Any downside to edamame?

[GON]

Twice this week I had salty and charred edamame. Unbelievable how good it tastes char grilled in the pod.

A hasty Google search had a lot of positives about edamame. High in fiber, decent protein, not so high in carbs.

Any significant downside to edamame that I missed?

 

[drtyler]

Soy beans contain estrogen, which men don’t typically need in large amounts. Many soy beans grown in the USA are of the Food, Inc variety that is glyphosphate tolerant, so traces of herbicide are present in the finished product.

Nothing wrong with enjoying roasted soy beans in moderation.

 

[Danno]

The "Charring" might not be so healthy.

 

[AZjeff]

Any significant downside to edamame that I missed?

Calling it a funny name instead of soybeans? Tried it once or twice, didn't make our menu.

 

[goingplacesanddoingstuff]

The "Charring" might not be so healthy.

You don’t eat the pod

 

[Quattro Pete]

By themselves, I don't see much harm in them. The issue is that I like them salted, and if you have too much salt, there are issues related to that, of course, so it requires moderation.

 

[ekrampitzjr]

You don't eat the pods, but frozen edamame is sold by weight, so you pay for the pods anyway. You can get frozen edamame beans without pods, but they can be hard to find.

 

[wpod]

Eat a varied diet.

 

[Danno]

You don’t eat the pod

Learn something new every day.
But if you char it, you must do it for the taste and if you taste it, you're eating char....

 

[vavavroom]

Learn something new every day.
But if you char it, you must do it for the taste and if you taste it, you're eating char....

No grilled or panfried meat for you!

 

[vavavroom]

Soy beans contain estrogen

Not exactly. Phytoestrogens, in this case isoflavones, are not a one-for-one for estrogen in humans. US beef is by the way full of estrogen.

which men don’t typically need in large amounts. Many soy beans grown in the USA are of the Food, Inc variety that is glyphosphate tolerant, so traces of herbicide are present in the finished product.

Most people ingest likely more substances that mimic estrogen through the use of plastic than they do through food.

You can find no-GMO soy products, including edamame, although, most US-grown soy is Monsanto GMO.

Nothing wrong with enjoying roasted soy beans in moderation.

Moderation tends to be the keyword. Nobody ever eats too much cod liver but @Pablo drinks cod liver oil.

 

[Pablo]

Soy beans contain estrogen,

No they actually don't. And no you won't grow man boobs or turn into a soy boy eating a LITTLE soy.

I bet anything man breasts are from too much sugar and flour and lack or exercise which will turn you into a couch flopper

 

[Pablo]

Nobody ever eats too much cod liver.

Mine is due Tuesday. Can't wait!!

 

[vavavroom]

Mine is due Tuesday. Can't wait!!

You are braver than I thought. Especially for a super taster!

 

[Pablo]

Anyway eating some edamame once or twice a week is not going to shorten your life, and may be a little bit good for you.

 

[wlk]

For me I stay away of soy in frequent and large quantities as I have hypothyroidism. Soy occasionally is fine but I try and keep it to a few times a month at most.

 

[vavavroom]

For me I stay away of soy in frequent and large quantities as I have hypothyroidism. Soy occasionally is fine but I try and keep it to a few times a month at most.

You also have to restrict cruciferous vegetables, gluten, butter, meat, beans, fiber, alcohol, and coffee. Not much left but fish.

 

[vavavroom]

I know some guys have concerns regarding foods that are high in phytoestrogens. Be aware that the more adipose tissue (body fat) you have, the more of the enzyme aromatase you make, which will convert testosterone partially to the main form of estrogen. Also, higher body fat results in increased insulin resistance which is implicated in lower testosterone levels. Being obese is likely to cause an imbalance between testosterone and estrogen. I would start looking at losing some body fat over completely cutting out some foods that contain some hormone mimics. Also, while it's true that men nowadays tend to have lower testosterone levels than previous generations, low estrogen is a problem in men. Hormonal balance is important for regulatory mechanisms.

 

[panthermike]

Nothing at all wrong with it Mike! Soy gets a bad rep, but it's mostly how we grow/utilize it that's the problem. Many of the longest lived cultures eat plenty of soy, but the difference is that their quality is much higher than ours. Often fermented as well.

Glad to see others noting that the estrogen thing is bunk. I like edamame but not a lot of bang for the buck.

 

[PandaBear]

I think the estrogen concern in soy is overblown. Asian diet has soybeans all the time and nobody died or grow manboobs because of that. A lot of older people who lost their teeth would switch to tofu diet, and many people in Northern China drink soymilk for breakfast every day like we drink dairy milk in the US (i.e. 1 pint per day).

Sodium, sugar, and saturated fat are the problem in most modern diet, not soy.