Does anyone have any experience or information about the usefulness of soy, or in particular a OTC product called Soy Balance. The claim is that is helps reduce hot flashes. If so it might be helpful for men after chemical/physical castration or natural andropause?

Actual medical studies indicate that certain soy products, in bulk, do lower sperm count, lower testosterone, and cause natural estrogen in males to enhance male breast growth.

Other actual medical studies have shown that male babies who are fed soy instead of breast milk or cow milk and who have consumed soy during childhood have delayed or very insignificant puberty and small genitals into adulthood and female children have early puberty. (Assumption is that soy suppresses testosterone and permits estrogen to function at a higher level somehow). If true it might be useful as a natural testosterone suppresant in men who want to suppress their libido, maybe?. But no info on just how much soy an adult male would need to consume on a daily basis or in what form it would need to be.

Curious if anyone here has used soy for any purpose.

Since I started using soy milk and soy flour in 2006 when I was DX'd with T2 diabetes, I have noticed nothing significant. Then again, I had pretty much no libido to start with. I lost about 60 lbs., as Jesus and Krister can testify, so a lot of the breast fat I had from simply being overweight went with that. I only consume about a gallon of soy milk (much less sugar/carb) a week, though. A batch of muffins or a cake will last me all week, too. What soy sauce I use at meals is probably negligible.

One aside, I did make a nice chocolate cake with soy flour that was the consistency of a what the British might call a "pudding" - not sure. It didn't rise too well and was very moist and heavy! Good, though - especially with booze poured over it and lit...