Are you avoiding soy due to fear of hormonal cancers?

Are you avoiding soy due to fear of hormonal cancers?

I have had several friends tell me that they avoid soy products (edamame, tofu, tempeh, miso, and soy milk) due to the plant estrogens that they fear contribute to hormone-related cancers such as breast, uterine and ovarian in women and prostate in men. However, numerous scientific studies indicate that soy products actually reduce the risk of these cancers and prevent the risk of breast cancer recurrence.

Soybeans contain a class of phytoestrogens or plant estrogens called isoflavones. This plant estrogen does not have the same effect on your body as animal estrogen. According to Dr. Michael Greger in his book “How Not To Die”, “phytoestrogens dock into the same receptors as your own estrogen but have a weaker effect, so they can act to block the effects of your more powerful estrogen.”

Breast cancer: (more…)