Should cats eat soy?
Soy is often added to cat food under the guise of protein. This cheap switch in diety protein makes for a very dangerous ingredient. Feeding is not jusy misguides, it can cause some rather serious problems in cats.
- It disrupts endocrine function and increases thyroxine (T4) levels in cats. An elevated T4 level can indicate hyperthyroidism.
- It can cause digestive upset, including flatulence.
- By interfering with protein digestion, trypsin inhibitors have caused stunted growth and pancreatic problems in test animals.
- Phytic acids contained in soy inhibit the body’s absorption of calcium and other minerals.
- It’s unknown how the phytoestrogens in soy affect cats but, given that soy isn’t a natural part of a cat’s diet, it’s more likely to have a negative than a positive effect.
Thyroxine – wikipedia
The thyroid hormones, thyroxine and triiodothyronine, are tyrosine-based hormones produced by the thyroid gland which are primarily responsible for regulation of metabolism.
Hyperthyroidism – Wikipedia
Hyperthyroidism, often referred to as an ‘overactive thyroid’, is when the thyroid gland produces and secretes excessive amounts of the free – not protein bound and circulating in the blood – thyroid hormones, triiodothyronine and/or thyroxine.
Trypsin inhibitors – Wikipedia
Trypsin inhibitors are chemicals that reduce the availability of biologically active trypsin, an enzyme essential to nutrition of many animals, including humans.
Phytic acids – Wikipedia
It is the principal storage form of phosphorus in many plant tissues, especially bran and seeds.
phytoestrogens – Wikipedia
Phytoestrogens are plant-derived xenoestrogens (Xenoestrogens are a type of xenohormone that imitates estrogen).
Resources
Whole Health for Happy Cats by Sandy Arora
Wikipedia.com
fetcher.co.uk
Picture by dogandcat.com.
I did not know that, thanks again for sharing!
There is quite a bit of controversy over soy for humans too. I think it is easier to solve for cats, because it is always so highly processed in their food it is so alien to their digestive systems, it is only natural that they should avoid it.
For humans too, really? I didn’t know. Is it really that bad?
I’ve looked at the research and I’m not convinced. I love tofu and I eat a lot of it. I think things with “soy protein isolate” might be the problem, if anything is, and it is always in more expensive highly processed things (like vegan fake meat), so it is not too hard to avoid anyways.
And I thought soy is good for humans. Thanks for sharing littlemiao.
I eat soy a lot too, and everything I read is contradicted, but so is everything I read about meat too. One says its good and the other says it’s not. The truth must lay somewhere in between.
I love tofu! So yea.
I didn’t know that Dianda. Thanks for highlighting it.