soy

Over the past few years, some research has suggested that there might be a correlation between high soy consumption and lowered prostate cancer risk. Most of the research suggesting the link was observational or based on animal studies on the role of soy supplements on the risk of prostate cancer, or on the risk of recurrence of the cancer after treatment.

According to the American Cancer Society, there is some logic to a potential causal relationship between soy consumption and risk of prostate cancer:

Plant estrogens (phytoestrogens) were first identified in the early 1930s. At that time it was discovered that soybeans, willows, dates, and pomegranates contained compounds that were much like estrogens. Scientists began studying the role isoflavones play in reducing breast cancer risk in the 1960s. In a 1981 prospective study in Japan, researchers found that daily intake of miso, a soybean paste, was linked to lower death rates from stomach cancer in more than 260,000 men and women. Around that time, other studies on soy began to be published in the United States. In October 1999, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) agreed to allow health claims about soy’s role in reducing heart disease on food products containing soy protein.Read More »Soy supplements and prostate cancer–no effect