Vitamin E and Soy

Question: You have recommended taking vitamin E with tocopherols, which contain soy. Yet you wrote a whole article against soy in your newsletter Natural Way to Health. Can you please explain?

Dr. Brownstein's Answer:

Many vitamin E supplements are derived from soy. In manufacturing vitamin E from soy, a multistep process removes soy proteins from the end product. The goitrogens in non-fermented soy foods (such as soy milk, cheese, formula, etc.), which I wrote about in the December 2008 issue of Natural Way to Health, are removed during the manufacturing process. These substances suppress thyroid function and cause goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland. Although the vitamin E product has to be labeled as derived from soy, there should be no traces of soy and no goitrogens in the final product.