Singling Out Soy: Scientists probe potential anticancer benefits of a long-time Asian diet staple

MORE STUDY NEEDED: Mark Messina, a nutrition consultant, says Lamartiniere's findings are an "exciting hypothesis," but he notes that epidemiological studies linking soy and breast cancer rates have mixed results. Soy is a hot topic these days, not only among farmers--who have planted a record 71.7 million acres of soybeans, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture--but among scientists who are exploring and debating the health benefits of a food that for thousands of years has been a

Written byHarvey Black

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MORE STUDY NEEDED: Mark Messina, a nutrition consultant, says Lamartiniere's findings are an "exciting hypothesis," but he notes that epidemiological studies linking soy and breast cancer rates have mixed results.

Soy is a hot topic these days, not only among farmers--who have planted a record 71.7 million acres of soybeans, according to the U. S. Department of Agriculture--but among scientists who are exploring and debating the health benefits of a food that for thousands of years has been a staple in Asian diets.

Driving the interest in soy is the finding that Asian women have extremely low breast cancer rates and eat diets rich in soy. Moreover, as the diets of Asian immigrants to the West change in favor of more fat and meat, breast cancer rates increase. Consequently many researchers have singled out soy as a potential breast cancer preventive. According to the American Cancer Society, there will be ...

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