Soya Nuts

[Sammie]

Just a quick question. Is it safe to give hamsters Soya Nuts? I bought a packet when i went shopping this morning but i just wanted to make sure i wasn't putting Heidi or Noodles at risk by giving them as treats. Thanks

[Biscotti]

I think Soya Nuts are roasted soybeans right? It's ok to give those to hamsters as long as they are not salted or flavored. In fact, hamsters really benefit from soy proteins so it can be a healthy treat.

[racinghamster]

I try never to feed soya to female animals as it`s a natural estrogen and because female mice, hamsters etc, can suffer from mammary tumours, I try to replace soya with another protein source like hemp seeds, which is also found in Tesco!

Hemp seeds taste nutty and hamsters love them as a treat. I can`t say if soya nuts are safe or not though. Soya flakes are added to my Burgess hamster mix, but I only have a roborovski male, not a female, so I`m not so concerned about a soya product being fed with males.

[Biscotti]

Originally Posted by racinghamster

I try never to feed soya to female animals as it`s a natural estrogen and because female mice, hamsters etc, can suffer from mammary tumours, I try to replace soya with another protein source like hemp seeds, which is also found in Tesco!

That's very interesting, racinghamster, I had not considered the estrogen as it's not usually brought up, usually just the protein properties. I did a quick search and did found a few reputable articles regarding the isoflavone genestein in soy that act as estrogen, which were shown to cause mammary tumors and ovulation issues in rats. But it seems like the research result is not entirely conclusive :

Most of the concern about soy has come from studies in laboratory animals. Rats injected with ER-positive tumor cells were given varying doses of genestein or daidzen. Those given more of the isoflavones had a greater growth of the breast tumors compared to rats given little or no isoflavones. But not all animal studies have shown harmful effects.


Furthermore, while isoflavones may act like estrogen, they also have anti-estrogen properties. That is, they can block the more potent natural estrogens from binding to the estrogen receptor. In addition, they stop the formation of estrogens in fat tissue and stimulate production of a protein that binds estrogen in the blood (to make it less able to bind to the receptor). They also have anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and work in other ways to reduce cancer growth.

Given the common recommendation of tofu, it may be ok to have soy occassionally, but worth a second thought if it consist a large part of a regular diet for female rodents.

[racinghamster]

Thanks for that Biscotti. It all comes down to whether you trust feeding soya and whether it`s an organic soya or one that is GM produced, as many soya products can be these days. The only human grade soya products that have cancer fighting properties are fermented soy in the form of tamari and a few other sauce forms of soy. I looked this up ages ago when keeping mice and always remembered what I read.

I prefer to steer clear of it personally. Especially with female animals. I only keep males though.

[Sammie]

Sorry i haven't got back sooner. Thank-you both for your replies, it was very interesting to read. To be honest i have now put the soya nuts in the bin as i obviously don't want to risk Heidis' health. I never realized that they could cause such health problems, so thank-you for the heads up