you feel. Just

5:39

between us. I am underscore

5:41

comma dash underscore dollar sign capital G lowercase

5:44

w comma forward slash dash dash reverse slash.

5:47

No way. I am so glad we

5:49

had this conversation. I know me

5:51

too.

5:51

Turn on total privacy with end to end encryption.

5:54

What's up message privately.

5:57

And now I want to turn to Stacy's question

5:59

about the phytoestrogens in

6:01

soybeans.

6:03

Is edamame safe for

6:05

women to consume regularly? She

6:07

wrote, I actually became interested in eating

6:09

it because I read that it may help perimenopause

6:12

symptoms, but other articles

6:14

warn against the estrogen. So what's

6:17

your take? Soy

6:19

contains isoflavones. These

6:21

are compounds that happen to be shaped

6:24

very similarly to the human hormone

6:26

estrogen. In fact, they're close

6:28

enough that they can actually fit into

6:31

estrogen receptors in human cells.

6:34

Now, osteoporosis, hot flashes,

6:37

and breast cancer are all

6:39

closely linked to estrogen activity

6:42

in the body, either too much or too

6:44

little. And initially, it was

6:46

thought that the weaker plant estrogens

6:49

or phytoestrogens in soy

6:51

might protect you from either scenario.

6:54

So if estrogen levels were low, isoflavones

6:57

might provide just enough estrogenic

7:00

activity to prevent bone

7:02

loss or maybe hot flashes.

7:05

If, on the other hand, estrogen levels

7:07

are too high, which might

7:10

increase your risk of breast cancer, well

7:12

then phytoestrogens could help block

7:14

excess estrogen from entering your cells

7:17

by occupying those estrogen

7:19

receptors and causing the cells to

7:21

turn on the no vacancy sign.

7:25

Well, newer research suggests that

7:27

it's not quite what we thought.

7:30

The estrogenic activity of soy doesn't

7:33

seem to depend on how much

7:35

estrogen you do or don't have in

7:37

circulation already. Apparently, it's

7:40

more complicated than that. Nutrition

7:43

research often progresses along

7:45

parallel tracks. On one

7:47

track, scientists are attempting to understand

7:50

the mechanisms for how foods

7:52

and nutrients interact with

7:54

our biology.

7:56

Over on another track, researchers

7:59

are

7:59

gathering data on clinical outcomes,

8:02

meaning what happens to people when

8:04

they eat more or less of a given

8:07

food or nutrient.

8:08

Over on that second track, studies

8:10

have found that eating soy reduces

8:13

hot flashes in some women,

8:15

but not others.

8:17

And incidentally, it seems to be

8:19

much more effective in reducing hot flashes

8:22

if you also exercise. And

8:25

it's also important to note that the studies that did

8:27

observe a benefit involved consuming pretty

8:29

high amounts of soy or taking

8:32

higher doses of isoflavon

8:34

supplements. So the best we can

8:36

say is that high soy consumption

8:39

or isoflavon consumption combined

8:42

with a healthy lifestyle might

8:44

have a modest beneficial impact

8:47

or it might have no impact

8:50

at all. Now, here's the

8:52

thing.

8:52

Hot flashes are pretty hard

8:55

to miss. It's not like you need a blood

8:57

test or a bone scan or something like that to

8:59

know whether or not you're experiencing them.

9:02

So you could try adding edamame

9:05

or other soy foods to your diet,

9:07

see if it seems to help.

9:09

At worst, it's some protein and

9:11

some fiber. At best, it brings

9:13

you a little relief.

9:16

But as Stacy found, some

9:18

have warned against soy for the very

9:21

same reasons that others recommend it,

9:23

namely that it might have estrogenic effects

9:25

in the body. And specifically, the

9:28

concern is that phytoestrogens in

9:30

soy foods might promote

9:32

the growth of estrogen sensitive

9:35

cancer cells. Up

9:37

until pretty recently, breast cancer patients

9:39

were often advised to avoid soy

9:42

food out of an abundance of caution.

9:44

However, there's now compelling evidence

9:47

to show that eating soy foods poses

9:49

no risk to breast cancer

9:52

survivors. If anything, it appears

9:54

to be beneficial actually

9:56

reducing the risk of recurrence of both

9:59

estrogen receptor-

9:59

positive and negative breast cancers.

10:02

In fact, the researchers

10:05

back over on track one, the mechanistic

10:07

track, are starting to question

10:10

whether the benefits of soy

10:12

on things like hot flashes or

10:14

its protective effects against breast cancer

10:17

aren't really about estrogenic

10:19

activity at all, but due

10:22

to other mechanisms.

10:25

Either way, there doesn't seem to be

10:27

any reason to avoid soy for fear

10:29

of its harmful effects on estrogen-sensitive

10:31

tissues.

10:33

And either way, edamame

10:36

makes a great snack. This

10:38

is Monica Rheinegel, the Nutrition Diva. If

10:41

you have a nutrition question you'd like me to answer, you

10:43

can email me at nutrition at quickanddirtytips.com.

10:47

You can also leave me a voicemail at 443-961-6206.

10:52

If your question is more on the subject of habits

10:55

and behavior change, you might wanna check

10:57

out my other podcast, The Change Academy,

11:00

where we talk about how to convert our good intentions

11:03

into sustainable, healthy habits. You'll

11:05

find that wherever you listen.

11:08

Nutrition Diva is a Quick and Dirty Tips podcast,

11:11

and it's supported by our director of podcasts,

11:13

Adam Sessel, audio engineer, Nathan

11:15

Semes, Davina Tomlin, who runs our marketing

11:18

and publicity, Holly Hutchings, our

11:20

digital operations specialist, and Morten

11:22

Christensen, our podcast operations and

11:25

advertising specialist. Thank you so

11:27

much for listening. I'll see you

11:28

next week.

11:35

I can't keep this in anymore. I can't even

11:37

believe I'm saying this, to be honest. You

11:39

know you can tell me anything. I'm

11:42

capital VFD42 capital Z lowercase

11:44

m underscore lowercase p capital L reverse slash

11:46

apostrophe lowercase rs. I know how

11:48

you feel. Just between us, I'm

11:51

underscore comma dash underscore dollar sign capital

11:53

G lowercase w comma forward slash dash dash

11:55

reverse slash. No way. I

11:58

am so glad we had this conversation.

11:59

I know, me too. Turn on

12:02

total privacy with end-to-end encryption. WhatsApp.

12:05

Message privately.