Post by Baron von Lotsov on Oct 6, 2024 13:21:35 GMT
A little cruise over in the Wikipedia tells me some interesting stuff. It's about Western diets.
A phytoestrogen is a plant-derived xenoestrogen (a type of estrogen produced by organisms other than humans) not generated within the endocrine system, but consumed by eating plants or manufactured foods.[1] Also called a "dietary estrogen", it is a diverse group of naturally occurring nonsteroidal plant compounds that, because of its structural similarity to estradiol (17-β-estradiol), have the ability to cause estrogenic or antiestrogenic effects.[2] Phytoestrogens are not essential nutrients because their absence from the diet does not cause a disease, nor are they known to participate in any normal biological function.[2] Common foods containing phytoestrogens are soy protein, beans, oats, barley, rice, coffee, apples, carrots (see Food Sources section below for bigger list).
This is what the consumer rarely understands. Thinking it is all natural ingredients so it must be good for you is a misnomer. As anyone with a clue would know, plants vary in their chemistry and in their chemistry is a hugely complicated thing. It's like plants have a brain, but the brain is comprised of a complicated interaction between molecules to perform all manner of different functions that helps the plant survive. Within that brain is these things.
You can go into this subject very deeply if you want.
In addition to interaction with ERs, phytoestrogens may also modulate the concentration of endogenous estrogens by binding or inactivating some enzymes, and may affect the bioavailability of sex hormones by depressing or stimulating the synthesis of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG).[8]
