Soy Product and Isoflavone Consumption in Relation to Prostate Cancer in Japanese Men
There seems to be a never ending parade of people noting that soy is detrimental to our health. Unfortunately, many of the references they use do not hold up to scrutiny. Add to this that there are volumes of research on the beneficial aspects of soy and the isoflavones they contain. Keep in mind, however, that our bacterial flora in our gut plays a large role in how beneficial these isoflavones are. Over time, the bacteria in our gut “learn” to convert the isoflavones to their aglycones, and these aglycones are the compounds that are very protective for hormonal cancers.
This was a large study looking at whether soy protected against prostate cancer. For localized prostate cancer, soy consumption lowered risk almost 50%. However, it did increase the risk for advanced prostate cancer. Rather than deterring from soy consumption, I would suggest that soy should be part of a lifestyle of healthy changes, coupled with other lifestyles to lower risk of prostate cancer (sunlight exposure, no dairy, plant based diet, exercise, etc..).