Guys beware: Soy food may not be so super

Are soybeans and soybean products like soy milk, guy friendly? The answer, surprisingly, could be, "No."

I began to have an inkling that soy, what I considered a "super" food, may be less so after reading Stephen Perrine's "The New American Diet." Perrine writes that soybeans produce two phytoestrogens (plant-produced estrogens): genistein and daidzein.

Men's bodies have estrogen in minute amounts, while women have higher levels. Phytoestrogens can mimic estrogen, and when consumed in small quantities should be fine. Yet if guys ingest too many of those phytoestrogens in their food plan, the result could be enhanced female physical characteristics - not the results most guys I know desire.

So where do we find soy and how do we avoid it?

Soy milk's an obvious soy source. Post-workout protein shakes often are made with soy milk and protein powders containing soy. For an alternative, try rice milk or my favorite, organic, unsweetened almond milk.

I'll skip right past tofu, since I don't know a guy who likes tofu, except maybe the small doses in Asian hot and sour soup.

Guys are more likely to go for soy in the form of the meat substitutes you find in the store's freezer cases. Try grain-based substitutes instead.

Soy flour is in a slew of bread products from bagels and buns to pita bread and pizza crusts. And in oil form, it's everywhere. Not just the soy oil or buttery spray you might use for cooking, but incorporated into products throughout the fridge and pantry.

Check a mayonnaise jar and you'll find that it's made mostly of oil and may contain more than 80 percent soy oil. And many supermarket salad dressings - even some labeled olive oil - blend soy with other oils. To avoid soy, read the ingredient label.

When eating out, ask about soy use. There's a good chance the restaurant's salad dressings are made with soy oil and soy oil fills the deep fryers.

Over the past three months I've challenged myself to avoid soy. It's taken a lot of label reading, but I've done it and my body is none the worse for it and, maybe, even better.

Try this recipe: Since I had to make my own salad dressing if I wanted to avoid soybean oil, I created this dressing. It's better than any low-fat dressing you can buy. Give it a try.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write him at don@theleanwizard.com.