We hear it constantly from carnivores, raw foodies, and Doctors alike; “Don’t eat soy.”  And yet, we always wonder how (organic) soy products can be nearly as harmful as processed, cancer-ridden, anti-biotic hosting slabs of carcass on a sandwich.  Therefore, we keep eating it (in moderation) regardless of the constant bad press poor ole edamame gets.

In their newsletter today, Meatout Mondays reports;

Researchers report that soy is a safe and healthy food. A study published in the August issue of the American Institute for Cancer Research dispels the confusion over stories claiming that tofu and soy milk can lead to breast growth or reduced testosterone levels.

The recent analysis combined results from several studies, revealing that men who consumed the most soy foods were 26% less likely to develop prostate cancer. Another study found that hysterectomy rates were lowest among women whose diets contained the most soy foods, suggesting that soy reduces the risk of fibroids and endometriosis.

Additionally, a study of men in their 50s and 60s found those who ate soy foods twice a day for three months showed no change in testosterone levels but a 14% drop in levels of PSA (an indicator of prostate growth used in screening for prostate cancer). Yet another study of children fed soy protein formula for more than six months showed no harmful effects.

Soy beans contain high amounts of protein, including all essential amino acids (the only such vegetable source). Soy beans are also a rich source of calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, B-vitamins, omega 3 fatty acids and fiber.

A recent article on FoodConsumer.com tell us;

Asian populations tend to show a much greater drop in prostate cancer risk with soy foods than Western populations.

Fermentation may change how easily our bodies absorb isoflavones, which means that fermented soy foods (miso, tempeh, natto) may have a different effect on prostate cancer risk than non-fermented soy foods (soy milk, tofu and edamame). Some studies suggest that the effect of soy foods may depend on its interaction with other food compounds; the lycopene from tomatoes is one such interaction under study.

While we wait for more answers about the possible protection from soy, men can feel safe eating one or two servings of soy foods daily. Soy foods are nutritious, low in saturated fat, and men have consumed them for generations without harm. However, until we know more about isoflavone safety, research does not show benefit or safety of consuming large amounts of isoflavone supplements in hopes of achieving protection.

Still not comfortable enough to throw some marinated tofu on the grill?  How about a Doctor’s opinion? One of America’s most respected Doctors, Dr. Andrew Weil tell us;

I’m aware of Internet paranoia on the subject of soy and the contention that only fermented soy is safe to consume. That is simply not true. Some of the best forms of soy - edamame, tofu and soy nuts - are unfermented and are much more likely to help you than hurt you.

Claims that unfermented soy foods (such as tofu and soy milk) contain toxins that block the action of enzymes needed to digest protein, and that these toxins cause pancreatic enlargement, cancer and stunted growth in animals are misleading. While soy does contain substances (trypsin inhibitors) that may adversely affect the pancreas in animals, there’s no solid evidence that they cause similar problems in humans. Furthermore, trypsin inhibitors are found in all of the vegetables of the cabbage family as well as in beans other than soy.

Other concerns about soy safety focus on the following issues:

* Breast cancer: Here, the idea is that high levels of isoflavones, active ingredients in soy that behave like estrogen in the body, may increase the risk of breast cancer. While high levels of isolated isoflavones may do so, it appears that the total mix of weak plant estrogens in soy protects the body’s estrogen receptors. This protection may reduce the effects of excess estrogen exposure from such external sources as meats and dairy products from hormone-treated cows as well as artificial chemicals and industrial pollutants that act as foreign estrogens. Japanese women whose diets contain a lot of soy foods have only one-fifth the rate of breast cancer that occurs among Western women.

* Thyroid Problems: Excess consumption of soy can affect thyroid function, but only if you have a thyroid disorder to begin with or if you’re not getting enough iodine in your diet (a rare deficiency in the United States). If you take medication for hypothyroidism (low thyroid), and are concerned about the effect of eating two daily servings of soy, have your thyroid levels checked regularly.

* Mineral absorption: The idea that substances in soy called phytates block absorption of essential minerals is also in circulation, but there is no scientific data suggesting that soy consumption leads to mineral deficiency in humans.

All told, based on the evidence to date, I see no reason to worry about eating soy foods, whether fermented or not. I still recommend consuming one to two servings of soy per day, an amount equivalent to one cup of soy milk, or one half cup of tofu, soy protein (tempeh) or soy nuts.

So stop your whining… and enjoy your dang soy.  It’s fabulous protein and (when organic) better for you than any dead animal or animal bi-product you could consume, by far.

During the summer we’re spending more time outdoors, and cooking on the grill.  There’s no reason why we can’t cook up a lovely dessert out there, too!  Grilling fresh seasonal fruit brings out the sweetness, the sugars in the fruit caramelize over the fire into pure yumminess!  Make sure the grill is well-oiled so the fruit doesn’t stick.  It takes just a few minutes and your fruit dessert is ready to eat.  Top it off with a scoop of ice cream and you’ve got a fancy and delicious presentation!  Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Honeydew or cantaloupe melon.  Cut into long spears so you get pretty grill marks.  Brush with a little lemon juice and ginger.
• Pears.  Cut in half and scoop out the core.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar.  Serve with chopped hazelnuts.
• Bananas.  Make your own version of bananas foster with a little brown sugar, and optional banana liquor!
• Apricots and Nectarines.  These fruits taste great brushed with a little agave and served with sugar cookies.
• Pineapple skewers.  Perfect just on their own, a tropical treat!
• Fruit Kabobs!  Skewer your favorite fruits together and grill.  Colorful and tasty, too!

Guest Blogger Lissa Coffey is a Lifestyle Designer/Relationship Expert/Broadcast Journalist, and author of”What’s Your Dosha, Baby? Discover the Vedic Way for Compatibility in Life and Love”  Check out her free quiz to determine your dosha.

We’ve polled you gals, and we know many of you are Hot Mommy’s or Mommys-to-be, so we’d like to welcome “Upper East Side Mom” Diana Nikkhah Harfouche who will be blogging with us regularly.  Gorgeous Diana is a journalist living on New York City’s Upper East Side, trying her best to navigate this thing that is “both a terrifying black hole and life’s greatest pleasure: Motherhood.” She is mom to adorable Jean-Luc, whose “future unfortunately will probably include a few angst-ridden years on a therapist’s couch, thanks to her.”  What we love most about our very own “Upper East Side Mom” is she won’t feed you any bullshit.  She will be frank with you (childbirth hurts) and honest (stop stuffing your face with cookies) and you will appreciate every glorious, sisterly truth.  Here she debunks some of the biggest myths;

I can, and will, write at length about all the things friends, doctors, family members and strangers on the street tell you about pregnancy, childbirth and newborns. But here’s a quick and dirty list of just a few of the totally false things I was told when I embarked on this journey of motherhood. Don’t worry, I will expand on all of these in due time…

• You have to eat a lot when you get pregnant.

Um, no. Yes you should be healthy and not eat a lot of junk, but there’s no reason to suddenly double your caloric intake or pig out. You will naturally be hungrier, so just continue eating good food and don’t drive yourself crazy. But yes, drink lots of water.

• Sleep now because once baby arrives you won’t get any rest.

And yes in the first trimester you will be narcoleptic and fall asleep everywhere (at your desk at work, in yoga, at home at 5pm for the night), but in the 3rd trimester forget it, you will simply be too uncomfortable to sleep well. You will have bouts of insomnia, your whole sleep schedule will be upended. And yes, you will want to strangle every person that chimes in with that dumb sleep now advice. Yeah, I get it, but it’s not going to happen, so shut up already.

• If you get an epidural, you won’t feel any pain.

Yes, I’m a scaredy cat, and thought my labor would go something  like this: feel a few pangs or pre-labor, nothing serious, call my Hubby and mosey over to the hospital where I get my pain relief, then coast through until the little one pops out. No one bothered to burst this bubble of fiction for me, so I was very pissed, to put it mildly, when not only did I have to wait an hour to be admitted and receive the injection into my spine (all the while feeling serious contractions that made me cry, moan like a wild animal, and almost made my husband pass out from witnessing all this), but then when I was fully dilated and had to start pushing, the epidural stopped working.  No, there was nothing wrong with the drip, no technical difficulty, but they TURNED IT OFF!!! Other moms have told me the same happened to them, something about needing you to be able to feel everything in order to effectively push the baby out. This makes sense I guess, but couldn’t they have warned me?!

• Getting induced is no big deal.

Mark my words - make sure you get an epidural BEFORE the pitocin, trust me.

• Breastfeeding is a natural thing that will come easily to new moms.

While it would be great to think so, and there is some element of truth to this, um, no. NO. Unfortunately breastfeeding isn’t this super easy process by which women just coax the newborn toward the nipple and voilà, he suckles seamlessly. There are techniques, different positions, right ways and wrong ways to do it. And while my son had no problem feeding right after birth in the hospital bed, it was afterward that he decided to make tartare of my nipples. So by all means, go to a support group or a lactation consultant if you have difficulty.

• The first 3 months are hard, but by then baby will be sleeping through the night and you’ll be fine.

Um, again no. Try the first 6 months are super tough, and THEN your baby MAY sleep through the night, and no promises with that. And can we talk about the definition of “sleep through the night?” To me this should mean that I sleep through the night, not just baby. So when people tell me their babies are sleeping through but by this they mean only 5 hours from 8p to 1am, I say hell no. When your kid falls asleep and doesn’t wake up until 6am or after, THAT, my friends, is sleeping through the night.

Diana & Jean-Luc

Can’t wait til Diana’s next GirlieGirl Army blog?  Visit her regularly at www.UESmom.com.

Don’t have $100 laying around for a facial?  Join the club.  No worries, a recessionistas best friend is at-home spa treatments which are sometimes even more relaxing than shlepping to the spa and hearing the women gossip in Russian.

How, you ask?  Easy.

1. Turn down the lights.  Light scented candles. Turn on music that relaxes you.  If that’s Metallica, good for you.  If that’s Yanni… jump out the window.  Turn off ALL electronic equipment.  This is your time, darling face.
2. Either using a portable facial steamer OR a pot full of boiling water, steam your face with a towel over your head for 5-10 minutes.
3. Exfoliate: Mix 1/2 cup dry oatmeal, 3 tablespoons almond oil, 1 tablespoon finely ground sea salt (or cornmeal for more sensitive skin) and 1/4 teaspoon fresh mint with enough warm water to form a paste.  Rub on face in circular motion gently, then rinse. OR Mix three tablespoons olive oil and one tablespoon of kosher salt.  Apply.  Always avoid eye area when exfoliating.
4. Put on a mask.  You can make your own with our recipes below, or ask for samples at your favorite beauty store to save cash (samples are a broke bitches BFF.)  Apply mask.  Lay on your bed for 20 minutes, or (better yet) in the tub.  Rinse.  Ogle your gorgeous, glowing self.

MASK RECIPES:

For Bride Glow
This is a traditional Indian mask used for a bride, seven days in advance of marriage.
Mix a half a cup of besan (gram flour), 2 teaspoons of turmeric powder, 2 teaspoons of sandal wood powder, 2 teaspoons of almond oil, add some water to make a paste.

For Dry Skin
Mix an avocado, 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil with a cup of agave.  Blend and apply.

For Oily Faces
Grab equal parts tomato juice, cucumber juice and lemon juice; add a tablespoon of calamine powder or gram flour to mixture. Combine and pop that sucker on.

Combo Skin
Mix 1½ teaspoon of green clay (French is preferred), ½ teaspoon of kaolin clay, 1½ tablespoon aloe vera gel, 1 tablespoon rosewater, and (last, but not least) 2 drops rose essential oil.  Mix and apply.  You can refridgerate and save this one to use anytime!

Quick Fix
Mix rolled oats or instant oatmeal with a couple tablespoons of any oil you have around (olive, grapeseed, avocado, hazlenut… whatevers clever).  Apply.