Comments on: Effects of Soy Protein and Soybean Isoflavones on Thyroid Function in Healthy Adults and Hypothyroid Patients – Research Review

By: Sara Graham

Sara Graham — Thu, 04 Nov 2010 14:44:08 +0000

I am hypothyroid and on Armour. I do take kelp too. I got my thyroid levels correct first and then I did a few iodine patch tests to see if it picked up a deficiency. It showed I was deficient, so I started the kelp. Many people do fine with a little bit of iodine, then there are others that don’t. I started out by taking powdered kelp, but the problem with powdered kelp is that there are no dosages. Plus, iodine deficiency is a symptom, not a cause. There are other, more pressing headaches associated with hypothyroidism. Metabolism, for starters, which can play hell with your immune system, and also your mental health. If you look at a nurses’ guide, you’ll see that thyroid issues can lead to some chemical difficulties in brain/body day-to-day functioning.

By: karin Kaichen

karin Kaichen — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 22:08:29 +0000

Thank you for a clearly outlined and defined article. I have been a vegetarian for more than half my life and a vegan for about 20 years.
i consume soy, vegies, oats, grains , fruit , seeds, almonds and occasionally whey protein for strenuous intense workout.. I am 58 and most people guess I am in early 40′s even 30′s now I do realize there are genes involved..I feel absolutely wonderful pretty much everyday..I rarely get sick..I rarely catch the annual cold. and am chronic disease free. I don’t feel good if I have consumed too many martini’s or wine..I indulge in dark chocalate and eat pretzels ..I work in the natural product industry and often encounter the same pro and cons..its usually the medical community against these foods..moderation in all aspects of life is essential, as you noted..
Thank you.

By: Paula Bueme

Paula Bueme — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 03:16:10 +0000

I had a low thyroid and was on synthroid. I went to a naturopathic M.D. and took herbs/supplements to get off synthroid-which worked. Several months later, I have a high thyroid by symptoms of my left eye enlargement, higher pulse rate, increased anxiety, heat intolerance.
I stopped all supplements as there is b vitamins and selenium, and I bought soy milk that provides 46 mg of isoflavones per serving, and am avoiding meat protein to decrease tyrosine.
I read that lemonbalm tea will also help decrease my thyroid. Broccoli and veggies in this category can also help with my issue as I understand it…

How much of these and for how long to correct overt symptoms of my left eye (and other symptoms)?
I plan to get labs in the next week or two, but know that they will be “way off’ if I get them done now. What do you recommend?

By: michelle maclachlan wallace

michelle maclachlan wallace — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 06:02:54 +0000

thanks Lyle for your balanced view. I have hypothyroidism, female, post menopausal @ 50yrs. I had been following a diet for several months no sugar, no wheat, no dairy, to correct gut flora alongside supplementation , and to improve over all health. I can’t explain this but my thyroid function improved, medication has been moderately reduced and I have been drinking soy milk as a substitute for dairy. This research changes things I will be back to dairy or maybe rice milk. Prior to this dietary program I have never had so much soy.
M. .

By: admin

admin — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:32:22 +0000

Issy

The topic wasn’t mentioned at all in the review and a quick search on Medline turns up the reason why: absolutely nobody seems to have looked at the topic. I can’t begin to speculate if the effects of soy would be beneficial with something like Graves.

Lyle

By: Issy

Issy — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 12:49:23 +0000

This is interesting, but I had hoped that the study would look at all pre-existing thyroid problems – hyperthyroidism in particular, since this is on the rise in both humans and animals (cats).

Would the use of soy in individuals with Grave’s disease help to slow down the conversion of T4 to T3, thereby decreasing the most troublesome symptoms such as increased heart-rate and high systolic BP?

By: Spacediver

Spacediver — Mon, 25 May 2009 19:57:02 +0000

Lyle, I’ve been supplementing with interactive nutrition’s complete vegetarian protein for a couple years now. I also get protein from fish, beef, milk, etc. and I have a whey and casein based weight gainer (mammoth 2500) which I use heavily.

I have 5 scoops of the vegetarian protein a day – that’s about 130 grams worth. It’s hard to say how much of it comes from soy protein vs. other components, but would you say that’s a bit on the excessive side in terms of isoflavones?

Here is the link for the product in question – notice that isolated soy protein is one of the first ingredients, suggesting a larger relative proportion.

http://interactivenutrition.com/products/completevegetarian.php

thanks for the review.

By: Sasha

Sasha — Fri, 22 May 2009 17:51:46 +0000

Thank you for balanced posts of moderation and reasonable guidelines.