Have you heard it said that soy foods, or even lavender essential oils, are "feminizing" boys, leading to infertility or even cancer? Industry and parts of the medical establishment have been blaming phyto - plant - estrogens for "estrogen dominance" while leaving xeno - foreign to the body - estrogens alone. Why?

Xenoestrogens are industrial chemicals that disrupt human hormones. Hormones are the agents of communication in the human body regardless of sexe.

... from Wikipedia:

Chemicals shown to have estrogenic effects

* alkylphenols (intermediate chemicals used in the manufacture of other chemicals)
* atrazine (weedkiller)
* 4-Methylbenzylidene camphor (4-MBC) (sunscreen lotions)
* butylated hydroxyanisole, BHA (food preservative)
* bisphenol A (monomer for polycarbonate plastic and epoxy resin; antioxidant in plasticizers)
* dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (one of the breakdown products of DDT)
* dieldrin (banned insecticide)
* DDT (banned insecticide)
* endosulfan (widely banned insecticide)
* erythrosine, FD&C Red No. 3
* ethinylestradiol (combined oral contraceptive pill) (released into the environment as a xenoestrogen)
* heptachlor (restricted insecticide)
* lindane, hexachlorocyclohexane (restricted insecticide)
* metalloestrogens (a class of inorganic xenoestrogens)
* methoxychlor (banned insecticide)
* nonylphenol and derivatives (industrial surfactants; emulsifiers for emulsion polymerization; laboratory detergents; pesticides)
* pentachlorophenol (restricted general biocide and wood preservative)
* polychlorinated biphenyls, PCBs (banned; formerly used in electrical oils, lubricants, adhesives, paints)
* parabens (lotions)
* phenosulfothiazine (a red dye)
* phthalates (plasticizers)
o DEHP (plasticizer for PVC)
* Propyl gallate (used to protect oils and fats in products from oxidation)

Phytoestrogens, on the other hand are ancient naturally occurring substances, and as dietary phytochemicals they are considered as co-evolutive with mammals.

According to Wikipedia:
Flax seed and other oilseeds contained the highest total phytoestrogen content, followed by soybeans and tofu... Legumes (in particular soybeans), whole grain cereals, and some seeds are high in phytoestrogens. A more comprehensive list of foods known to contain phytoestrogens includes: soybeans, tofu, tempeh, soy beverages, linseed (flax), sesame seeds, wheatberries, fenugreek, oats, barley, dried beans, lentils, yams, rice, alfalfa, mung beans, apples, carrots, pomegranates, wheat germ, rice bran, soy linseed bread, ginseng, hops, bourbon, beer, fennel and anise... An epidemiological study of women in the United States found that the dietary intake of phytoestrogens in healthy post-menopausal Caucasian women is less than one milligram daily.

So are phytoestrogens responsible for endocrine disruption in humans around the globe? Is soy really the problem? I don't think so. I believe that the reproductive cancers, lowered fertility in males*, dramatic increases in autisms, attention and learning disorders, genital disruption in males, decrease in male birth, even asthma, are due to our exposure through air, water and foods to xenoestrogens, particularly from smog and plastics.

The human body knows how to process, eliminate or make use of** naturally occurring phytoestrogens - it's the xenoestrogens that are clogging our estrogen receptors, leaving our own estrogen to wander around the body like bored teenagers in a shopping mall. I believe you are far better off ditching the plastic than flax seeds? Don't you?

P.S. Use only Certified Organically Grown soy products, not GMO - genetically modified - or over-processed foods.

* Worldwide sperm counts are half what they used to be, and soy, staple food of Asia, is being blamed. Isoflavones supplementation has no effect on sperm concentration, count or motility, and show no changes in testicular or ejaculate volume.23/24
23# ^ Dabrowski, Waldemar M. (2004). Toxins in Food. CRC Press Inc. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-8493-1904-4.
24# ^ Mitchell JH, Cawood E, Kinniburgh D, Provan A, Collins AR, Irvine DS (June 2001). "Effect of a phytoestrogen food supplement on reproductive health in normal males". Clin. Sci. 100 (6): 613–618. doi:10.1042/CS20000212. PMID 11352776. http://www.clinsci.org/cs/100/0613/cs1000613.htm. Retrieved 2008-12-20.

** Although phytoestrogens haven't been found to disrupt our bodies, they are known to help, even in very small amounts. Traditional botanical medicine uses herbs and foods that adjust and balance progesterone, testosterone and estrogen levels.