Cancer
Cancer Council warns dangers of soy
By Ben Wasserman - foodconsumer.org
Jan 15, 2007 - 8:34:46 AM

Soybeans are good.   But like most foods, too much of a good thing can be bad for the health of an individual.   An Australian cancer organization has said that women who have or have had breast cancer need to avoid soy supplements, which contain high doses of phyto-estrogen as such supplements have the potential to stimulate tumor growth.

The Cancer Council of New South Wales has planned to release a new position statement on soy foods in response to many inquires about the benefits of soy foods or soy supplements, according to theage.com.au. This statement will say that soy foods may slightly lower the risk of breast and prostate cancer.

The Cancer Council led by a number of college professors in oncology does not reveal its financial source to the public and it is unknown whether the organization represents the medical or drug industry, or consumers, or simply the science per se.

They said soy foods used as a measure to aid treatment of breast cancer or prevention of cancer returning may do more harm than good.   They suggested cancer survivors exercise caution when it comes to soy foods.

They also said, according to news report, that use of soy supplements can interfere with cancer treatment although it is safe for an ordinary person to use an ordinary amount of soy food such as tofu, the council's nutritionist Kathy Chapman was cited as saying.

Health benefits of soy foods have been a hotly debated issue.   Soy is commonly consumed by Asians who have lower risk of “affluence” diseases such as heart disease, diabetes and cancer compared to the Westerners.   Many people attribute the lower incidence of these diseases in part to use of high amounts of soy foods and lower amounts of meat and dairy.

In food safety textbooks, phyto-estrogens found in soybeans may be discussed as natural toxins as they mimic the human estrogen, long-term exposure of which promotes growth of certain types of cancer - a concern for those who are fighting hard against others eating soy foods for any purpose.

Early studies are inconsistent, just like many of other research topics.   A scientist affiliated with foodconsumer.org who uses soy foods often said that the important thing to remember is not to overuse anything regardless of the toxicity of phyto-estrogens.

He said there are many natural toxins present in many types of produce.   But when you use them in a nutritionally balanced diet, they are likely to cause no harm to anyone.

Some studies suggest that the toxicity of soy foods may be minimal compared to other types of toxins.   For example, studies by Harvard School of Public Health indicate hormone in cow milk may pose much higher risk.

Natural estrogens (such as those naturally occurring in milk) are up to 100,000 times more potent than the environmental pollutants such as the estrogen-like compounds in pesticides, Ganmaa Davaasambuu, a working scientist at Harvard School of Public Health was cited as saying.

Related article

Natural hormones in milk can be dangerous