Soy and estrogen myth

Here is a copy of another soy myth I responded to:

 "Maybe the estrogen in soy is why girls are reaching puberty at an earlier age."

It is not from the use of soy. This problem has been going on for a long time, and long before soy became popular. The earlier puberty in both boys and girls has actually been linked to the actual estrogens in beef, chicken, and cow's milk.  60 Minutes did a great story on this exact topic several decades ago. They reported primarily from

Puerto Rico where girls as young as 8 were developing breasts, as well as many of the boys in the area. The source? The massive levels of estrogens in the chickens they were eating.

Estrogens are given to farm animals to fatten them up and increase milk production. When we consume these meats and dairy we ingest these hormones. These estrogens in turn cause problems such as cancers, weight gain, thyroid dysfunction, blood clots, etc. These are all well known side effects of estrogens.

Phytoestrogens on the other hand DO NOT increase the estrogen load on the body. These estrogen-like substances are actually 200 to 400 times weaker than the estrogens produced by our bodies. They lock up estrogen receptors, which in turn protects us from the dangerous effects of our own estrogens and the much stronger pharmaceutical and environmental estrogens.

Flavonoids and other similar compounds, such as DIM found in broccoli, have similar effects. If you really want to avoid estrogens and estrogen-like substances you need to stop eating, stop drinking, avoid plastics and rubber-like compounds and avoid any environmental exposure. You are being exposed to more estrogen activity each day from these other sources than you can get from eating 10 pounds of soy each day.