You Are What You Eat: The soy saga

Each week, we'll be offering original recipes and unique ways to use those Super Foods that pack nutritional power. After all, you are what you eat -- make it count!

Consuming 25 grams of soy daily may be just the thing for reducing your risk of osteoporosis, menopausal symptoms, Alzheimer's, certain cancers, and kidney disease, according to Psychology Today. Enough to convince you that soy, from the soybean plant native to southeast Asia and part of the legume family, belongs on the Super Food list? Need more proof? How about this?

In 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) supported the claim that eating the protein as part of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet may reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol. Yep, soy is a pretty powerful package, some say. It's nature's only plant source with all eight essential amino acids, reports Runner's World, and it's a denser form of protein than any other bean. Low in cholesterol and saturated fat and high in fiber, calcium, magnesium, and vitamin B6, it's a staple of healthy Asian diets for a reason. An important protein source for vegetarians and key ingredient in many infant formulas, soy might also have a downside.

"We've learned that soy isn't a miracle food after all," says sports nutritionist Lisa Dorfman, author of The Vegetarian Sports Nutrition Guide. "Even so, soy foods remain a healthy alternative to high fat proteins."

And so goes the soy dilemma. What exactly do we do then with such conflicting information? I mean the American Heart Association reversed its position on soy in 2006 and says the bean really has little effect on lowering LDL cholesterol (the bad kind). Insufficient data has also been turned up regarding the above-mentioned osteoporosis-menopause-Alzheimer's-cancer-kidney disease benefits. The American Dietetic Association even reported in 2005 that high soy consumption might actually increase breast cancer risk.

It seems there's just as much bad news about soy as there is good.

"There's no need to be alarmed," says David Schardt, senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. "In the same way that we got overly excited about the potentials, we don't want to be overly cautious."

Soy is what it is -- it's food, not medicine, says Schardt. If eaten as part of a healthy diet, we won't put ourselves at risk and we might just improve our health. Women in Asia have lower rates of breast cancer, after all, and Asian men have lower rates of prostate cancer than their Western counterparts. Something must be right with soy then. Maybe it's portion control that counts.

"Some Americans consume soy in excess through supplements, bars, and shakes," says sports dietitian Nancy Clark, R.D. who advises Americans ditch soy extras altogether and focus on eating one or two servings of soy foods per day.

Good sources of soy protein include soy milk, soy flour, textured soy protein, tofu, tempeh, miso, and soy burgers. Good recipes for incorporating soy into your healthy diet are here and here.