Soy

Hello,
what dietary supplements would you recommend to a female vegetarian to reduce the prolactin levels in her blood? High levels have been identified in her laboratory tests. She has a very irregular and prolonged menstrual cycle, which she would like to regulate. So far, I have recommended chaste tree, maca, and ginkgo biloba. Is this the right choice? Is it advantageous to combine them, or should they be taken separately? And does it make sense to try to influence the condition by increasing soy in the diet, for example?
Thank you very much for your response.

Hormonal regulation disorders are difficult to address through dietary adjustments and supplementation. There are situations where they can be significantly helpful, but without determining the root cause of the problem, the likelihood of success is greatly reduced. Increased production of prolactin can also be caused by stress or fasting. It often happens with vegetarians who do not monitor the nutritional values of their diet that they find themselves in a significant energy deficit, which could be related.

However, consider this a theoretical speculation because increased prolactin levels are also influenced by contraceptives, psychopharmaceuticals, antihypertensives, and occur with pituitary dysfunction or certain tumor diseases.

Increased consumption of soy boosts the intake of phytoestrogens - if the condition were due to increased estrogen production, a higher intake of phytoestrogens could act anti-estrogenically. On the other hand, it is generally true that vegetarians have a relatively sufficient intake of phytoestrogens compared to the omnivorous population. Supplementation with vitex makes sense; you won't harm with the other mentioned supplements.

Hello,

From when would you include soy and soy products in a child's diet? I am particularly interested in fermented soy products.

Thank you for your response.

Soy is a specific food primarily for two reasons:

1. It contains a high proportion of antinutritional substances, including phytoestrogens.
2. It is processed into a wide range of derivatives, a significant portion of which falls into the category of heavily industrially processed products.

The combination of these factors is particularly unfortunate for children, prompting the question of whether it is more important to address the quality of products or the frequency of consumption. The advantage of fermented products is the significantly lower proportion of antinutritional substances; on the other hand, most of them contain higher amounts of salt. If you opt for unsalted products (such as flour, tofu, beverages, yogurts...), treat soy as you would other legumes (i.e., include it in your shopping cart as one of the legume representatives from one year of age). In the case of salted foods (flavored tempeh, miso, sauces...), be cautious - although they are qualitatively interesting, increasing salt intake is health-risky for children.

Hello,

I came across a discussion suggesting that most proteins for BCAAs are made from soy. In the lesson, you write that soy is not very rich in BCAAs, but its advantage is its low price. I was under the impression that most BCAAs are derived from milk, specifically whey. What is your perspective, as someone who has worked or is working with dietary supplements?

Thank you very much.

BCAAs are synthesized for commercial purposes, which refers to obtaining amino acids through the fermentation activity of certain microorganisms on organic substrates, where soy is the most common. It is not the only way to produce these amino acids, but manufacturers in the vast majority of cases choose methods that are the most financially advantageous, which is quite logical. Therefore, the concentration of the desired components in the original raw material is not important; what matters is the "yield."

Hello,

I have a question regarding proteins in green foods. I have never heard that green plants have complete proteins. I have always read this only about soy and basically hemp. Do they really have a complete spectrum?

Thanks.

The complete amino acid profile of proteins from plant sources is attributed to soy, quinoa, hemp seeds, chlorella, and spirulina. Aside from algae, which form a significant part of the green food category, the amino acid spectrum in sprout products theoretically approaches full completeness. However, it is necessary to differentiate at which growth phase the plant is processed by its manufacturer - from the beginning of the germination process through the different developmental phases of the plant, there is a fairly dynamic change not only in the proportion of macronutrients (including the percentage of protein content) but also in the quantity of individual amino acids. Unlike algae, where the composition and structure of macronutrients are relatively constant, the protein profile of other green foods is variable - but in general, we can assert that the category of green foods provides complete proteins.