Testimonies

"I discovered your site a handful of years ago when I was doing research for a paper for school. What I found horrified me and was exactly what I needed to learn. I was working on a fitness degree and had taken nutrition classes as part of the studies. Up to that point I had been skeptical about soy products, but on the advise of the nutrition teacher I added soy in large quantities into my diet. I did not understand why suddenly I felt like I had no energy and was having multiple problems associated with hypothyroidism. I had previously had a bought or two of hypothyroidism that had suddenly appeared and then disappeared before. It was only after reading through your very informative website that I understand that in each case I had caused the hypothyroid incidences by purposely or inadvertently eating foods high in soy products. As I looked back at previous incidences of hypothyroidism they coincided with periods of eating large quantities of 'food bars" o! r other items that I now understand contain soy. Removing the soy products from my diet have greatly reduced the symptoms and increased my health. In working with fitness clients I now warn them that they may be countering their weight loss and health efforts by using soy products. I especially warn any client that has been diagnosed with hypothyroidism."

"Yes, I was fed on soy formulas as an infant, and I have been a vegetarian for 40 years. For 30 years, I have had soy products as a source of protein, thinking that I was doing the right thing. Now I have severe hypothyroidism, and the clinical picuture is not yet complete. I have more tests to take. I have battled a weight problem for ten years, and I now know why. I am angry about this soy deception!"

"I was recently diagnosed with papillary thyroid cancer. I was otherwise very healthy and live healthy (never smoked, no alcohol, excercise frequently, low stress). I'm 35 and have been a vegetarian for 25 years. I always eaten lots of soy, but increased my intake significanlty in the last 2 years because of incresed physical activity (to ensure I received adequate protien). 5 years ago, my doctor noticed that my thyroid was enlarged, but functioning normally. Now it has grown larger and a cancerous tumor was found. My preliminary research leads me to believe that soy was the cause of the thyroid enlargement and the subsequent cancer."

"Hi, I am 34 years old and have been eating soy every day several times a day for 8 months. My periods are extreamly [sic] messed up now and I am in a 54 day cycle. I would like more info and the connections of soy and my cycle as well as symptoms of a thyroid condition. Thank you."

"I have always been a relatively healthy woman. Now 48, I've been taking "Revival" products for about 3 years and recently began eating soynuts. Although my TSH levels were normal, my sonogram found multiple goiters which I need to see an endocrinologist about. After reading many testimonials about soy effects, I've decided to completely stop consuming products with soy. I hope I will not need surgery."

"My son recently had his thyroid removed at the age of 33 with a diagnosis of Follicular Cancer. He was fed soy formula as an infant and still uses soy milk on his cereal. He recently had a head CT scan for a medical reason and an incidental finding was that his brain is undersized. He has normal to above normal intelligence. I read on your website that this is related to soy as well. I was a very nutritionally aware mother and I am shocked to find that he may have been harmed by soy formula. I thought I was doing what was best because he cried and had intestinal discomfort on milk."

"I am a young 68yr old English woman who now has hypothyroidism and alopecia from taking soya products. After being taken off HRT I got urethritis, vaginal dryness and thrush. My GP prescribed Estriol cream and suggested that eating soya would help redress the oestrogen deficiency. For several months I put about 5oz of Soya milk on my cereals. I hated the taste so when I saw an advert for Soya Isoflavone capsules I thought them a good alternative. I took the recommended dose which I now calculate contained 36mg Daidzein and 9mg Genistein per day and other isoflavones. I REGRET THAT I DID NOT SEEK MY GP’S ADVICE. The advertising is so convincing that it never occurred to me to question the products' safety. After a few weeks of taking the capsules I experienced nausea just like in pregnancy but thought I had a tummy bug which did not respond light diet or starving but eventually went. A month later I started with insomnia which was followed by fatigue, ‘brain fog’ and depression which seemed to link to the lack of sleep. Over the following weeks I began to feel really ill but could see no medical reason to seek help. Then, after about three months of taking the capsules my hair began to come out. We were preparing to go on a camping holiday to the south of France so I did not want to make too much fuss and spoil everything. My condition deteriorated and I consulted a doctor in France who did a blood test and found the readings normal and gave me a session of hypnotherapy for the depression but it did not occur to me to tell her about the soya isoflavones. When we came home a month later I was rapidly balding and in a terrible state of depression remembering abuse from my childhood that mercifully I had forgotten. My GP immediately saw that I was not suffering from a nervous condition and started a series of blood tests, which indicated autoimmune disease and hypothyroidism. Our consultant dermatologist diagnosed alopecia totalis. It took about four months to lose all the hair on my scalp, my eyelashes, eyebrows, facial hair and some of my pubic hair and this was a most traumatic experience. By chance, whilst waiting for our son at the physiotherapists’ I read an article in a magazine warning of the side effects of soya products. I told my GP and we started to look at the symptoms from a different perspective. It is now five weeks since I stopped taking the capsules and my facial hair, eyebrows and pubic hair are slowly growing. There is not much activity in my scalp so far. Thank goodness for a wig. My thyroxine level has stabilised and my low white blood cell count (neutrophiles) is slightly increased. I have lost the dreadful depression and am sleeping better but my energy level is still erratic. My health problems actually started when I drank the soya milk. I had a strange experience of acute nausea and hyperventilation with a blood pressure of 200, which resulted in drugs for HBp and 25 mcg Levothyroxine daily for hypothyroidism the increased intake of soya isoflavones in the capsules simply made matters worse. I am now taking 75 mcg of Levothyroxine daily but the last blood test showed that thyroxine level in the blood is normal. I do not know whether I will regain all the hair that I have lost or whether my thyroid function will ever return to normal I only know that Soya products are dangerous and should be banned."

"I am a 27 year old female. Was a semi-vegetarian during my teen years. Then went back to eating meat (even red meat) from the age of 21-26. Then I went back to cutting all meat except fish in my diet. All was fine, I've never had any symptoms of hypothyroidism in my life. Recently, I went to the ER for really bad gastrointestinitis. I had never been so sick in my life, and I couldn't seem to get better either. I was even doing Reiki on myself everyday and I had nausea, girgling, and diarrhea all day long for over 10 days! They found that my TSH level was at 5.8, so they told me the news. I never thought I'd end up with a thyroid problem on top of an adrenal one! My endocrinologist came to see me in the ER, and told me not to worry about it, sometimes the thyroid gets weak when you're sick, plus you've been heavily steroided for some time. So we left it at that. Then 2 weeks ago, I decided to have a whole slew of hormonal tests done because I'm moving soon and would like my new doctor to have recent results. Well, my TSH had jumped to 8.34 and T4 down to 13 in just 4 weeks! I knew something was wrong, really wrong, so I started freaking out, upset that I couldn't find out what was causing these abnormal test results. In the mean time, I didn't realize that I had been suffering from signs of "subclinical hypothyroidism" for a few weeks prior to being sick. I've been feeling really really lethargic (after sleeping 10hrs /day), weak, irritable, heart beating harder than usual (palpitating), cold hands and feet (always), body temperature of 96.7 all the time, and difficulty concentrating (foggy head, can't remember what I was doing if interrupted), nausea, gas, light dizziness or vertigo if I turn my head too fast or look at too many things too fast (bookstore, etc...), waking up in the middle of the night hungry (for no reason), and a desire to cry about everything when I know I have no reason to cry and I'm in good spirits, just consumed by an overwhelming feeling of discomfort inside. Of course I refused to have to take more pills than I had to, so I began doing research on hypothyroidism, and found some articles about soy. I denied that it could be the cause at first. This was like 2 weeks ago, today I decided to research it some more and your site came out of the blue! I began to read, and read, and read all the testimonies. People from all over...just like me! I looked back at what I've been doing differently and it came to me... I decided to go completely vegan in August of 2004! I've been eating soy everything everyday since then. I thought my lethargy and weakness was due to my job dissatisfaction! No one ever thought it could of been the soy! So thank you, as of today I will cut out all soy products from my diet and go back to having my whey protein shakes, egg whites, kidney beans, lentils, etc. I will stay a vegetarian and will not go back to eating fish (by choice) . I'm so glad I've found you before too much damage was done! It's only been a few months, you've helped me catch it in time..."

"I want to contribute to your soy testimonial section. I have been a vegetarian for 9 and a half years and for the last 5 years I have been avoiding soy and canola/rapeseed as much as I possibly can. I have never felt better about myself. I get mood swings (depression, irritability) every time I eat soy or canola/rapeseed. I have a very sure feeling that soy and canola causes them. Why? Because I get those unpleasant mood swings every time I eat them! Don't tell me they (soy and canola/rapeseed) are are good for me! I know that they are not!"

"I would like to add my story to the other testimonials, it is a little different than most. I am a 31 year old female and have always been healthy and fit. Last year, I thought I needed more protein (I suppose hearing all of the Atkins hype) and since I am not much of a meat eater, I started eating soy protein bars, such as Luna, and 'meatless' burgers. After only two weeks, I fell ill. In fact I've never felt so bad in my life. I was completely exhausted, mentally foggy, and felt like I couldn't breathe. Just walking up the stairs made my heart race. I went to the doctor, who tested everything....and all was fine except for my bloodwork, which showed hypothyroid. I had never in my life had any of the symptoms of hypothyroid, and there is no history of it in my family. The doctor asked me to go the following week for another, more detailed blood test to determine the dosage of the thyroid medication that he intended to put me on. Well, that night I went online and started researching hypothyroidism, and to my surprise I found several articles like this website...telling of the dangers of soy and the effects it can have on the thyroid. Of course, I tossed out all of the soy stuff and within a few days I felt 100% better. And when I went back several days later for the second blood test, guess what? Thyroid function was completely normal. I truly believe that the soy products are what caused the problem. I no longer eat soy products and I've been fine. It's too much of a coincidence that the one time I ate soy products was the one time I got so sick. I feel lucky that I found out about soy right away, before any permanent damage could be done. I'm not sure why it affected me so strongly and so quickly. Please keep up the good work on this site...it disturbs me that everyone thinks soy is wonderful, and that so few know of the dangers."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! There are really people out there, who care about all this. The good news is my wife has been off of soy for 4 months now, and her goitre is gone. She feels much better and has more energy, and is more emotionally stable. . My tinnitis was also accompanied by a sudden allergy to wheat, corn, soy - in fact it can now be activated just by eating. I was told to use flax oil to suppress the allergic reaction to food. Now I am stopping using flax because I have found it can have some of the same effects as soy. This all came upon me like an avalanche so it difficult to dig my way out. . I hope my message also will validate somebody else with the same problem."

"My daughter, who is now 31, was breast fed for a year and then put on soy formula by our doctor. She has had symptoms of thyroid disease since adolescence, but doctors could never find it by blood sample. Last year, she was finally diagnosed with Hashimotos by a holistic physician but the treatment has not really relieved her. She experiences depression, has gained weight that is not characteristic for her, is miserable much of the time. She has seen many holistic doctors, tried many diets and is very discouraged. At present she is taking 3 gr.. of Nature Thyroid and an adrenal supplement plus many supplements for lowered immune system."

"I have been dieting with Jenny Craig for the past 3 months. I also am being treated for depression & hypothyroidism. Recently, due to "funny feelings" I investigated the soy content of this food & found that most of their foods have some to much soy. I have been satisfied with my weight loss (17 lbs thus far) & the ease with which the food is available & planned, but am uncertain about the effect the quantities in these foods may be having on my "ailments". I don't know if soy is the main culprit or I may be contributing to my problems by ingesting soy products in Jenny Craig meals.

I recently had a major depression episode which followed a sinus infection & antibiotic treatment. The whole event lasted over 1 week culminating in 2 days in bed with crying episodes almost daily over the 2 weeks.

I'm not certain what to do because I do want to continue to lose weight, but am frightened by the information I have accumulated."

"Hello, Thank you for this web site. I just read almost all of the testimonials and found them riveting to say the least. One female listed symptoms and I found myself nodding my head in disbelief. I have been on Atkins for three months and have been increasing my soy consumption hand over fist. I am a true athlete and teach classes 5 days a week. In this last month I have felt very unwell. I was as of an hour ago eating two Atkins bars a day, an Atkins shake, an Atkins bag of chips, and Todds bagels. Wow I could not even add up the total perhaps 80 grams of soy? Now its over! I feel that the risk is real and the negative side affects are because of the Soy. I only wish I read this a month ago. I am truly freaked and will consume no more Soy ever."

"I am a 48 year old female. I had an appointment yesterday with an endocrinologist who diagnosed several nodules in my thyroid after I received an ultrasound and her clinical examination. I was given a blood test and will undergo a biopsy of the nodules next week. She is suspecting Hoshimoto's disease. I am doing research to understand this and learned of the danger of soy. This really connects to my past year experiences. I was not feeling well and was gaining weight so I consulted a nutritionist. She suggested a diet for me that was very "loaded" with soy in many forms, especially in the products she suggested that I purchase from her. I had never used soy before this but began to consume it in all areas. I wasn't sure I was feeling as good as I wanted to but since I was losing weight and reassured by her that the soy was so healthy I have continued to keep it in my diet. I have had extreme fatigue haunt me along with constant respiratory infections, night sweats and heart palpitations. I have been told this is periomenopause for me. After reading the information about how soy can be harmful, I can see an incredibly clear correlation to my health status now and my consumption of soy. Wow! "

"I'm fortunate to have discovered the site before onset of serious thyroid disorder.

I'm a 19-year-old female college student suffering from what I believe are the effects of high soy consumption. Though soy was absent from my diet before entering college, I began supplementing my diet with convenient soy foods like Luna bars (sometimes consuming three per day), edamame, tofu, and soy protien powder, to ensure adequate protein intake. Last spring 2003 I added protein powder to my diet, as well as omega-3 flax oil supplements which has similar phytochemical effects as soy, and suffered terribly-- from weight gain despite regular exercise, water retention, amenorrhea, hair thinning, and a short attention span, memory problems, and difficulty concentrating on my studies. As a consequence of the weight gain, I relapsed into bulimia, which I had recovered from two years ago.

This summer while abroad in Asia, excessive soy was eliminated from my diet (it's indeed the case that Asians themselves consume soy in moderation, if ever, and almost NEVER near the 25g/day recommended by our own U.S. FDA). After three months with little soy, my weight returned to normal, my hair began to recover its fullness and grew at nearly 1 inch per month (I'd gotten it cut and colored before I left, so can track rate of hair growth by my hair color line), I noticed too that my skin was clearing and my nails were growing at quite a high rate had grown especially strong. I revived my science studies too, and regained my concentration. My menstrual cycle resumed for two months.

After returning to college in this fall, I again turned to soy to supplement my diet (I hadn't made the connection between soy consumption and my health) with even more force than before--I loaded my freezer with bags of edamame, Boca burgers, my pantry with Luna bars, flax seeds, and Genisoy products, my refrigerator with tofu, high-lignan flaxseed oil. I've been keeping a diet journal, so I can reference exactly how much soy protein I've consumed this past semester-- an average of 50g soy protein per day. My once-full hair began shedding in October after one month of high-soy, I had my last period the first week of October, and have now skipped nearly three cycles. I've noticed too that I'm extremely sensitive to salt--just a few hundred milligrams of sodium can cause my skin to retain water. I don't smoke, haven't had alcohol at all this semester (though I could handle it just fine in the summer), and exercise 4 times per week. My symptoms after just 3 months of high-soy intake:

-hair loss, slow hair growth
-brittle nails, slow growth
-lethargy, and averaging 9 1/2 hours of sleep per night!
-water retention
-memory problems (grades much lower than expected)

This past year has been frustrating. I'm frightened by the studies on cognitive deficit that results from soy consumption-- I hope that I can revive myself and recover fully by eliminating soy."

"Thanks for your work. My intake of soy was extremely high for about 4 years prior to discovering info on dangers of soy, i.e. 3 meals/day, soy powders in smoothies and isoflavones in female vitamins. Within a short period of time after stopping intake of all meat and increasing my soy intake, I began to have severe and abrupt menopausal symptoms at 41. Subsequent tests showed no estradiol and premature menopause - complete and sudden shut-down of ovarian function. Also, I was diagnosed with thyroid nodules, autoimmune thyroiditis, and am now dealing with a goitre. In addition, I have noticed brain changes which are subtle and difficult to quantify. My health was perfect up until this time and I am convinced it is all attributable to long-term, excessive soy consumption. I have all medical test documentation and am still dealing with the nightmare."

"My Grandparents were Seventh Day Adventists / Vegetarians. My grandfather was employed at Loma Linda Foods factory for most of his adult life which primarily processed soy based vegetarian foods, i.e., Veggie burgers. Not only do I have a thyroid problem (diagnosed at 17... I'm now 52) all of my cousins have thyroid problems as well."

"I had Soy Formula as an infant. I have been Hypothyroid for several years. I am 40 years old. The first doctor to diagnose my condition said that I had probably been Hypo since at least puberty and that other medical conditions I had been unsuccessfully treated for in the past including depression and anemia could all be traced back to my Thyroid. I have been successfully on Synthroid for more than 4 years now, however, I had an episode last year that landed me in a mental health hospital for more than a week. Just prior to my admission to this hospital I had my TSH levels tested as part of my yearly exam and the nurse who reads the results reversed my prescription. Instead of increasing my dosage of Synthroid to 112mcg, she decreased it in half to .05mcg. Within 4 weeks I was a nervous wreck. I had night sweats, heart palpitations, high heart rate, thoughts of dying and death, and just plain wanting to be off this roller coaster of life. In a desperate attempt to help me my doctor called my husband and suggested I go to a mental health hospital. This was a Friday…by Tuesday of the following week the Psychiatrists had run several labs tests and asked my husband to come to the hospital with all of my medication bottles. He sat down with us and said, “You basically have no Thyroid function at all. Who changed your meds and why?” I explained what had transpired 4 weeks prior. He called my physician and that is when they realized the doctor had ordered an increase in medication and the nurse called in the script at half the amount. Within 2 days of having the medication given at the proper level, I could sleep, not more night terrors or sweats, my appetite returned and I felt like a new person.

I have recently had similar symptoms pop up out of the blue. I went to my doctor and she said my thyroid levels were fine. She said I may be premenopausal and than I should increase my protein intake. Well, I did. With SOYMILK and supplements. I had manic episodes again, but they got worse. I didn’t sleep for days and couldn’t eat because my nerves were so torn apart. I have taken myself off all soy products and I am now checking every label of the foods I eat to see if I have been sabotaging my own thyroid meds by trying to increase my protein with energy bars and curb my “supposed” premenopausal symptoms with soy supplements.

I am very grateful for the information you have provided and I think someone should get on the bandwagon and tell people about the dangers of Soy products. We knew smoking was dangerous, but we never knew the addictive properties of the cigarettes. Now we know after 30 years of arguing about it and the cigarette industry is being held accountable for their deceptions. Maybe if the Soy industry is threatened with the same legal ramifications they will try to better educate the public of the dangers of Soy and Thyroid patients."

" I'm a 31 year old Australian male - and after recently reading the information from your website relating soy to thyroid problems, I think there is a high chance that my soy consumption (2-4 litres/week used as alternative to cow's milk) over the last 5 or more years, has led to my hypothyroid condition (Hashimotos disease), discovered just this year. The thyroid anti-bodies were about 60 times higher than normal and of course TSH high and thyroxine low. I now have to take thyroxine tablets for the rest of my life, and this has brought the TSH and thyroxine levels back to normal."

"I can't believe this link. I am a dietitian and I didn't know the effects of soy on thyroid. I have been drinking 16 - 24 oz of soymilk per day for a few years. I am active and consume lots of iodized salt but little processed food. Lately I had switched to a course salt that was not iodized as stated on the label. After a thyroid sonogram, I was diagnosed with enlarged thyroid and multiple masses(nodules). I have had swallowing problems and neck tenderness for ~ 1 year. My appointment is in 8 weeks to see an endocrinologist. I plan to completely stop the soy; we'll see if the thyroid begins to shrink before the appointment. Thank you for providing this valuable information. I hope that I have time to turn back the clock on thyroid disease. My levels were normal."

"I was looking into hypothyroidism and came across info that led me to you. My 'story' really isn't about my thyroid, but about how my menstrual cycle was altered by eating roasted soybeans. You see, I'm allergic to peanuts, and a few years back, I thought I was in heaven when I discovered these soybeans. I must say I ate quite a few over a few-week period, and then I got two periods 14 days apart instead of the usual 25 or 26 days. I visited my General Practitioner, who is a pretty smart lady, and she figured that the soybeans had disrupted my cycles, due to the high levels of phytosterols in them. I was very disappointed that I couldn't eat soybeans as well as peanuts, and tried them again a few months later. The very same thing happened to my menstrual cycle again, and that convinced me that the soybeans were to blame. My cycle has always been very regular, so that's how I knew something was going on. Also, my breasts were extremely tender for weeks at a time after eating the soy, which supported the hormone disruption theory. It's funny, because I've always wondered about the effects on the general population of eating soy products. I didn't think I could be the only one affected. Kinda makes me wonder about how I got hypothyroidism after a few years on a meatless diet, but not able to eat nuts or whole grains (allergic to those too!). So, I discovered tofu, which I like, and ate quite a bit of. Now I eat animal protein and take Synthroid, and feel better than I have in years."

"CHECK IT OUT. I AM 37 AND WAS HAVING HOT FLASHES. SO I TRIED SOY. MY HAIR WAS FALLING OUT TERRIBLE FROM THE ROOT WHEN BRUSHING, I WAS TAKING 100MG A DAY. I DON'T MEAN A LITTLE IT WAS HORRIBLE. I BEGAN FEELING FATIGUED AND HAVE NOT WORKED OUT IN A WHILE, I WAS WORKING OUT EVERYDAY AND RUNNING TWO MILES A DAY. NOW I HAVE GAINED TEN POUNDS AND I FEEL TERRIBLE, I ALSO NOTICED MY MOOD SWINGS. I HAVE BEEN OFF SOY FOR A COUPLE OF WEEKS SO I AM JUST WAITING, THE HAIR THING WAS REALLY SCARY. GREAT WEB SITE , AT LEAST I AM NOT ALONE"

"I converted to a vegetarian diet starting in October of 2001. For the next year I relied heavily on soy products, particularly protein powders (Spiru-tein) mixed with soy milk (Silk,plain). I tended to consume this in fairly large quantities (10-20 ounces) on a daily basis. I also consumed regular quantities of tofu, tempeh, and other commercial soy products on the market. Approximately in October of 2002, I went to the doctor suffering from lethargy (I was falling asleep at work) and figured that maybe I had an iron deficiency or some other type of malnutrition. My blood was tested and my TSH was 24 (quite high, hypothyroid indicator, most hypothyroid sufferers are in the range of 2 to 5). The only family history I have is a sister with Hashimoto disease (thyroid destroyed by strep) so that was unrelated. There were no other factors in my life that would have caused this (little did I know...).

I immediately went on Levoxyl (very small dose, but immediately starting feeling better). An additional blood test a month later prompted an increase of the dosage. A few simple web searches later, and I started reading up on some of the evidence; much of it I simply ignored. It was not what I wanted to hear. It scared me enough, though, that I stopped consuming soy milk in any meaningful quantity. I continued to have frequent servings of tofu and other products containing soy protein isolate, however. After that, I got irresponsible, and simply refilled my Levoxyl prescription without getting retested. That is until last week, when I noticed my heart started skipping beats for the duration of 24 hours. Without any other seemingly relevant factors (i'm a 33 year old male, in decent condition, exercise on a daily basis), they did another TSH test. This time it was 36! I've increased my dosage of Levoxyl and am feeling good again. After reading the evidence presented by you and others, I am convinced that my consumption of soy products has contributed to my condition, and I am committed to ending my dependence on soy. Finding another protein source will be hard, but I now see it as necessary. I can only hope others don't suffer my fate, as it would seem that the soy industry couldn't care less if they do. Before sending this email, I just read some of the 'Soy Testimonies' and I am in complete shock, they say exactly the same thing I just wrote. Could this mystery in my life truly be solved?"

"I am 32 years old and was diagnosed with hypothyroidism three weeks ago. I began consuming soy in earnest about four years ago in response to consumer information claiming that soy may help to decrease one's chances of developing breast cancer, heart disease and more. My mother died of breast cancer when she was 39 years old and I have been diligent in eating an extremely healthy diet geared towards maintaining optimal health and disease prevention. During the past four years I incorporated numerous food products in my diet that were primarily soy based. Also, I regularly consumed a large amount of soy protein powder that I would add to protein shakes and to food during cooking and baking. During the past four years I, on average consumed at least 40 - 60 mgs of soy a day. I now have a goitre and hypothyroidism and severe anaemia. Based on the information I have read about soy subsequent to this diagnosis, I have a great concern that the soy may indeed have played a large part in generating this thyroid disorder, if not be the direct cause."

"After reading testimonials on your website, I think I have solved a two year long health mystery. My story is just like everyone else's, and my "regular" (former) doctor attributed everything to old age....(I don't consider 53 to be old). I switched to an alternative doctor and the first thing he told me was he does not recommend soy products. In the past two years I went from an energetic, happy-go-lucky, healthy person. I figured that I needed more protein, and meat wasn't good for you, so I switched to soy: soy protein shakes, tofutti ice cream, soy milk, Luna bars (and others), soy cereal, cookies, you name it....if it was soy, I ate it. I began to get run down...had severe leg cramps, muscle twitching, tinnitis, joint aches and stiffness, gastrointestinal problems, and worst of all, hair loss. I got colds and bronchitis one after another. I couldn't concentrate long enough to exercise, and was terribly depressed...I felt like I was in a hole that I couldn't get out of. My doctor said my thyroid and hormones fell into the "normal" range....however, what's normal for one person isn't necessarily normal for another. She offered no explanation, other than I was getting "old", and that's the way things are.

God bless my new doctor, and your website, and all the people who are telling their stories. I never in my life thought that soy could be bad for people, or that I had reactions to it. I am now on thyroid (naturally made) pills, and have been off soy (that I know of...it's hidden in a LOT of foods, with various different names) for two weeks. My muscles and joints don't hurt, I'm getting my "groove" back, and am exercising. I feel as though I've been lost somewhere....almost to the point where I felt mentally ill. My bronchitis is gone, and so is my tinnitus, eyelid twitching, and leg cramps. I am anxious about my hair...and I know that hair growth can take a long time. That's all I need to get back now. If anyone has any more knowledge on thyroid and hair, please submit your story. This seems to be an epidemic, and the public is being greatly fooled by people touting the advantages of consuming soy. I am going back to eating real, whole, natural foods like our elders ate. My "miracle" food, turned into a nutritional nightmare. "

"I have several benign nodules on my thyroid. I am going thru several tests to determine what is wrong with my thyroid. I was on a soy based diet called "Herbal Life". "

"I am a vegan and for years have eaten soy products, and over the years have slowly found myself being more and more fatigued and not feeling well. I was an opera singer, and singing is almost impossible for me now because of my fatigue. It was only two years ago that the doctors diagnosed me properly as having hypothyroidism. In September of 1999 I started losing my hair, in huge amounts. None of the doctors knew why and dismissed my concerns that maybe it might be caused from the soy protein I was eating (I ate a lot of it, including these "Luna" protein bars, at least 3 a day). Through my own research I found out about the connection between soy and thyroid problems (along with cruciferous vegetables). It wasn't until 4 months later that the doctors agreed to give me a thyroid test and, to their surprise - not mine, they found I was severely hypothyroid. They put me on Levoxyl thyroid medication which only made my hair fall out even more and made me feel worse. I took the medication for a year, and finally gave up and started doing my own research on what I can do for it holistically. I started taking some vitamin supplements and kelp and cut out soy and cruciferous vegetables for the most part, from my diet. It's helped some, but I still suffer from extreme fatigue and what feels like my thyroid is always swollen. I still can't sing much and that's the part that is hardest to deal with. I had the anti thyroid antibody test done and it was positive, but I'm not sure what that means. As of today, I'm trying to feel better by watching my diet, trying to exercise, which is difficult because of how tired I get, and taking my supplements. Since I'm a vegan, I can't take the animal derived thyroid medications, which I've heard work better for normalizing the thyroid than the Levoxyl synthetic drug does. I'm devastated by this in my life at this point, I'm only 47 years old, but I think all of it started at least 10 years ago when I mysteriously lost my voice and never quite got it back. In 1999 when I was diagnosed, prior to the month of September of that year, I had been eating a LOT of soy products, thinking that I needed the extra protein, because I was so tired all the time. I ate 3 Luna bars a day, each bar has 10 grams of soy protein in it, and after a month of doing that, that is when my hair started falling out. Thankfully most of my hair has grown back, but I still dread looking in the drain every time I take a shower for fear of how much hair is on the floor of the shower drain. I'm still not well, struggling with this every day. I'm trying to get back into singing again, and it's difficult and frustrating, because the fatigue in my body directly affects my throat and when my throat gets tired, the singing just doesn't work. Anyway, I thought you'd like to hear my story. I'd love any advice you can offer. I've been trying desperately to find a lecithin supplement here in the United States that isn't soy derived, but it doesn't exist. Any suggestions on that? Are there other lecithin supplements that aren't soy? Thank you for your informative website. I wish I had known about it years ago. I feel like I've lost a lot of myself and my life to this disease, that I won't ever get back."

"While being on a nutrition/exercise program, it was recommended that I increase my intake of protein, so I thought, what better way to do so, than take a Soy protein shake each day? I started taking Soy protein shakes, with added isoflavones, at least 4 times a day in order to meet my daily protein requirements. That was 14 weeks ago. In the beginning all was well, but I did notice a lagging tiredness that no amount of sleep could cure. As well, I noticed that my menstrual cycle was out of whack, and that I was starting my cycle one week earlier than usual, and having prolonged bleeding. I chalked this up to peri-menopause. Recently, however, within the past week, I have noticed dramatic changes in my health and well being. First with extreme tiredness, which just wouldn't go away, then on to headaches, which sometimes stay with me day or night. Then I began to notice the following symptoms, and they seemed to correlate with my protein shake intake, usually within 20 mins of consuming a shake,each and every time.

>1.Increased heart rate/heart palpitations
>2.Diminished mental capacity
>3.Nausea
>4.Gastro intestinal upset/problems
>5.Prolonged Menstual bleeding
>6.Headaches
>7.Dizziness/Vertigo
| >8.Increasing tiredness and lack of energy

Needless to say, I have examined my diet, and nothing unusual has occurred, nor has my diet changed in any way, and so I have come to the conclusion, after much research, that Soy has to be the at the center of my problems. As of today, I will no longer use Soy or Soy based products in any capacity. I have learned that hard way, that natural isn't always the best.

After an ultrasound, which was ordered because my doctor noted that my thyroid gland was palpable, I was diagnosed with an "early multinodular goiter". I will have a blood test next week. I have no other symptoms associated with thyroid problems. I have started to research goiters and found your website asking to be contacted regarding concerns about thyroid problems and soy. I have never had thyroid problems before. I became a vegetarian in the mid 1990s and have consumed soy quite a lot since that time (soy milk, various forms of tofu, boca burgers, tofu-pups, soy ice-creams etc. etc.).

I was just diagnosed with a high TSH count and high blood sugar. This is shocking to me as I have my Masters in Kinesiology, Health and Nutrition and am extremely healthy. For years I've consumed a well balanced diet but each year my consumption of soy-based products increases. First, I slowly weaned out all red meat then poultry, next fish, finally egg whites. I now am vegan but I try to get protein from beans and nuts as well. The problem is, that even though I eat beans and nuts, I still eat a ton of soy (soy protein powder on my oatmeal with soy milk and a soy Luna bar for breakfast, a box of Mori Nu Light tofu and some grilled tofu on my daily garden variety salad for lunch often with another soy-based protein bar or a Silk soy yogurt for "dessert", often as a late night snack I'll have Soy O's cereal with once again, soy milk! I thought I was just being a healthy vegan when my doctor diagnosed my thyroid problem. It's going to be a challenge to cut out such a huge portion of my vegan protein but after reading your extensive testimonial list, I am hopeful that drastically reducing my soy consumption will reverse my recent thyroid problem before I have to start taking meds.

Five months after discontinuing using the product, I am still recovering from the ill effects of Revival Soy. I know that they always say "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" but I was not getting any answers from my medical doctor, so I sought out help on my own. For about 5 years I had problems with menstrual irregularities, heavy bleeding, mood swings, weight gain, low sex drive, some hot flashes, etc. and yes, I am a 43 year old woman. Physicians seem to brush our concerns aside by saying "that's just how it is; you're getting older-just live with it." Revival's claims sounded like a wonderful answer to my exact symptoms-and, I believed, healthy and harmless. I have always been conscious of my diet and have enjoyed tofu occasionally as a substitute for meat. So the idea of a supplement made of soy seemed ideal, as I had the impression that it was a very healthy food product. Their product gives a very concentrated amount of soy in a single serving, which they say is necessary to achieve positive results. I had never heard anything about the negative side. I can't stress enough how wrong I was in believing the advertising hype. A little of something may be ok, but more is definitely not better in the case of soy. I had been tested for low thyroid several years ago, as they suspected that may be the cause of my problems, but the numbers came up normal. So I just suffered on in silence, hoping it would get better before it got worse. It didn't. So in August 2001, I decided to try Revival after reading all their information on their website. As they recommended, I drank one shake a day. Usually for breakfast mixed with water or skim milk, fruit or yogurt. This worked well for me, as I tend to need an energy boost in the morning. For the first two or three months I felt fairly good-lost a few pounds, my skin seemed clearer, hair growth on my face and legs seemed finer, I had more energy and mood swings seemed lessened. Just what I was looking for, I thought. Then in early December, I noticed I was losing more hair than normal and that my hair seemed limp and dry. I just attributed it to the change in season, as where I live tends to be very cold and dry in winter. As the month went by, my energy level seemed to decline rapidly and I was losing more and more hair every day. I also noticed that my body hair appeared to stop growing altogether. I became increasingly fatigued, spacey, moody and some days just felt unable to get out of bed. My body temp was at times below 97 degrees, so I constantly felt cold. In a matter of two weeks I gained about 6 pounds without increasing my food intake. It was if my entire system was rapidly declining. I had times where I would sit and stare, unable to get up to do anything. At times, I was so fatigued, I felt like I was dying. I could see my scalp in places where I normally had very thick hair. It was coming out by the handfuls in the shower every day. I developed tinnitus in my left ear (which > five months later is still there, though it has lessened somewhat.) Also I noticed aches and pains in my joints and muscle twitches, especially at night. Fortunately, my friend mentioned to me that soy could be problematic for people with thyroid dysfunction and possibly goitergenic, which I had never heard of. But since that was the only change I had made in my diet, I decided to stop using it immediately. That was at the end of December. After reading info on hypothyroidism, I believed that I had many of the symptoms and since it was a seemingly common problem I felt sure that they would simply say my thyroid was the problem. I saw my doctor, who pronounced me completely healthy and said to take antidepressants. I tried to get an explanation for the hair loss and all the other symptoms, but she just brushed all that aside and said that depression sometimes causes strange physical symptoms. (Believe me I won't be seeing that doctor again!) Because my thyroid numbers were normal, I was not taken seriously. I saw two more doctors, who were also baffled by my symptoms. They mentioned Chronic Fatigue syndrome at one point. Fearing that I would continue to fail in health, I began my search in earnest for anything to explain what was happening to me. Led by the stories others told about thyroid-like symptoms related to soy products, I began searching for information about harmful effects of soy and as you can guess, I have found a lot of information- and I feel that it is necessary for this information to be shared. I am amazed at how many people could be harmed while the industry just keeps pushing soy as a wonder food. I made copies of everything I found and sent it to the doctors, hoping they would look at what happened to me from a new perspective, and perhaps recognize the same thing if it came along again. No one should have to feel that awful or be discounted by people you are asking for help. After about six weeks from quitting the soy shakes, my energy gradually started to return. Each day I had more hours of time in which I could get some normal tasks done, which is important as I have a young child and work full time outside the home. My mind began to clear, and though I'm still losing some hair and have developed very weak fingernails, I can see new hair growth starting. It took several months to get the soy out of my system, and now five months later, I am feeling almost normal, though my left ear still rings and I have pain in one shoulder joint. I contacted the Revival company and pushed them to refund my money, which after some protest they did. I also wrote to the owner of the company and personally told him what happened to me. Maybe if more cases are recognized, they will reconsider their claims and see that for some this can be extremely harmful. Or at least provide a warning on their product. I am grateful that my health has returned, I know my hair will grow back and I'm definately a wiser consumer after this experience. Hopefully there was not permanent damage to my health and of course I can't reclaim the time lost from work and most importantly, my life. I share this information with anyone I know who might be at risk from soy products, and I have become very aware of food ingredients, especially in the foods I feed my child."

"I am a fairly healthy 36 year old female who runs about 20 miles per week and walks about 5 miles per week and does light toning & cardio exercises. I fell in love with these "Zone" bars which contain 16 grams of soy protein per bar, approx. 32 mg. of soy isoflavones. I began eating these things as meal replacements, etc...but have recently gotten down to where I only eat 1 bar daily, SOMETIMES 2. I was recently diagnosed hypothyroid. Ever since I went on the Synthroid, I have barely been able to run over a mile without experiencing dizziness and nausea. I was contributing all of my problems to the Synthroid and did some internet research on overdosage, etc...only to find that it's probably the soy that has caused my problems in the first place! I have had considerable hair thinning, trouble maintaining and losing weight, despite my "healthy" diet & exercise regimine. I am tired all the time and experience feelings of depression more than not. I have urinary urgency despite my constant Kegal exercising and the oxybutinin I take for spastic bladder. Today I quit both my Synthroid as well as the Zone bars - can't say that I feel any different yet, and don't expect to feel any different for quite some time. But can you tell me whether or not hypothyroidism can actually be reversed? My diet is 30% protein, 40% low glycemic carbs, and 30% fat."

"Thank you so much for your article that connects soy products to Thyroid, especially soy milk with Isoflavone powder. I am suffering from Hypothyroid for many years, and am taking medication to balance the hormone function. Recently I read an online article( promotion) for the Isoflavone product and the benefits women at Menopause can gain from taking it. I bought this product 3 months ago and started to take it daily. I took a blood test a few days ago to determine the level of my TCH. My physician called me today and told me to came immediately to his clinic since the level of my TCH increased dramatically. (from 5 to 11)."

" I am crying after reading everything on your website. I am a 30 yr old vegan (for 10 yrs now) and have a BS in Nutrition. I exercise 5 times a week, both weight training and cardio, eat extremely healthy (soy all day long!), no drugs, no drinking, no smoking, etc. A year ago I was rushed to the hospital with a heart rate of 250 bpm at rest. I have had palpitations ever since, but am not taking any drugs for it being that I have asthma and a very sensitive system. I have had allergies since I've been 22...but my allergic symptoms are now sounding more like symptoms of hyperthyroidism! Rapid heartrate, shortness of breath, irritability, forgetfulness, mood swings, palpitations, intolerance to heat, depression, weight gain, increase or decrease of appetite, etc. I am wondering if I have hyperthyroidism and if my HEALTHY diet is the reason why! I am VERY concerned about soy and why I have never heard of this, especially me...someone with a degree in nutrition!!!!"

"I have much soy products a day and I have hypothyroid. They can not control my thyroid and don't know why. The doctor up my synthroid to 137 and this week up to 150 because they say it is off. My joints are in pain, I am exhausted and feel awful. I am 48 years old and I mention to my doctor about an article I read about taking soy products but she never heard of it and said I don't think that will hurt you but kepts increasing my medication not knowing what is causing it. It has been normal for the past 7 years I have had synthroid. The last year and a half I have taken soy burgers, atkins bars and numerous soy products and have been having so much trouble since. I went to another doctor and the same thing. Soy is good for you. I am confused but they have no answers."

"I started ingesting more soy products about a year ago after attending a class given by a local church. My health has been deteriorating. My mind has not been able to focus and the doctor sent me a letter saying that my thyroid was "markedly low". I started taking a thyroid medication just this past Monday. I feel like I'm ready to die."

"I am a seventeen year old who will be turning eighteen next week, and celebrating my birthday by recieving nuclear radiation on my thyroid. This spring I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, and thus had my thyroid removed. This occurance boggled both my doctors and I. During this time period after the labectomy I have pursued many leads on why a healthy seventeen year old could get this disorder. I just recently became aware of the alleged correlation between soy and thyroid function. I have been a vegetarian since before I began puberty. Soy products have constituted a large part of my diet in my attempt to provide my body with adequete protien. I also spent most of my life drinking soy sauce ( I was a weird little kid). I would go through a few bottles a week. Your arcticle requests any information on persons who were fed soy formula and have encountered thyroid problems.My mother did not breast feed me, but used soy formula as an alternative. I am very interested in any furthur information in this study of the harmful effects of soy. I hope that your study may result in more public attention of this issue to potentially prevent occurances like the one which I have had to suffer."

"As a baby I was given soy to drink as I could not take milk or formula, as I was lactose intolerant. I was a very sickly child, and hospitalized and my mother brought me soy milk to drink in the hospital in place of regular formula. I was hospitalized 3-4 x by the time I was in the 3rd grade. It continued, variant medical conditions throughout my life. Tumors in my uterus, with surgery for an exploratory, then hysterectomy, then oopherectomy. Lump biopsy under my arm. Tumor in my thigh, removed once, then a second time. Unexplained breast discharge, physiological they say. I have had difficulty breathing while hiking and walking, and have undergone two stress tests reasantly. Have been instructed no hiking, no strenuous exercise until they can figure out what is going on. I have also had Thyroid cancer, a right lobectomy and isthmusectomy. Have been on thyroid medication ever since. I am very tired, get so tired that there are days, I can't do one more thing, can't say one more word. Just climb in bed. No matter if it is 6pm at night and the eveing is still young or not. Many days I am thankful I have been giving the chance to see one more day. But I must admit, I have many days of not feeling well. Fever like, always checking my temp, and at times run a low grade temperature. Many not feel good days as of late. I started a crusade for health, as I was tired of not feeling well. Part of why I began walking as a daily regimen, hiking mountains, eating lowfat meals that I have adapted from regular recipes, and watching my cholesterol. Was all about the health crusade. I read about soy, the health benefits, and figured it was a good thing to do as my health regimenl. My father-in-law introduced me to it on a trip to Maine in January. He told us it was suppose to be good for you. Help fight cancer. Not only did I have the thyroid cancer, but in November had skin cancer surgery. Every day I have consumed about 60 mg of isoflavones , about a cup and a half of soy milk on my wheat bran cereal with oat bran and banana. Since about January of this yr, 2001. My thyroid bloodwork, that is taken regularly began to come back abnormal. An ultrasound was done to look at my left lobe of my thyroid which was all I had left after my cancer surgery. They found a believed to be benign lymph node on my left lobe, but otherwise they say it was a normal looking thyroid ultrasound. Still, no explanation of why my thyroid blood level was abnormal. My husband and I went away camping for an extended stay, just a few weeks ago, for nearly three weeks. Between June and July this yr. We fished, walked and enjoyed our trip with nature. But no hiking or anything strenuous on this trip. Before we went on our trip, we discussed the fact that we would not be able to keep the soy milk at the correct temperature all of the time, with just ice. So we decided to take a break from our seemingly healthy lifestyle, and fix pancakes, fried potatoes, and such for breakfast. So for three weeks I did not consume soy milk. I had to go for my bloodwork check up to see if my blood level was still elevated on my return from the trip. Oddly enough, today, the very day a friend told my mother that I should not be taking soy because I am on thyroid medication, I find out that my level has come back down to within normal limits. Why it went up in the first place became increasingly disturbing to me over the day today. So I started searching the internet tonight after the warning about soy and my thyroid medication. I was shocked, what I have found. Article after article with warnings about Soy. Why in the world do the companys that market soy milk not put out warnings about soy milk for Thyroid patients? I have been feeling so ill. If I had not been told by my mother's friends of this news, I would not have known and continuted to take soy products. But even further disturbance is the fact I drank soy as a baby. What kind of effects could this have had on me? That was in 1958. I have had digestive problems, esophageal problems, they say muscle problems... I've spent many, many days at the hospital and at Dr. appt's. Is there some legal action that anyone is taking? I don't smoke cigarettes, I opted not to due to health reasons, I don't drink alcohol. I eat fairly healthful I thought, and I feel very cheated knowing I have had potentially been harmed with already having thyroid cancer, and hypothyroidism and clinical hyperthyroidism. Drinking soy milk, with the isoflavones was suppose to have been helpful I thought. Especially after reading the labels on the milk cartons...No warnings there!!!!"

"I am a monk who just completed a long retreat which was terminated early beacause of health problems. After the retreat I saw a doctor and was told that my thyroid was not functionning at all. I had never had thyroid problems and was a bit shocked. I am a man and had only heard of women experiencing this problem. I got on the net and discovered the connection with soya products. The pieces started fitting together. During the retreat my staple was tempeh and tofu supplemented by a bread that I baked. I put lots of soya flour in the bread not knowing that this could be a problem."

"I was having severe hot flashes with menopause. Someone told me about Healthy Woman Soy Supplement. I tried it and it worked (after about a month) to control the hot flashes. I took it off and on for about two years. Then in a complete physical, I found out I had hypothyroidism. The doctor put me on .075mg Synthroid. I took it for about a year. About three months ago, I had a bone density scan. I am a little under average. I believe the following chain of events occurred:

- Soy caused hypothyroidism
- Synthroid affected my bone density
- Doctor wanted to put me on HRT to deal with the bone density

I could see a pattern here and I stopped taking everything except my multiple vitamin and a calcium supplement.

For two years I ingested large amounts of soy on a daily diet: soy milk, tofu, soy cheese, soy burgers and soy yoghurt. Having a milk sensitivity I naturally substituted soy as a source of protein. Last fall I had a medical crisis: my TSH soared to 25.50; lost more than half my hair; developed large uterine fibroids; evidenced rapid cellular growth (benign) on both breasts; and lost elasticity in my muscles, including my bladder causing urinary incontinence. I am 43 years of age. Upon eliminating the soy, my TSH is now 1.4 (I had to be placed on a therapeutic regimen of 75 mcg of Synthroid) and my alopecia has reversed. I will undergo mammography in several months to determine if the cellular growth has abated. I greatly appreciate your interest in addressing this critical matter. I suffered needlessly and if not for my hair loss I would probably still be using soy. It was the alopecia that gave me great cause for alarm."

"I just found your site, completely by accident, and I am so shocked. I need to know how to find out more information concerning the link between thyroid disease and soy. Is it just hypothyroidism, or can it cause hyperthyroidism as well? You see, I've just been diagnosed has having hyperthyroidism. This came out of nowhere, and I can't believe it "just" happened. Several months ago I quit smoking, and having made that step, I decided to adopt a much healthier lifestyle. Part of this included becoming a vegetarian. I didn't worry about getting the right nutrients, because I added soy to my diet. I started by replacing meat with soy products, Morningstar bacon, burgers, hotdogs,ect..... Then I read about the soy product Revival. I'd been using it everyday for about a month, when I got what I thought at the time was the flu. The only symptoms I had was a very high temperature, and a rapid heart rate. Well, the fever went down, but the heart rate never did. I thought I had a heart problem, but couldn't get a doctor to take me seriously. Afterall, I'm only 36, and in very good health. Or, at least I was........... The doctor finally ran some tests and found out that my thyroid had just gone crazy. His words, not mine. I am so upset, what makes this really ironic, is that if I would have just kept smoking, I'd be healthier today."

"I have a 15 year old daughter who fits the description of a soy fed infant. She was fed soy formula for an excessive amount of time (almost 2 years (less in the later year, of course)) because she did not tolerate milk. I think she has hormone imbalances that are causing various problems physically and emotionally. My daughter has abnormally excess body hair. This is not specifically mentioned as a symptom. From what I understood from the articles I have read about this excess hair condition and the soy, the ovaries are "in charge" of stimulating androgens and testosterone hormones. Testosterone are the hormones that stimulate hair growth. This condition is also, though rarely, caused by ovary cysts...which I wonder if these could be caused by the soy formula early on. My daughter began having pubic hair around 5 and I remember noticing a swollen look to her as an infant when I changed her diaper. It always concerned me, but I could never connect a cause. These conditions are not specifically mentioned as symptoms of the soy, but I speculate it is related. She also has asthma, allergies, ADHD, started gaining weight (without reason) last year (no diet has been successful) and has irregular menstrual cycles (although she officially began her cycle about 2 years ago)."

"I am a very healthy 19 year old male. I run 2.5 - 3 miles every-other-day and do weight training on the other days. I started using Soy Protein mix in January when my body fat was around 5.5%. Over the last 5 months I have gained almost 40 pounds and my body fat has increased to almost 10%. This is not the result I have been told would come from soy protein. I used to be able to eat ANYTHING, and not gain an ounce. I still follow a strict, very low-fat, organic foods diet (mainly consisting of chicken, tuna, broccoli, cauliflower, celery, etc.); however, I still seem to gain weight (and body fat), even when eating salads and other healthy meals. Could this be a result from overloading my soy intake?"

"I have been using soy milk products for approx. one year. Prior to that Ihave been on Thyroxine. Approx 3 months ago I had to increase that dose almost double. I have been suffering from extreme tiredness and lethargy and have developed a problem which has caused me to lose an unacceptable amount of weight. I am 5'11" and only 62kg. When complaining to the doctor I my blood was tested and they found I had toxoplasmosis and all was put down to that. However, after further weight loss I returned to the doctor who referred me to a gastro fellow. I have had a colonoscopy and a endoscopy and they have taken a biopsy from my bowel, but found nothing. I read your page with horror and wonder if I have been going down the wrong path altogether."

"I am a 30 year old vegetarian who has been taking in around 40-50 grams of soy protein a day. I have recently started having problems with heart palpitations and weight gain. I am on the Weight Watchers points system and I have gained 11 lb. in 2 1/2 months. I have been very disturbed by this gain, knowing that I am exercising 5-6 days a week and staying very active every day. Everyone else on WW is losing except for me it seems. My grandmother was diagnosed with thyroid disease many years ago and I seem to have all the symptoms. Weight gain, palpitations, memory loss and these articles I am reading are really beginning to make me aware that what may be to blame is all this soy I am taking in. Now I am very confused because I don't know if I have damaged my thyroid and if that is my problem. I am going to stop my soy intake TODAY."

"Thank you for the excellent information you provide online. I'm contacting you to say that i MAY have a thyroid abnormality caused by excess consumption of tofu. I live in a community that is completely vegetarian. Our cooks use tofu as a common meat substitute (nearly every day). In the last few months I have lost about half of the hair on my eyebrows. As you may know, eyebrow hair loss is a symptom of hypothyroidism. My skin also shows signs of the syndrome.

For better health I started eating a cup of oatmeal with soy milk powder added for breakfast every day. I started getting a headache every afternoon I worked which would turn to nausea when I drove home. After I stopped soya this is very rare now.

I began drinking soy powder last year and just this week I have been diagnosed with Graves Disease.

My daughter has Grave's Disease which I believe was caused by being fed soy milk in infancy."

"I want to sincerely thank you for your website!! I am a 58 year old woman, and have had two operations for cancer. The first operation was for uterine cancer, the second for a tumor growing on the abdominal wall, which was possibly caused by breakage of the uterus in the first operation. At any rate, the OBGYN that performed my first op. wanted me to take the combo estrogen/progesterone drug...I opted to take phytoestrogens and use a progesterone cream. When I found cancer once again, I went to an iconologist (I believe, a very responsible one). He immediately told me to get off soy, black cohosh, and any other estrogenic substance that I had been taking. He then put me on a large dose of progesterone. I am doing very well, staying on progesterone for the time-being, and treating any estrogenic property like the plague."

"I had thyroid problems as a child, and was treated with medication then. As an adult, I didn't require any medication for years. I began taking phytoestrogens, including drinking lots of soy milk, eating tofu and enjoying miso, plus taking a vitamin which contained soy. Lo and behold, I started having thyroid problems again. I now take medication again. I have completely discontinued all soy products and any other phytoestrogen products (read my letter in the cancer section). So far, I am still required to take medication, but hopefully, my thyroid will become balanced again. I am so very pleased to find your web site. I have been trying to explain to many women the dangers of using soy products as a miracle solution to everything without consideration of their age, conditions, etc. Now, I can send them to your site as backup. "

"I was very ill without realising that I was consuming Soy and not knowing until I had gone to "Hell and back" that in all probability it was the Soy that caused it. The following is my story:

I was diagnosed 30 years ago with what was described as mild Hypothyroidism. I had very little problems with mental ability but suffered mostly with weight problems. During 1991/1992 I became premenopausal and that was when my problems started. Spasmodic at first but over the years as the menopause progressed I got progressively worse. I suffered from short term memory problems, inability to concentrate, couldn't even comprehend what I was reading. I spent more time in "Cyber Space" / "Brain Fog" than I did in reality. I would have to read one page over and over again before I could absorb the details. Watch TV one night and the next day I couldn't tell you what I had seen. I am a Receptionist / Word Processor operator and I was making so many mistakes in my work I was eventually verbally threatened with dismissal. I was to learn much later that what in fact saved me from being dismissed was a work colleague, who had worked with me years before and had returned to work with us once again, insisting that what was happening was not me. Despite having the spellchecker on my computer I still was not able to pick out spelling mistakes. More often than not as the years passed I would type a word backwards without even realising I had done so. I would proof read my work and would just 'read' right over my mistakes. I had no idea what was happening to me, and neither did my doctor. He was just as puzzled. He eventually referred me to an Endo at my local hospital to arrange for me to have tests done for possible Alzheimers - yes, Alheimers - and what is the claim about Soy - protects from aging!! My tests showed that I was above average for my age with everything except the problems I was having. No help there. As time wore on I got to the stage at work where I couldn't even remember how to answer the phone when it rang!! The phone would ring, I would pick up the receiver and ....... blank - what do I say. By this time my speech was slurring, and still no one could come up with an answer. It all came to a head one day when I was shopping. I was walking down the street and the next thing I knew I was walking across a very busy intersection AGAINST the lights with the drivers of vehicles trying desperately to miss me. I have absolutely no recollection of even getting there. I can only think that what brought me out of it was an irate motorist tooting his horn at me!! When I realised what had happened, my first thought was I had had a mild stroke. When I saw my doctor his exact words to me were "At long last, the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle fits". He told me that my Seretonin levels were way down as a result of being Hypothyroid and the only medication he could put me on was Prozac, as that was the only medication in this country that would bring the Seretonin levels back to normal. He actually diagnosed it as being "Classic 'A' Depression". I told him that no way did I feel depressed. Disorientated? Yes. Living in a world of my own? Yes. I suffered a lot from depression before my diagnosis and this was nothing like that. I had been on Prozac for a couple of weeks but found that my appetite increased so much I couldn't stop eating. Being Hypothyroid, that was the last thing I needed, so I decided to take the chance and come off it. Incidentally I had put on a lot of weight during those years and no matter what I did it just wouldn't budge!! Now, I have absolutely no idea why, but at the same time I also stopped eating commercially made bread. I just had no desire for it. It was a few weeks later that I realised I was feeling really great again. Had all the memory I wanted, no problems with concentration etc. My ability at work had returned to what it was pre menopause. In the meantime I had gone 'online' so decided to do some research on Thyroid Disease and in the process I came across an About.com web site for Thyroid Disease by Mary Shomon of America. It was through the Bulletin Board eonnected to this site that I got to know Leslie, plus a lot of other members who have also had bad experiences with Soy. I was so impressed with the information she had in her web site that I registered to receive her email newsletters. It would have been during March 2000 that she put out a newsletter warning us all to avoid Soy. (I believe this was her second warning). Within that newsletter she had also listed several links written by scientists who were also writing warnings about Soy, especially in regards to the Isoflavones and Phytoestrogens and the Thyroid Gland. One of those web sites was www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/ I was horrified about what I had read but as I wasn't consuming any Soy (I thought) I didn't worry too much about it. Two months or so later I was back in cyber space and the good old short term memory, concentration problems etc. A work colleague was quick to pick it up and suggested that maybe it was something I had been eating and suggested I think about what I could have eaten that I hadn't for a few months. I then realised I had gone back to eating bread. I check the ingredients label on the packet to find that I had been eating bread 'laced' with Soybean flour, and in fact when I checked the ingredient labels on all varieties of bread at my local supermarket there was not one that didn't contain Soybean flour. Thinking back to what I had read on the Internet I then realised that surely it had to be the build up of Isoflavones in particular, and Phytoestrogens in the Soybean flour contained in the bread I had been eating all those years that had caused my problem by blocking my medication. What wouldn't have helped either would have been Soy in one form or another that was contained in other commercial packaged food I had also been consuming without realising it. Once again I stopped eating bread, brought myself a bread maker and stopped consuming all forms of Soy. I have become an 'expert' at reading labels!!!! It is now 10 months since I came off all Soy products and although I am now 60 years of age, I feel more like 40. For years I had extreme difficulty getting my TSH count below 5+. My December 2000 blood test showed that my TSH was down to 0.03!!! Again proof positive that my medication was finally working. And I am losing all the weight that I put on during the menopause years. As the absence of Soy is the only change in my diet surely that is a good indication of what caused my problems. I dread to think of the number of folk around the world who suffer from Thyroid Disease, are having problems, and are unaware that in all probability it is due to the Soy they are consuming in one form or another. As I see it, the biggest problem with this is that once a business has found a way to 'con' the public, a large majority have got to join the bandwagon and follow suit which means that in the end we have nothing but Soy in this, Soy in that, until it gets to 'saturation point'. All around the world (even in China) health professionals are complaining about our children gaining weight. It is all being blamed on too much watching TV, playing on computers etc. But I am not so sure. Now, tests have proven that if enough Soy is consumed that person will develop Hypothyroidism. The amount of Soy our young children (indeed the population as a whole) are consuming daily within one product or another must surely build up over a period of time which in turn means the Isoflavones within the Soy must eventually take its toll, and once the Thyroid gland slows down so does the metabolism etc. I should imagine it would take less Soy to affect a child than it would an adult. Think about it!!! I know Soy has been around for a long long time. Before food manufacturers starting putting Soy into this food and that food a person was able to control the amount of Soy he/she consumed. Now unless you avoid all foods that contain Soy you are unable to do so."

"I would like to get the word out that folk who are already Hypothyroids should not consume Soy because it blocks their medication from being effective. I have already proved that by coming off Soy as my TSH which I would have extreme difficulty getting below 5+ is now down to 0.03!!!! My doctor is so thrilled he is now telling all his Thyroid patients to come off Soy. As well as that I am NOW finally losing weight after years of putting it on. I wrote to Minister of Health Annette King last year to ask her to get her Dept to 'look into the affect that Soybean flour in our bread, buns etc was having on Thyroid Disease patients and to make it public, but I may has well not have wasted my energy!! As well as telling her my side of the story, I also mentioned that my 31 year old daughter had developed a goitre around 10 years ago and now she is off Soy that Goitre had all but disappeared. She told me that they just weren't interested and as far as my daughter was concerned to talk to her pediatrician!!!!! At what age to children stop seeing their pediatrician!! I didn't know whether to laugh or cry at that, I nearly wrote to her and suggested she come off all Soy!!!"

"After some research and a little self-experimenting, I believe that I may have induced hypothyroidism in myself. Nearly two years ago, after reading a book by Mark Messina et. al. about soy's benefits, I began to add it to my diet (as well as modifiying my diet to be nearly vegan). Within two months, I experienced fatigue so severe that I asked my family practictioner to check my blood for anemia. He also checked for hypothyroidism because my sister had only just been diagnosed with it (we both suspect she's had it from earliest childhood -- and my mom has told me on repeated occasions that my sister gained a lot of weight from a soy-based infant formula, so that may correlate with the other studies about what effects soy-based infant formula may have). My blood tests came back normal; however, no one told me any numbers related to the thyroid test. A few months later, at an annual exam, my blood pressure was exceptionally low (something like 104/60 and I felt dizzy for a week). I think that it has always been somewhat low and my body temperature has also run below 98.6 degrees; my menstrual cycle has always been irregular but now I suffer from PMS.Since then, I have gotten increasingly fatigued. Eczema, which had first appeared while I was pregnant, returned with a vengeance. I continuously have a sore throat (I have allergy-induced asthma and blamed my cats for the problem). Even though I have added exercise (specificially yoga) and more personal time, the overwhelming fatigue, eczema, and allergies worsened. I noticed graying hair, thinning eyelashes, brittle nails. I was beginning to grow despondent about my condition, wondering if I was indeed depressed or overstressed, when I came across the briefest mention to soy affecting thyroid functioning. I recognized the symptoms of hypothyroidism (only then!) and decided to cut out all soy to see if there was any response.While I can't say that I'm fully recovered, I can assert that I've seen results right away. My eczema is nearly gone and my energy is enough that I no longer feel as though I will spend the rest of my life running on empty. Looking at everything, I think that I already had classic symptoms of hypothyroidism, but perhaps I was just borderline -- I can't really say as I was never given specific numbers from my thyroid test -- and the soy pushed me over the edge."

"I was reading with interest some of your information on your web site. I had an interesting experience with soy over-consumption myself. I'm a 56 year-old male. I have always thought of myself as being in excellent health. I'm a vegetarian who occasionally eats fish and eggs and I also get a lot of exercise, both aerobic and strength training. Several years ago I began to consume huge quantities of soy and soy products: soy beans, soy meat substitutes, soy milk, the whole thing. This summer I had an extensive series of blood tests through the Life Extension Foundation, just out of curiosity. I was shocked to find out that my parathyroid hormone (PTH) level was 274.0 (the normal range was 12.0 - 72.0). My doctor told me to stop eating soy and to take calcium supplements with Vitamin D-3. I re-tested several months later and my PTH was back to normal. I can only conclude that all the soy I was consuming was interfering with my calcium absorption, and that my parathyroid glands were telling my body to extract calcium from my bones so that there would be enough calcium in my blood. Also, on these blood tests my levels of T3 and T4 were on the low end of "normal." It seems frightening that we're exposed to so much pro-soy propaganda. I certainly fell for it. If I hadn't had those blood tests I'd still be practically living on soy, and I'd be well on my way to developing osteoporosis. I'm also surprised that there is so much soy-promotion by companies that manufacture vitamins and supplements. Our local health food store is filled with soy products."

"I do suffer from a hypothyroid disorder. I was not fed soy infant formula, however I have been a huge consumer of soy milk & soy protein powder over the last 20+ years. I am a vegetarian and I am 45 years old. I have suffered with hypothyroidism for the last 2 years.I am a physician & I have noticed in my practice an increasing incidence of thyroid disease, primarily in my female patients."

"I was just diagnosed with Graves Disease today. In 1997, 6 mos after starting Tamoxifen, I was becoming confused often. I thought this was because I was in menopause and needed more hormones. So soy seemed to be the answer. I started with two servings a day, and as I have changed my diet to more protein I have increased my soy consumption to 2 or 3 or 4 servings a day. It does appear that the soy caused my hyperthyroidism."

"I am 45 years of age, female and have developed a goiter and have tested positive for thyroiditis antibodies. The only thing that has changed in my diet over the past few years has been consumption of soy, which has been high because I have been taking Genisoy protein powder (with isoflavones) on a daily basis for all this time. I check photos of myself over this periodm, and noticed that the goiter appeared only after a few months of starting the protein powder. Unfortunately, I have also been eating cereal supplemented with soy, as well as tofu and soy sauce. As of yesterday, I discovered, by accident, all the information on the internet about soy and its effects on the thyroid. I am normally an incredibly healthy individual, and although I suffer from mild allergies I often go for many many years without even a cold. May thyroid condition has come as a shock to me, and I am taking the issue up with my doctor, who recommended the diet in the first place. I will also be contacting a journalist with a view to writing an article for the mainstream press in order to help other women before it's too late for them."

"My daughter was on Soya milk formula from 4 weeks old until approx 3years old. The reason she was put on it was she couldnt tolerate my breast milk. At the age of 2 her whole body started to swell starting from her left arm to quickly spread over her entire body, she was in hospital and swollen like this for 3 weeks dispite being given steriods, they never did find out what caused it. She was tested for Thyroid problems at 4 years old after an initial test showed there to be a problem, but the second test came back clear. She has had lots of on going problems, joint pains being the most on going problem. She has had several broken joints, the worst was a spiral fracture of the fima caused simply by her jumping over my sewing machine cord.She developed breasts at a very early age and dispite her tiny frame, started her menstral cycle at 11 years old, it was full on from the start lasting up to 7 days and very heavy, with terrible back pain, sometimes she said she just wanted to die. Her GP is trying to find a contraceptive pill that will help, she is onto a third one at the moment."

"Just today I have been diagnosed with Goiter. It flared up 6 weeks ago when I changed my diet to the "eat right diet" for my blood group A, dairy food is eliminated and substituted with Soya. Never before in my life have I used soya milk but began to like it. Apparently I have had a goiter for some time but have not known it. but I can only assume that the soya milk had enlarged it . I feel better without Soya products and when it flares up and I read the label more closely I can unsually find something I have eaten that contains soya. I am but a beginner but now thanks to soya I have joined the goiter club."

"I was finally diagnosed with hypothyroidism in 1998 when my TSH level reached (don't die) 289. I am 31 years old (29 at the time of diagnoses) and the doctor I was seeing for six years, basically had me convinced I was a hypochondriac. The reason for all my symptoms was that I run too much (40+miles/week) and that I was gaining weight because I probably was someone who couldn't eat as much as I thought I could (my 800cal/day). ANYWAY-New Doctor, finally got my thyroid in order or so I thought, but am a big fan of the Boca Burger (18 grams of Soy Protein) and eat one EVERYDAY! Summer of 99 I was going to the Doctor every month and my TSH level was getting higher and higher-Synthroid went from .150 to .275. Then in January of this year (I was getting rather tired of Boca Burger and switched to Tuna for my lunch.) my TSH levels started going way down, my medicine went down to .175. I demanded to see a endocrinologist (CAUSE I WAS GOING NUTS) and I have been steady since. Last week I began eating the Boca Burgers again, and I was just sitting here eating one and came across your article. I checked my Boca Burger label and they don't list isoflavones as part of the ingredient, but I don't know if they're just part of the soy protein. I'm now beginning to wonder if these burgers were the reason for my fluxuating thyroid levels. And wondering whether it's safe for me to continue to eat the soy burgers (I love them for they're a great source of protein). Do you know about Boca Burgers? Do they contain isoflavones? And should I discontinue taking them? This week I noticed a few symptoms returning. I wonder. "

"I have just been diagnosed with Hashimotos disease. Over the past two years my intake of soy has been huge. I will very often consume twenty ounces of tofu a day a long with eight to sixteen ounces of soy milk. Prior to this I rarely ate soy products at all. I am supposed to start my thyroid replacement tomorrow morning--Synthroid. Now I am wondering if I just stop the tofu craze will my thyroid be able to right itself. Or have I dammaged my thyroid beyond repair. How do I know? I started eating all the soy products in the first place because I thought it was better for me than meats and fish. Could it be that I have created this thyroid disorder in my quest for better health?"

"I was recently, and to my great suprise, found to have a TSH level of 13.6. I have been drinking soya milk (1/2-2 glasses per day for the past 8 months) and I was wondering if this could have caused my thyroid problems."

"I have consumed, over the last 3 years an average of 50 g, sometimes 75 g or soy protein A DAY!!!! Yes, I have auto immune thyroid issues and "low thyroid" and now take thyroid - biotech."

"I am a 47 year old woman in perimenopause. I was suffering with very intense hot flashes and night sweats and began searching for relief. After reading, going to my health food store, and speaking to several individuals I decided to try a soy and a multi-herb supplement. In July 1999 I started taking two 40 mg capsules of Soyplus and six 400 mg capsules of Vitex 40 Plus daily. Almost immediately I began gaining weight. I researched the herbs in the supplement and found that black cohosh causes weight gain. I kept taking the herbs. After I gained 25 pounds in five months I stopped taking the herbs (but still took the soy). I had a medical checkup and my bloodwork showed hypothyroidism."

Isoflavones

"Thank you, thank you, thank you! There are really people out there, who care about all this. The good news is my wife has been off of soy for 4 months now, and her goitre is gone. She feels much better and has more energy, and is more emotionally stable. . My tinnitis was also accompanied by a sudden allergy to wheat, corn, soy - in fact it can now be activated just by eating. I was told to use flax oil to suppress the allergic reaction to food. Now I am stopping using flax because I have found it can have some of the same effects as soy. This all came upon me like an avalanche so it difficult to dig my way out. . I hope my message also will validate somebody else with the same problem."

"Last year I was diagnosed as having hypothyroidism and occasionally I suffer from thyroiditis, I have been a vegetarian for at least 10 years now, however my consumption of soy had increased exponentially over the last year or two. Recently when I had a scare of possible thyroid cancer or goitre I began doing research and found your web-site. Fortunately, I do not either, but have become gravely concerned about my supposedly healthy diet and the effects it has had on my thyroid. I am convinced that is why I am now on medication for hypothyroidism."

"Your website has been helpful and quite an eye opener. I am saddened by the fact that I will now have to contribute to the death of animals to be healthy, but it is a step I have to take for my own health and will always be respectful of the lives lost for my health."

"Two years ago I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism due to excessive weight gain, hair falling out by the hands full, aches and pains and PVC’s. Two months prior to attaining these symptoms I began a regiment of 1 Estroven tablet daily due to low estrogen levels. I had never had a problem with taking the Estroven. It is fortunate that for whatever reason I stopped taking it when I was diagnosed. I will forever be on medication and deal with symptoms coming and going due to false advertisement. Thank you for sharing your website. I am hoping this reaches women in time before they have to suffer like many of us have already."

"Two years ago I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism due to excessive weight gain, hair falling out by the hand full, aches and pains and PVC’s. Two months prior to attaining these symptoms I began a regiment of 1 Estroven tablet daily due to low estrogen levels. I had never had a problem taking the Estroven. It is fortunate that for whatever reason I stopped taking it when I was diagnosed. I will forever be on medication and deal with symptoms coming and going due to false advertisement."

"I recently turned fifty. I was diagnosed with a goiter and nodule, as well as with subclinical hyperthyroidism (normal T3 and T4, but a very low TSH of 0.03) about two years ago. Coincidentally, I was diagnosed post-menopausal just prior to that and my gynecologist prescribed Cenestin 0.625 mg, which I have been taking since then. I do not have any family history of thyroid disease, I have never been exposed to radiation that I am aware of, my intake of iodine is normal and I have a relatively healthy, normal diet. The endocrinologist I am seeing now has recommended a thyroidectomy (FNA was negative). He asked me about the medications I am taking and Cenestin is the only one. He did not say anything negative about it. Is it possible that the Cenestin caused or at least aggravated the goiter? Where should I look to obtain accurate data and information on the correlation between isoflavones and goiter? "

"I am a 49 year old woman. About a year ago, my GYN tested my hormone levels and informed me I was menopausal. He put me on estriadol/progesterone. Not liking the way I felt nor the perceived risk of hormones, I stopped taking them. I decided after reading all of the hype about soy to try it. Please understand, I never had a weight problem, sleep problem, thinning hair, mood disorder prior to this. I began taking a soy tablet of 50 mg per day. Although I worked out everyday and ate a healthy diet, I started battling with my weight. 7 months later, I gained approximated 10 pounds, my hair was falling out, and was having terrible bouts with mood swings and temper. I was convinced I needed to stay on the soy. So convinced, I bought the Revival Soy package. I took it for a couple of weeks, everyday and convinced myself I felt better and was losing weight, when in fact, facial hair was appearing, my hot flashes had returned and I was gaining weight. I stopped. I had major surgery in February and had 10 weeks of at home recuperation. During the first four weeks I didn't take any vitamins, supplements or soy. All of a sudden I had lost 8 lbs. BUT thinking I need to "get my body healthy" I began the Revival Soy again. I stayed on it for one month. During that time my mood swings were horrible, my hair started falling out, hot flashes were back and gained back the weight. So I stopped the Revival again. But this time, nothing happened. After reading your website, it is apparent to me that NOTHING will happen because my expensive vitamins have soy in them. They are going in the trash tonight! I only hope and pray my thyroid is not destroyed."

"I have been diagnosed with 2 nodules on my thyroid and will be getting a "Fine needle aspiration" to determine whether they are cystic or solid. I also had a complete hysterectomy about ten years ago. Instead of HRT, I have been taking the product "Estroven" for about 2 years. Could this product have anything to do with my thyroid nodules? On the package it says "Purified Isoflavones (from non-GMO soybeans and other plants)-55mg per tablet. I take one a day. Please let me know soon."

"Hello, I just discovered your web site from an article "The Shadow of Soy" in the Pacific Sun, a Mill Valley, CA paper. (May 15) I was diagnosed with hypothyroidism a few months ago and was told to take "lyvoxol"?? to reduce my TSH level which was 20, cholesterol 270. My high cholesterol did not bother me so much because my LDL/HDL ratio is 1.37. I feel great and could not start taking a drug for the rest of my life. I am 53 and have been taking 55mg. of isoflavones "Healthy Woman" by Monistat for 6 months as well as drinking soy milk and eatting tofu daily. I am eatting seaweed as well. What a joy to discover that my blood imbalance and high cholesterol is most likely caused by excessive soy intake. I am stopping the soy and will have my blood retested in 6 or more months. Thank you for getting this information out to us.

"After nine months of taking Cenestin a soy hormone replacement, my body has gone crazy. I've seen five doctors and have gone to the emergency room three times trying to get help. I have a terrible tingling all over and my head feels like it going to explode. I have a terrible redness over my throat area. The doctors tried treating me for a reaction to something that I had consumed. Then I was treated for anxiety. I lost 22 pounds in about three weeks. I was put on elimination diets, but it didn't get better. My heart raced, I froze all the time, my blood pressure dropped, and I began to lose my balance. I quit the hormone on my own, because my family doctor and gynecologist didn't think it could be the hormone. I do seem to be getting a little better, but it has been five weeks."

THIS LADY WAS ONE TESTIMONIAL WHO WENT FURTHER AND SET UP HER OWN WEBSITE - ASK HER IF SHE IS "GENUINE"

"Some of you may remember that last year I was touting soy along with the rest of the medical profession regarding their beneficial effects. I was consuming soy for their pytoestrogen effect to alleviate menopausal symptoms. I was duped like so many other non-suspecting consumers. I developed Hashimoto's Disease or acute Hashimoto's Thyroiditis which is an acute autoimmune disease that affects the thyroid gland. (in basic terms this means that my thyroid is attacking itself and I can no longer produce thyroid hormone.) My initial symptoms included things like severe joint pain especially in my hands, "trigger" finger(s), carpal tunnel syndrome, excessive weight gain (I gained about 25 lbs. in 3-4 weeks which, of course, when you are a Registered Dietitian you can calculate how many calories you are taking in and it just doesn't correlate with the amount of weight one is gaining.), chronic fatigue syndrome, a "brain fog", depression, among others. (Classic symptoms of hypothyroidism are that you gain an unexplained amount of weight in a short period of time and that your hair falls out). It took almost 4 months before everything was figured out (by me) and it was not really diagnosed properly by my physicians. About 3-4 months after I initially started the soy supplement I had been taking (now this would also include any soy isoflavone pills you may be taking as well), I developed a "hyper" state, where my resting pulse rate was 125, and I was having 100's of palpitations a day. Of course, so many of the symptoms I mentioned above can be related to so many other diseases or conditions (especially menopause and when you've never been in menopause before- how does one know what is normal and what is not?) but of course, when the "heart" thing started, this got me to a cardiologist and fast. I didn't know if I was having a heart attack or what. The only thing I could think of as I was waiting for the cardiologist to call me back that I had done differently was the soy. So I went onto google, put in "toxic effects of soy", and thyroid disease (especially hypothyroidism) came up. Well, I 'm saying to myself, "that doesn't make sense". How can I be hypothyroid with a resting puse rate of 125! So, it's in the back of my mind but I'm thinking it's not feasible. Anyway, I go to the cardiologist, have all kinds of tests, echocardiogram, Holter monitor on for 24 hours, etc. I am told that "there's nothing wrong with me. Go home and take your estrogen and you'll feel better." Well, I won't tell you how angry that made me. I insisted that there was something wrong with me and told the doctor to have my labs faxed to me and I would look for another doctor to help me. When my labs came through my fax machine, I almost fainted. They did a TSH (the indicator for thyroid disease) and it was elevated! (which means that I had an underactive thyroid). Later on, after researching this thing to death, I found out that my symptoms of the "hyper" state are sometimes quite common and many women wind up in the emergency room as a result. Apparently, in Hashi's, just before your thyroid stops working completely, it can go "haywire" and put you into a hyper and hypo state. It has taken 8 months now for me to start feeling better. Adjustments in thyroid medication take some time and I have finally been losing weight, have no more carpal tunnel syndrome, etc. So, this brings me to my word of caution. If any of you, or your wives, are taking soy product, isoflavone pills or homeopathic- type menopausal products, please be careful. I have since found out that Hashi's can take 8 years to diagnose (we don't build up the antibodies overnight to it) and from an email that I sent out to a few of you the other day, I know that some of you are also hypothyroid. There are tons of websites to go to for more information or email me if you are affected by this and I will be happy to help you find some. The soybean industy is a multi-billion dollar industry in this country so they are trying to keep this quiet, even though there have been doctors in the FDA who have written position papers regarding the dangers of soy. Just before I started writing this note to you, I received an email from a woman in the United Kingdom who is interested in my testimonial along with many others. She is a consumer representative on a government committee which is looking into health concerns over phytoestrogens. I have also been in touch over the past several months with people in New Zealand who are also "on the bandwagon" regarding the dangers of soy. They have several documented animal studies showing the ill effects of soy. With so many new products coming out containing soy, and the continued "touting" of it as a major benefit, more and more women are going to become hypothyroid. I am currently working as a nutrition expert in treating depression, bi-polar disorder and substance abuse problems. I can't tell you how many of the women who are admitted for depression are also hypothyroid to the point now that the medical doctor automatically first checks their TSH before the psychiatrists even start prescribing their meds. If I hadn't been so adamant about taking over my own health issues last August, I could have very easily wound up being a patient in my own hospital. Menopause doesn't mean that we are supposed to be depressed. Menopause is great, though I used to tell people that was a whole lot of crap several months ago. If you are having any of he symptoms mentioned above, Don't assume its the menopause. It is estimated that there are about 10 million women out there who have hypothyroidism and don't know it. Are you one of them? Have your TSH level checked every few years and if you are taking soy, you may want to give serious consideration to stopping it. My guess is that a class action suit will eventually develop out of all of this but of course, the way things work it'll probably take a few years. I am going to be very actively involved in this area over the next several months assisting those groups and individuals who are publicizing this health concern. "

"My wife takes a soy shake daily from a company called Revival (http://www.revivalhealth.com/). She takes it for the claimed anti-cancer and anti-heart disease benefits. She is coincidentally deficient in Thyroid function and lately has been taking medication. She says it makes her feel great, but her countenance doesn't glow anymore. I think it is the soy."

"I am 53 years old and was on HRT. I decided to replace my HRT with a product called Estroven (each pill contains 40 mg of soy), sold at most health food markets, grocery stores etc. My eyelashes started falling out in great amounts and my doctor has scheduled me for several exams because he thinks something is wrong with my thyroid or adrenals. I don't have any thyroid problems that I know of and feel quite healthy except for all my eyelashes falling out. I also have begun to have dry eyes. Needless to say, I am quite distressed. Is it possible that this herbal product has caused my eyelashes to fall out?"

"I have recently been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. I have been put on 15 mg synthrox. I have consumed 160 isoflavones a day for 3 months...taken for menopause. If I stop the soy will my hypothyroidism go away?"

"I am 50 years old and was diagnosed with Hypothyroidism 6 years ago. I have been on synthroid and not without its ups and downs since my diagnosis always fluctuating between.075 and 088mgs. I started taking promensil 6 months ago and in the last 4 months my TSH levels have gone from 4.9 to 6.4 to 7.1. My dr. told me that I was not being consistent with the medication. Simply, NOT TRUE!! After reading your website, I realized that i wasn't crazy. I am VERY concerned that i have done more damage to my thyroid. Anyone on PROMENSIL should get off of it ASAP............ It is POISON!"

"I am 21 years old- approx 12 months ago I developed a lump in my right breast, I had the lump checked out and it was confirmed as nothing but fibroglandular swelling, however it was quite painful, I was also suffering fatigue, weight gain and poor libido. The doctor suggested I commence Hormone Replacement Therapy, I was a bit frightened by the prospect of taking HRT a predisposed drug for Menopausal women, so it was suggested by a Pharmacist that I take phtoygestorone/ isoflavones through natural menopausal supplements and soy consumption. So as a lover of dairy (I was already using soy to reduce my daily dairy intake) I was happy and commenced eating soy hoping that my painful breast lump would go down. The lump however got larger and more painful, I guess I did not connect that with the soy because I was told it would reduce these symptoms so I took even more soy. Drinking up to a litre of soy milk, eating a tub of soy yogurt per day, having miso soup every other day, eating soy & linseed bread and even eating soy cereal !! (as you know many food types come in soy- and I would try almost all of them). My lump got even larger (approx the size of a golf ball- and the pain so unbearable I couldn't wear certain lingerie)- It was diagnosed as fibrocystic breast disease. I was connected to a hormone website by Sherill Sellman- which was very helpful and I was told to stop taking the contraceptive pill (which I have been taking for approx 5 years) and to reduce/ stop the soy intake as I was suffering an oestrogen excess. And what relief !!!, I stopped taking the pill only 5 days ago, but ceased my soy intake about 2 weeks ago and for at least the past week, the lump has considerably reduced in size and the pain has almost stopped- which suggests that it may be connected with my soy intake, because the symptoms began to clear before I stopped taking the pill. I seriously do believe that soy can be consumed in excess- and moderation intake should be informed. I also believe that soy contributes to constipation, as a sufferer of irritable bowel syndrome, I take fibre shakes to assist chronic constipation, despite having large amounts of fibre in these shakes and consuming up to 3 litres of water daily, I still have major trouble evacuating my bowel- I believe this could be due to taking the shakes with soy milk- but I haven't tested this to see if its true."

"I hope you can answer some questions for me. I am a very healthy 38 year old female. I have never had any symptoms of hypothyroidism and it does not run in my family. No one that we know of has ever had it in my family. About 3 months ago after listening to a video which raved about the benefits of soy, I began taking soy isoflavones 2 times per day as prescribed on the label. Each tablet was 50 mg of isoflavones. I took these regularly for about 2 months. My problems started after only 1 month of taking them, however. I began to lose my hair by the handfuls which has never happened to me before. Since I am very healthy, I knew something was wrong! That is when I called my doctor, but also decided to research things for myself. I
read Mary's thyroid page and heard soy could have a negative impact on the thyroid. I immediately stopped taking the isoflavones and scheduled an appointment for a check up. The doctor ordered a thyroid test and it showed my TSH level was 10.31. After changing doctors (because the doctor doing the 1st test wanted to put me on medication immediately), my level was tested again about 1 week later. That time my TSH level was 8.4. It was coming down, but still elevated over a normal reading. After waiting 1 more month, the doctor repeated the test and this time my TSH level was 7.1. Again, it is returning to normal, but because it was still elevated, my doctor started me on .05 mg of synthroid. He seems to dismiss the fact that soy could have had anything to do with my decreased thyroid function. I have had NO symptoms ever of hypothyroidism, but after 1 month of regular use of isoflavones my troubles began. It seems possible for a connection to exist, but that is why I'm writing to you. 1) Do you feel with only 2 months of consuming soy isoflavones that it could cause my abnormal test results? 2) Do you feel since my TSH levels show a slow trend of coming back to a normal range that my thyroid will resume normal function? 3) Since I have started taking medication will my thyroid have a chance of normal function, or will the medication through things off permanently?"

"I am a very healthy 48 year old woman. An avid runner, I have followed a primarily vegetarian diet for over five years, and have always had excellent blood chemistry results at checkups. Last year, however, I added something significant to my regular diet of fruits, vegetables, beans and grains: soy products. I followed the conventional wisdom that this would alleviate early menopausal symptoms, keep my heart healthy, etc. I ate tofu daily, consumed soy milk in abundance, snacked on soy nuts instead of regular snacks, and looked for soy/isoflavones in my supplements. Results: I now am facing surgery for a goiter (enlarged thyroid) with multiple nodules. I have symptoms of thyroid damage. My skin, nails, hair, are all suffering visibly. I have chest pain when I run. Worst of all -- my cholesterol has RISEN from 137 to 210 in the last 6 months! A non-smoking, non drinking vegetarian who eschews all dairy products simply cannot experience this kind of change in less than six months without some external factor. There is no thyroid disease in my family, and no other explanation than the introduction of large
amounts of soy into my diet. My endocrinologist agrees that the diet could have caused the thyroid "disease," but I will still have to face surgery and a life time of thyroid replacement drugs. If only I had known!"

Soy Formula

"I have hyperthyroid currently but initially I started with a hypothyroid condition. I used to consume large amounts of Lec-i-then, a soybean derivative. This decision was due to large amounts of triglycerides in my blood. I consume at least 60 % of soy products in my diet. Currently I am treating my medical condition with thyroid reduction medication (methemizole). However, reducing the amount of animal products has sufficiently reduced the the severity of my thyroid condition. I eat fish a lot and take fish-oil for my triglycerides. I was not introduced to soy products until I was in my late 20's. However, my son was fed baby formula with soy products and he seems to lack the signs of male stimulus or ambition for life as I did at his age. His sexual organs also did not develop normally."

"My daughter Melissa , age 25, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer 3 years ago-- she had surgery 3 years ago and Thank God She has been in remission since. When she was 13 mo. old she was put on soy milk by the Dr. because she did not tolerate milk well. Do you think this had anything to do with her cancer?"

"I read your article about the effects of soy on thyroid function and am contacting you as requested. I am a 54 year old female and as an infant was fed soy formula because of milk allergies. Today, I suffer from hypothyroidism and have been taking soy suppliments as a defense against menopausal symptoms. At least, I was until someone mentioned to me that I should not take soy if I am taking synthroid. I don't know what more you can tell me about this, however, I have been struggling the last year or two (probably as long as I have been taking soy isoflavins), to loose weight and in spite of a complete change in eating (Weight Watchers program) for 2 years, and a regular exercise program, I am unable to loose weight."

"My first two children took Soy Formula. The first wasn't switched to ProSobee Soy Formula until he was 11 months old...when the pediatrician decided he was having problems due to regular formula. He was very HYPER by age 2...today's ADHD...and he was placed on Ritalin by age 4...a drug I pitched when it was giving him Zombie-like behavior. My second child was put on ProSobee about age 6 1/2 months when she was being weened off the breast...(having done very well ON breast milk). She was having problems with regular formula as it was being introduced into her diet while the breast milk was being decreased for her. SHE developed Thyrotoxicosis by age 10 ! From her early pictures the endocrinologist had us to bring to him...he felt she might have been UNDERActive thyroid in kindergarten...and was slowly moving towards OVERactive as time passed...then toxic by age 10. He also told me that he felt the good diet I had my first child on...in order to stop the Hyperactivity before he went to school....probably DID work for him..since his case could most probably have been HYPERTHYROIDISM..which IS often not recognized for what it really is..and often passed off as Hyperactivity. He explained that the diet for Hyperactivity is much the same as for Hyperthyroidism. As my third child was being weened off the breast..and developed problems with regular baby formula...I switched her to GOAT's Milk...and she slept as much as she did while on the breast...remained a very CALM well adjusted baby/child...and did NOT have any signs of thyroid problems though she was a preemie (8 month gestation...4 pounder). I would have to agree with the belief in soy products raising the risks of thyroid problems."

"My pediatrician advised my mother when I was a new born that I was allergic to breast milk. I was given soy products as an infant until I could eat solid foods. I have suffered from hypothyroidism, had a left thyroid lobotomy and the frozen section showed that I had a tumor. I developed a goiter around the age of 7 years old. When the goiter tripled in size by the time I was 16 I begged my family doctor to send me to an Endocrinologist.  My Endocrinologist at that time diagnosed me with hypothyroidism.  The goiter did not decrease in size with the treatment of Synthroid and subsequently he tried to drain my goiter as if it was a cyst. Without results, I was sent to Surgeon for removal of the left thyroid. As an adult, now 29, should I refrain from using Soy products? Could the soy products given to me as an infant have led to my problems with my thyroid now?"

"I have a 14 year old daughter who suffers from Hashimoto's Disease.  She was diagnosed about 3 years ago.  When she was an infant, her pediatrician had me put her on Soy Milk, which I did.  I was horrified to learn when she was 10 years old that she had an auto immune disease called Hashimoto's!   I have no thyroid problems in my family that I am aware of.  My husband has a few elderly relatives who are hypothyroid.  In fact my husband, just last year, began taking Synthroid. None of these relatives had a thyroid problem as a child, they were all middle aged or above at the onset".

"I am 45 years old and was fed a soy based formula as a baby called pro-sobee.  I have had thyroid nodules for about 20 years, but only diagnosed in the last 8 years or so.  I had the left side of my thyroid removed about 11 days ago along with the bridge between the sides due to a needle biopsy that showed some hurthle cells.  The biopsy was done after the left nodule had grown even after Synthroid had been used for many years in an attempt to suppress the functioning nodules.  I have just found this information on soy formula and the possibility of thyroid problems.  I also have been drinking soy milk recently to help with hot flashes in peri-menopause.  I would be interested in any information you can provide."

Thyroid Testimonies

About.com Thyroid Disease site guide, Mary Shoman, has discussed the risk of soy and isoflavones to perimenopausal women with nutritionist Larrian Gillespie MD. Here is an excerpt of the interview which includes a powerful testimony of what happened to Gillespie when she tried an isoflavone supplement.

Shoman: Many women are being told to take soy products as a way to help avoid breast cancer, minimize menopausal symptoms, and lower cholesterol. But some studies are showing that excessive soy consumption -- particularly when women are consuming large amounts of soy powders, isoflavone supplements, and excessive soy foods and soy milks -- can damage the thyroid further. Do you have any thoughts about this for women with thyroid disease, who may be confused about whether or not they should add more soy to their diets? Do you think soy products are safe? Or how much soy in the diet, and in what forms, would you consider safe?

Gillespie: You hit the nail on the head when you said "excessive soy consumption." I was recently in China and saw how little soy is used in the daily diet of the Chinese. We in America think we must consume the entire container of tofu in one or two days, when that is enough for a whole week! Taking 40mg of isoflavones causes hypothyroidism in susceptible women...and I mean those in transitional menopause, the new word for perimenopause. I do not recommend that women take supplements. I tried the experiment on myself and developed full blown hypothyroidism in 10 days.

"Soy may actually make your thyroid lazy", USA Womans World Mar 16 2001 p19.

Lately women are hearing a lot about the proven health benefits of soy. What they are not hearing, says soy researcher Michael Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., is that as little as 30 mg of soy isoflavones - the amount in 5-8 ounces of soy milk - have been proven to suppress thyroid function. "the isoflavones in soy act like a hormone in the body. And in many women - especially those who eat large amounts of concentrated soy powder or take isoflavone supplements - this disturbs the body's hormonal balance, triggering or worsening thyroid problems," explains Dr Gillespie. Some experts are even calling for the makers of soy products to remove these antithyroid isoflavones from their products. In the meantime, Dr Gillespie recommends those with a lazy thyroid avoid soy altogether.

Thyroid Storm

"Thyroid storm is characterised by the abrupt onset of more florid symptoms of hyperthyroidism, with some exacerbated symptoms and atypical signs. Included are fever; marked weakness and muscle wasting; extreme restlessness with wide emotional swings; confusion, psychosis or even coma; and hepatomegaly with mild jaundice. The patient may present with cardiovascular collapse and shock. Thyroid storm, which is rare in children, results from untreated or inadequately treated hyperthyroidism and may be precipitated by infection, trauma, a surgical procedure, embolism, diabetic acidosis, or toxemia of pregnancy or labour. Thyroid storm is a life-threatening emergency requiring prompt and specific treatment".

Responses to Thyroid Storm

"Hello; at your site I noted that you wanted input concerning the effects of Soy on Thyroid function, and therefore am sending the following. I have been on Thyroid medication for about 18 years, and have found that if I eat Soy products for a couple of months I develop Hyperthyroidism, or Thyroid Storm, and an increased heart rate that is so severe that it wakes me up at night, and I can't sleep for several nights till it wears off.. I have started and stopped the Soy several times to confirm that it is the cause.

At the age of 39, I suffered a massive heart attack four months post partum after months of upper respiratory problems which culminated in pneumonia. It blew out the left ventricle.This was the culmination of a multitude of lifelong health problems too long to list. The primary problems have been severe insomnia and sleep paralysis, asthma/upper respiratory problems, and extreme proneness to soft tissue injuries such as tendonitis, etc. After my heart attack, I turned to the Internet in a search for answers, and was finally referred to the About.com Thyroid Disease Forum. I started checking into it, and upon reading the extensive lists of symptons associated with thyroid problems, almost all of which I have to some degree or another, I was finally able to start connecting the dots. I finally insisted that I be given some blood tests, and yup, they came back that I'm hyperthyroid. I've since had more extensive testing done. A full thyroid scan in December revealed that half my thyroid has been completely destroyed. The following week, I had an appointment with my cardiologist, who had the preliminary thyroid test results back. He was stunned. My cardiologist was at a loss to explain why the hospital didn't discover the thyroid issues when I had my heart attack. He said it's supposed to be one of the first things they check for when a woman of my age shows up with severe heart problems. I've confirmed with my mother that I was given soy infant formula manufactured by Mead-Johnson. My mother first noticed how severe my insomnia was when I was just six months old.

I am fat and have high blood pressure. I am dieting, blood pressure is down, and, whilst looking for low fat and high protein snack sources I tried a Genisoy bar...liked it and, preparing for a long field trip, order 8 boxes (10 and 12 bars per box) on the internet. For three weeks I consumed 4 or 5 bars a day (60-75 grams of soy protein total). A few days after returning, early in the morning, I had my first attack of supraventricular tachycardia (severe heart arrhythmias). My wife was out of town so, while still able to, I called an ambulance...they took me in and my pulse was converted in the emrgency room with IV calcium channel-blocker. I was given an appropriate prescription for the drug, filled it, went home, and tried to figure out what had hit me. Woke up the next morning with ANOTHER attack. Back to the hospital (wife driving now), ER conversion of pulse, blood tests, chest X-ray, doctor's visit, elevated creatine and BUN...off to Tucson, AZ to a cardiology hospital where a number of tests were made (fewer than requested, enough to diagnose...I know medicine). Nothing wrong. Heart fine, no irregularities, blood sugar, lungs, everything fine...blood enzymes back to normal. They upped the medication...back home puzzled. Recollected: tiredness for a few days before the first attack, and a tightness or sense of swelling in the sides of my neck, and some poor sleeping several nights previously as well...sweating for a couple of nights as well. For several days after getting back home the second time I slept poorly, had rapid and anxietous breathing, and frequent light palpitations during the day (NOT conducive to comfort...little bubbles of palpitations that hinted slightly at the two serious episodes). I have never consumed soy protein before (I hate tofu, don't like soy milk, they both get me inflammed and subject to wheal responses), and NOTHING done prior to the attacks has been different from the norm. No heart problems, no known cause for the two episodes. At the time it felt as if it was a reaction TO something, rather than an organic or physiologic sequellae FROM a physical state.

Letter To Oprah

The following is a letter written to Oprah Winfrey by a concerned Husband of a long time thyroid disease patient.

"As the husband of a long time thyroid disease patient who is my dearest and most lovely wife, I am writing to ask you and your staff to consider a program devoted to the complexities of thyroid disease as it affects women. I bring an atypical background to the table, an MS in Biochemical Genetics and thus the necessary technical background to evaluate the physiological complexities, as well as a healthy skepticism that current trends in medical care delivery are up to this challenge.

My wife has a lifetime history of thyroid disease first in its 'hyper' form and then over the past fifteen years in the mirror image state of hypothyroidism. As you know, hyperthyroidism induces a high energy, high anxiety state that serves a Type A executive personality very well while the underlying systemic stress on the heart and nervous system is difficult to perceive and hard to formally diagnose. Hypothyroidism, which is a deficit or absence in the production of thyroid hormones by the thyroid gland, induces a cascade of symptoms which are often misunderstood as everything from depression, to hypochondria, eating disorders or a nebulous failure of
personal will power. This misunderstanding has become a nation-wide phenomenon of serious proportions, as it is embedded in the medical and HMO communities, as well as individual lives and relationships. Sadly, you have had 'experts' on your show, such as Dr. Phil, who have perpetuated this misunderstanding in order to serve their 'simple solutions for complex problems' approach for their own career success. My first plea to you is to believe that Thyroid Disease is NOT simple, it can rarely be treated well by a simple approach to thyroid prescriptions derived from simplistic model about what constitutes low or high levels of key thyroid hormones and proteins as determined in the usual blood tests. There is a nation-wide outcry from women of all ages (and a few men as well), as they remain ill and confused while taking the supposed 'correct' thyroid prescription.

The explanation for this complexity, which can not be reduced to simplicity, lies in the realm of molecular biochemistry and sadly is beyond a discussion for the general public. The tale cannot be reduced to news bite format as it references matters of polyallelic genetic systems and complexes of regulator genes that respond on varying time scales that range from hours to weeks, all of this varying from individual to individual in critical details. There are two thyroid hormones, one converted into the other, one form much more active than the other and only one thryoid hormone can cross the blood brain barrier. Thyroid hormones themselves regulate basic metabolism, as they control the energy production of cell organelles known as mitochondria. In simple but accurate terms, less energy per unit time, per hour, day or week produces severe muscle weakness, unusual pain episodes within the nervous system, mental confusion and the well known 'brain fog'. And thus we come to real people experiencing real difficulties, hour by hour, day by day.

When a rapid onset of hypothyroidism began to afflict my dear wife, she quickly began to:

a) gain weight;

b) experience almost continual fatigue;

c) experience sharp stabbing muscle pains in her limbs from slight exercise;

d) lose her mental acuity and sharpness for significant periods;

e) acquire a disrupted sleep cycle; and

f) wrestle with a continually irritated digestive system.

Additional symptoms included hair loss, continually dry and itching skin, very slow hair growth and an emotional roller coaster of high anxiety and temper outbursts that would appear instantly without apparent cause, yet could be followed by mental and emotional lethargy at other times. The common M.D. diagnosis of primary depression is absurd, these hypothyroid disease symptoms would make anyone depressed. Depression is a fallout from living with such a mess, often while interacting with uncomprehending doctors, spouses, children and friends.

What I knew without question as a husband living next to someone so deeply afflicted, is that the symptoms were objectively real, and not the cause of a self abusive life style that included over eating, poor diet, or a primary emotional disorder. These symptoms are the result of a broad based physiological problem, and damage to one of the foundations of everyone's metabolism. Damage the foundation and the house begins to crack, the body's energy supply is disrupted, food metabolism is so altered that no amount of exercise or diet will cause weight loss and the nervous system is overly sensitized and loses its resiliency. Life will become hell unless thyroid prescription dosage is very precisely tuned to each individual's cascade of symptoms. As the underlying molecular model is individual genetics - and I emphasize individuality here - there is no
generic formula to prescription dosage that can be applied across the board. The overworked, over scheduled world of M.D's and HMOs is faced with a diagnostic problem they cannot cope with easily. By virtue of the deficit in advanced endocrinology education in the nature's medical
schools, they are singularly ill prepared as well. Success in treating a serious hypothyroid condtion was achieved here by very careful attention to the suite of complexities I am referring to, first and foremost by fine tuning presciption dosage against whole body symptoms."

If you suspect soy/isoflavones have damaged your thyroid, or wish to submit a testimony to us at SoyOnlineService, please contact us.