Everyone is different and different types of soy can have diffferent amounts of phytoestrogens. If once your cold is gone you still experience the night sweats and have ruled out temperature and perimenopause, then maybe back off some soy products and see. I have been consuming large amounts of soy products for almost 15 years of being a vegetarian and never had night sweats or any other problems. My husband drinks a lot of soy milk and is still oozing testosterone!

Negatively affect fertility? That is brand new to me.

However, I personally limit soy as much as possible (without eating an entirely whole foods diet it can be hard to eliminate ... soy something seems to be in almost everything).

My reasons are twofold: 1) I found, when I was drinking soy milk and eating lots of soy products (mock tuna etc), my PMS was worse and my skin wasn't as clear/soft as usual 2) I have limited the two things linked to thyroid disfunction to see if I can, on my own, get my TSH values back to normal (so cruciferous veggies and soy). It does seem to be working.

BUT as merigayle said, it is likely very individual. Soy, like many things, has been linked to both positive and negative outcomes. If you eat soy products and feel good, why not? (Though I do think moderation is always safest.)

quote:<HR>Originally posted by savannahbanana:
A good friend of mine drank a lot of soy milk during her pregnancy and her son has extreme peanut allergies. There had been a theory a while back that there was some correlation. <HR>

Um, that makes no sense in terms of what allergies are and how they are caused. However, soy is a common allergen, as are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, and tree nuts. (Soy however is LESS allergenic than cow's milk.) It's not such a leap for someone to suggest that a lactating mother avoid eating those foods in order to avoid indirectly feeding her infant those foods - early exposure to common allergens increases risk of becoming allergic to those things. (I'm including a link here that talks about how ingesting common allergens during pregnancy doesn't seem to have any connection to creating allergic kids, though.) That's part of the reason why both cow's milk formula and soy milk formula should be strongly discouraged along with discouraging early solid food introduction. Breastfeeding is best for avoiding allergic kids.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/111/6/S2/1662[/URL" target="_blank">

Anyway, it seems like unless you have a very specific malady, it's almost impossible to say how certain foods will affect you right in this minute. People can eat a diet high in saturated fats and refined carbohydrates and feel fantastic on it for years until they suddenly have a stroke. We usually don't feel these things until years have passed. Sometimes I eat a ton of soy, sometimes I eat practically none. I've never noticed any connection to the way I feel. Likewise, I used to eat plenty of meat, haven't eaten any in years, again, absolutely no change in how I feel. Two categories of foods affect my day-to-day health-feeling: milk makes me ill (lactose intolerance) and fruits and veggies make me feel more energetic and less gastro-intestinally distressed.

I eat a lot of soy... probably more than I should. On average, I'd say I eat two soy products a day (like soy-based veggie burgers or faux chickn) plus whatever soy is in my regular foods.

I have not noticed a correlation between soy consumption and my overall levels of energy (or skin), but I am thinking about cutting back just to see what happens.