Does Soy Cause Brain Atrophy in Men?

[Hogeye]

Occasionally I read articles about weird, or more accurately surprising, science. What do you think of this?
New Findings May Support Soy-Dementia in Men
The Trouble With Tofu: Soy and the Brain

[Dardedar]

DAR
Very interesting.

[Doug]

Occasionally I read articles about weird, or more accurately surprising, science. What do you think of this?
New Findings May Support Soy-Dementia in Men
The Trouble With Tofu: Soy and the Brain

DOUG
I don't buy it. For one really good reason:
[from prevention.com]


"In eastern Asia, where soy foods are staples, rates of dementia in old age are lower than they are in Europe, where soy foods are uncommon."

So much more study needs to be done to establish any cause and effect relationship.

[Hogeye]

"In eastern Asia, where soy foods are staples, rates of dementia in old age are lower than they are in Europe, where soy foods are uncommon."

I don't believe that soy foods are uncommon in Europe. I think Europe is much like the US, where approximately 80% of prepared foods have soy additives. (When you read "protein additive" on a label, that's usually soy.)

Furthermore, the processing of soy probably makes a huge difference - fermented/processed soy eaten in Asia is very different from non or improperly processed soy additives in American foods.

Also, the question arises: How do male vs female rates of dementia compare in East Asia?

I agree that there may be something else going on. E.g. Maybe milk-drinking (which westerners do more than east asians) combined with tofu-eating causes brain atrophe. Maybe east asians are eating something (e.g. a lot of fish) which counteracts the soy.

Obviously, a lot more study is needed to reach any solid conclusions. Meanwhile, I'll try to avoid soy products.