Soy products Are they really the best choice?

Origins: Food products made from the soybean have long been touted as
healthy additions to Western diet. Tofu, soy milk and other soy products
work to promote healthy cholesterol levels and have been said to help protect
from certain types of cancer, including breast, colon, and prostate cancer.

However, soy (or soya, if you will) has its dark side: it has a weak estrogen
effect, and its long-term effects on breast cancer are not known. Soy may
also decrease the absorption of thyroid medication, so the combination of the
two should be avoided.

In a nutshell, at least at this time there is no clear answer to the question of
soy's potential contribution to, or protection from, breast cancer. The experts
are split on this question. What research does exist on this topic is conflicting
and confusing. Hundreds of small studies on isoflavones and breast cancer
have found dramatically different results.

Soybeans are a melange of complex chemical components. Their main
components are protein, essential fatty acids, and to a lesser degree what are
known as isoflavones. While isoflavones are found in other legumes, the
versions in soybeans are also phytoestrogens: plant-derived weak estrogens,
chemically similar to the female hormone estrogen. Because isoflavones
behave like estrogen, in certain situations, they could stimulate the growth of
estrogen-dependent
tumors.

Research data, however, is far from conclusive, and some studies show just
the opposite: that under some conditions, soy may help prevent breast cancer.

Some physicians caution breast cancer patients against eating too much soy
for fear it could promote tumor growth in women whose disease is sensitive
to estrogen. In addition, health agencies of New Zealand, Australia, and
Great Britain have voiced concern about the safety of soy-based infant
formula for fear that it might spark reproductive or thyroid problems in babies
in later life. Yet approximately 18 million U.S. children have grown up on soy
formula since the 1960s, and the scientific literature says there are perhaps 12
cases of abnormalities in infants possibly traceable to soy formula.

In 1999 the Food and Drug Administration allowed food manufacturers to
claim that soy-based foods help lower the risk of heart disease.

Barbara "soy confusing" Mikkelson
The URL for this page is http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/soya.asp

www.reinventingmyself.com