I’ve read an article saying that soy protein and rice protein are dangerous.
They produce some saponin : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12493081
Which is bad and might produce auto-immune diseases.
When cooked or heated they produce thyocanates.
Which is bad for pregnant women and might induce some form of autism in children : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17651757
Should I worry about this?
Thanks.
Hey Ephasme, thank you very much for sharing these interesting articles! It’s indeed good to take these kind of researches into account when we look at the ingredients of the PlennyShake or the TwennyBar. Next to that, I do believe more than one research is necessary before claims can be made regarding an ingredient to determine whether it is dangerous or healthy. In this case, we have chosen the soy as an ingredient based on many articles which state that soy is a safe product to use (also our soy is GMO free 
).
With kind regards!
Karel
Whilst I understand the business reasons behind going GMO free with the soy, there is not a single piece of reputable and reproducible scientific literature to suggest GMO foods are in any way even slightly dangerous.
…that study also states that cauliflower and cabbage (and a bunch of other very common vegetables), too, induce autism.
Wow, really? Facepalm. I’m not even going to bother reading it now.
Thanks for your reply karel,
Adding to the texts on how soy is bad for you in large amounts, e.g. jimmy joy products. However, I would appreciate if you can provide more substantial references to your claims. You are kind of stating the obvious, “indeed good to take these kind of researches into account” - no, it is absolutely the minimal requirement of a company that makes "healthy"products. And of course more research into a field is better, but that doesnt mean that we shouldnt listen to the current knowledge out there. I hear and read a lot on the dangers of use of soy in large amounts. Especially the book (The Whole Soy Story: The Dark Side of America’s Favorite Health Food 2005), which I would like you karel, to respond to the claims made in the book, and support your responses with actual scientific references.
Book abstract: Epidemiological, clinical and laboratory studies link soy to malnutrition, digestive problems, thyroid dysfunction, cognitive decline, reproductive disorders, even heart disease and cancer.
Thanks.
ps. I love your product, but I need more science!
Hello Nof!
I haven’t read the book, with much interest I will take a look at it. I can explain my opinion about why I don’t think soy is a dangerous ingredient in our products.
First of all, soy contains compounds that look like hormones (http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/dietary-factors/phytochemicals/soy-isoflavones). We are talking about phytohormones, which in soy, are isoflavones. These isoflavones are a bit like estrogens, and could bind to estrogen receptor. But, these fyto-estrogens are much less effective than that of hormones.
I would like to refer to a review study (http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2529629) in which 62 researchers have been reviewed about plant-based hormones. Co-author Dr. Trudy Voortman: “Our analysis shows that many studies have been conducted on plant therapies and menopausal symptoms. However, the quality of most of these studies is not very high. For example: the number of women included was relatively small. If we take the results of all available studies, it appears that women taking supplements containing 10 to 100 mg isoflavones or phytoestrogens have about one hot flash less per day than women taking a placebo.”
There has been an event in which a herd of sheep in Australia became almost totally infertile because they grassed in red clovers fields. The red clover also contains fyto-hormones. But in this case, the amount they got from fyto-hormones is comparable to eating a whole pot of soy-based food supplements per day.
Next to that, there are a lot of studies in which they compared men who took fyto-hormones to men who didn’t take supplements. They checked the quantity and quality of the sperm and the amount of testosterone from both groups, no difference was found.
So I’m quite convinced our products do not have a sufficient influence, but I don’t deny that plant based hormones can’t have any influence at all.
Thanks for your detailed reply and your references. I feel more comfortable
with soy products now!
No problem at all, i’m glad to be of service and be able to clear the air on this topic! 