what are the concerns with soy based products?

This is going to be a question that you'll get a very wide variety of answers to, most likely, because the answer to it is largely governed by opinion and backed my favorable research, with disregard for unfavorable research. It's hard to give an unbiased opinion either way since research is fairly divided, but overall comes out supportive of eating soy products.

There are concerns about naturally occurring estrogens in soy, but to be honest with you, you would have to consume very large amounts of soy (I am talking about the obscene amounts that they force-feed rats in experiments, something that very few if any humans can parallel) to experience some of the extreme side effects many mention.

There are estrogens that are far more dangerous (the phytoestrogens in soy occur naturally within the plant) - there are unnatural, man-made endocrine disruptors in tupperware, plastic wrap, and other plastic substances. Plastic lining that is on the inside of canned fruits and vegetables leeches chemicals into the food at a slow rate. Heating things in plastic containers releases endocrine disruptors into food.

Some people are scared enough of this research to even discontinue use of all plastic bowls, cups, spoons, etc. If you have ever heard about dangerous toxins in plastic infant bottles (which are released into the formula through heating and wear of the bottle) - that's the same sort of stuff that is in a large majority of plastics that are domestically used.

Others are scared stiff of the estrogen in soy, which they say is a dangerous endocrine disruptor. However, if you do your research you will find that soy protein is very beneficial for the heart (many doctors even encourage 25 grams of soy protein a day for a heart-healthy diet, as opposed to relying on meat for your protein).

Soy products are in just about everything - soy lecithin is used in everything from crackers to cookies and a great majority of commercial meat in the US is raised on a soy-heavy diet because soy is cheap (as is corn).

I don't think it is dangerous in moderation. A few cups of soy milk a week will not wreck you. Fermented soy products like tempeh are especially good in my opinion.

In fact, in Japan (where women consume much more soy than here in the states), women's menopause is much easier on them and they often don't have to take the (oftentimes unhealthy) hormone replacement therapies that women here do to deal with the rapid hormonal changes in their bodies.

People in Asian countries have been consuming soy products for generations and they are some of the healthiest people on the planet. I've worked with a company in Yiwu, China and I can guarantee you that people there eat bean curd (tofu) and even raw soy (edamame) daily or more. My husband was a US Marine and had spent extensive amounts of time in Japan and traveled through China, Korea and Vietnam and soy consumption is high everywhere.

If you have any concerns you can always switch to rice milk or almond milk instead, which are both tasty. There are rice-based ice cream substitutes and rice-based cheese substitute, and walnut-based cheese substitute. People with soy allergies manage to be vegan or vegetarian too, so there's many products out there that they can rely on too.

No don't listen too silly morons. Soy doesn't make you gay, it will not cause you too grow breasts or any of that. It is a myth used to scare people away from being vegetarian and vegan probably invented by someone involved with the dairy or meat industry. It might contain some estrogen but you would probably have to eat lethal amounts for it too effect you. It is like smoking hemp to get high it won't happen you would probably end up getting really sick before you ever got high. Your brother could be gay and good for him though you don't just turn gay unlike what some right wing religious nuts think it is not a disease it is something you have from when you were born and some don't realize it till later in life. It is not at all caused by soy and no amount of online nutzos are going to prove it. Anyone with a blog can write something. I could say that Phil Ochs was 50 feet tall and played in a death metal band (he was a radical folk singer of an average height) and someone could go too it and say it was true and spread it around and make sites about it but that doesn't make it true. "For the record, I have nothing against homosexuals . I do have gay and lesbian friends." Too address that statement it sounds like you do have some issues you sound like a lot of the racists I encounter "I am not racist I have a black friend". I am not saying you are homophobic or anything I don't know you but a statement like that is off putting and in the future you should choose your words more carefully.

Soy allergies are fairly common. That's about it. But dairy allergies are probably even more common. I don't know if anyone is allergic to diaries (sorry, just joking around).

There is a fad about claiming soy causes men to have too much female hormone and grow large breasts, or that it will damage the thyroid gland. No one has been able to prove either of these claims are true.

Then the quacks started to say "only unfermented soy causes these problems to happen" and "people in Asia don't have those problems because they only use soy as a condiment" but this hasn't been proven either.

There are people out there who claim that it causes hormone disruption and thyroid problems. Nothing is proven, and the suspicions only apply to unfermented products made from genetically modified soybeans. Most soy product manufacturers use non-GMO (non-genetically modified) beans anyway. Either way, I think it's bunk. Asians have been using soy and soy products for centuries and are some of the healthiest people on the planet.

Nothing, soy has the natural female hormone in it, but not the female..its a plant based version sort of, if you know what I mean.

That is all, but your estrogen cant get higher from eating soy unless you eat soy products ALL day every day eating nothing but soy.

There is one rare form of breast cancer that becomes aggravated with increased soy consumption. Of all 8 forms of breast cancer, this is the rarest, least occuring form. Soy has a beneficial quality in combatting neoplasms or cancer in the other 7 forms of breast cancer.

As to date that is the only concrete peice of scientific research that has shown anything harmful with soy.

Well many people are allergic to it, and certain forms of it in large amounts like fake meats are very bad for you like any other processed food. And some reports have said there was an estrogen problem in it but only in large quantities, really anything in moderation is fine.

I have friends who are allergic to soy......that's all I'm aware of.