Thyroid Soy
- Soy causes me incapacitating pain that starts at the base of my neck and moves across my shoulders and down to my elbows and wrists. At the same time the pain moves up my neck and into my head and also causes an achy, choking feeling in my throat. My whole upper body aches and I have to lay down until it stops, sometimes 24 hours.
- —Guest SusieQ
Mary-Rose
- I have autoimmune underactive thyroid, am on levothyroxine 75 g per day. I drink half a pint of soy milk (unsweetened) per day and have no ill effects. I keep my weight down and feel well. Thinking back over the years (I am 75 now) I have in the past eaten many soy loaves for an inexpensive and nourishing meal. I only gave up eating these when the genetically modified soy came in. I am wondering now if this has been the cause of my thyroid condition.
- —Guest Sally Garforth
Yes, Limit Soy Intake!
- I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism at the age of 22...35 years ago. I became a vegetarian at the age of 23 and ate lots of soy products daily. Though soy didn't cause my hypothyroidism, I firmly believe it contributed to years of never feeling well even on T4 medication. I took 200 mcg of Synthroid for years even though my TSH was negligible and docs kept trying to lower the dosage. My body wasn't converting T4 to T3. I don't know if this was due partly to soy, but I rarely eat any soy products now except for tempeh and miso in small amounts and an occasional soy burger. I found an excellent doc in 2000 who prescribed T3 and told me to dramatically limit my soy intake. I now take 125 mcg of Levothroid along with T3. I feel much better! This isn't scientific, but I do believe I was consuming too much soy and as part of my wellness plan, I now eat very little soy.
- —Guest ctl
vegetarian -> hypothyroid?
- In an anecdotal report like this I certainly can’t prove, or really even mean to suggest causality, but here is my story. I am a very healthy 61 year old who was diagnosed with Hashimoto’s 6 years ago. Prior to that I had been vegetarian for about 10 years eating lots of soy, including tofu and miso, but also a large amount of processed soy like soy hotdogs. It took several doctor visits before a thyroid problem was considered. From Medscape: “In North America, acquired impairment of thyroid function affects about 2% of adult women and about 0.1-0.2% of adult men.” So in a healthy 55 year old, this condition is rare. Was all that soy a factor?
- —Guest Jim P
Soy Reactions
- I am lactose intolerant, so I began using soy milk. Then I started bleeding between my periods. A uterine ultrasound proved to be inconclusive; there appeared to be a mass of some sort. I did my research, and realized that soy might be the problem. I stopped with the soy, but had to continue the scans. It took almost two years for the soy reaction to fully resolve.
- —Guest crimsoncat
Wow, my poor neck
- A few years ago I knew I wasn't feeling well and I was getting worse by the day. I kept reading about soy and how good it was for menopause symptoms, which is what I thought I was experiencing. I bought some soy milk and drank a glass a day for about four days and boom, I had two goiters on the side of my neck that I was not aware of and they just popped out. I knew then, for sure, I had something more than menopause symptoms. I don't think soy is good for thyroid patients....I went to the doctor and I was diagnosed with Hashimoto's. I had to have my thyroid and the goiters removed. It was a heck of a way to find out that I had thyroid problems but I am grateful. Do I drink or eat soy -no way!!!
- —Guest V. Brock
Soy & side effect on your thyroids/meds
- I see absolutely no difference at all - I say use soy products in moderation and you can't go wrong. It is healthy food.
- —Guest Bonnie Lirette
Soy DOES affect the thyroid!
- A few years ago, I started on a soy protein kick with Revival shakes for breakfast. They were chocolate and delicious and I lost about five pounds which I hadn't been able to do. So I started adding more soy - chocolate soynuts, soy "noodles," crispy soy bars, soy milk. One day I when I looked in the mirror I noticed a bulge on the side of my neck. I got scared and worried so I went to a doctor and he said I had a cyst on my thyroid. He drained quite a bit out of it. I didn't make the connection to soy for a couple of months, until I started reading about it on the Internet. I stopped eating all the soy, had the cyst drained one more time and it never returned again. There was also a change in my TSH from when I was eating a lot of soy and when I stopped, and I was having some "female problems." They stopped after stopping soy. Now I'm taking Armour Thyroid. I tried to tell a lady at work about what the soy milk can do but she doesn't believe me, because her doctor said it was OK.
- —marihughe
Soy and Thyroid
- My Synthroid (taken for Graves' dsease) medication information pamphlet that I receive from my pharmacist each time I refill clearly states that soy interferes with medication absorption and my research on the internet with the manufacturer of my medication confirms this. I have begun to read food labels and I do not understand why soy, soybean oil, and soy lecithin have been added to almost every prepackaged, convenience food there is. This is just one more reason I have decided to "eat as close to the tree" as possible. I have also begun eliminating all soy that I can from my diet and am only two weeks into the change. Since anything that affects the thyroid takes about six weeks to accomplish, good or bad, I will be back with an update. As for me, I am soy free.
- —Guest Deborah Harris
Thoughts from China
- I come from China, where every day we eat so much food which contains soy, such as soy mik, tofu, soy porridge, even soy oil. Now, I have hyperthyroidism. Other Chinese eat the same food, why are they healthy? I'd like to give thanks to Mary Shomon, you offer so much information about hyperthyroidism.
- —Guest lee
Yes! They were related to me
- I developed hypothyroidism after my first child was born. A few years later I tried soy instead of milk because it agreed with me more. Then the issues started. Tired, swollen neck, felt like I was choking. I was pretty much ignored for nearly six months. When I finally convinced my doctor to do tests, I was diagnosed with four cancerous tumors on my thyroid. I have been cancer free for two years now after my thyroidectomy. I do not eat any soy now because it seems to mess with my Synthroid levels.
- —Guest Wendy
Soy has had no effect on my thyroid
- I'm a 48 year old physician who drinks soy milk 2 or 3 times a week in a protein shake and I eat soy beans (steamed edamame), but this has had no adverse affect on my TSH which remains stable between 0.5 and 1. (I only started using the soy a few months ago, just because it lasts longer in the refrigerator than milk and comes in flavors.) My dose of Synthroid is 150 mcg which is appropriate for my weight of 190 pounds and has been very stable for the last year since I brought it up to that dose and have watched my TSH drop from around 6 to below 1.0 where I feel the best. I don't think the soy in moderation has any interference with my thyroid replacement therapy, so maybe the key is moderation in all things! Also, it may be more of a problem with women because soy contains progesterone-like hormones which tend to make women bloat, like they feel the week before the menstrual cycle.
- —andyburrell
Soy Dangerous to Thyroid
- I bought into the soy hype many years ago, adding tofu, miso and soy milk to my daily diet. My endocrinologist was shocked to see my TSH at such a high level (somewhere around 50?) and prescribed a higher dose of Synthroid. Luckily I had just started reading Mary Shomon's outstanding website and became aware of soy's toxic effects on the thyroid. I immediately stopped all soy intake and continued on the lower dose of Synthroid. Within about 3-4 months my TSH was back to normal. I did inform my endo about the soy info, but he was unaware of any ill effect it could cause. Ever since then I have taken charge of my own health issues, with the help of valuable internet sources like this one, Medscape, etc. Thanks again, Mary! You're the greatest!
- —Guest navarrogca
Thoughts on Soy
- I consumed huge amounts of soy at the same time I was going cold turkey from Premarin/Provera, and several months later I was dxed with Hashi's. A year before I was under extreme stress, maybe the combination of all these three things threw me over the line, I don't know for sure. My doc said he had a patient who was taking soy extract pills and his thyroid went crazy. The doc quizzed him as to taking supplements, etc. and sure enough, soy extract was the culprit. He quit taking soy and in a couple of months his thyroid levels were back to normal. So...in this case soy was a problem.
- —Guest sanang
I Think Soy is Harmful
- Soy was a disaster for me too. I started taking black cohosh supplements for hot flashes...there were soy isoflavones in the tablets. I had gotten permission from my endocrinologist to take it. After about 3 months, I could not believe the weight I had gained and became so hypothyroid. I was having such bad hot flashes due to my thyroid trying to crank up to support me. I will never, ever, put soy in my mouth again. If you offered me a million dollars to try it again I would say... keep it.
- —Guest SANDRA H
