Dear Friends,

Here is the second of three SOY articles that
I've found worthy of sharing with you.

The original study appeared in the Journal of
Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism 2001;86:3045

REUTER'S HEALTH REPORTS:

Soy Protein Suppresses Breast Cancer Hormones
Thursday, August 2, 2001
By Suzanne Rostler

Antioxidant compounds found in soy foods have been
shown to reduce levels of hormones associated with
breast cancer risk in women. Now, the results of a small
study suggest that other factors associated with soy may
also play a role in lowering cancer risk.

The investigators found that nine healthy, premenopausal
women who consumed a diet containing soymilk in which
most of the antioxidant compounds, isoflavones, had been
removed, produced less estrogen and progesterone than
they produced before they added soy to their diets. Other
reproductive hormones were not affected by the diet, which
was also low in animal protein and high in fiber, the
researchers report.

According to the study in the July issue of the Journal
of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, estrogen
levels fell as soy protein and fiber intake increased.

However, Dr. Lee-Jane W. Lu, the study's lead author,
stressed that it is not yet clear which dietary compounds
caused the change in hormone levels. ``The important
finding from my study is that it is not too hard to lower
a woman's...female hormone,'' she told Reuters Health.

"By replacing--not supplementing--a portion of
one's energy intake (with) soy, one can lower one's
female hormones.'"

Estrogen can stimulate the growth of some types of
breast cancer cells and is thought to play a role in the
development of some cases of breast cancer. Women
with a higher lifetime exposure to estrogen--for instance,
those who got their first period at an early age, those who
do not have children and women who do not breastfeed--
may face a higher risk of breast cancer. The hormone
progesterone also contributes to breast cancer risk by
helping tumors to grow. "Our results may have
implications for breast cancer prevention by soy
dietary intervention," according to Lu and her colleagues
at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.

In the study, researchers measured levels of estrogen,
progesterone, sex hormone-binding globulin,
luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating
hormone (FSH) in women before they began the diet.
LH and FSH stimulate ovarian function. The women
followed the diet, which included 36 ounces of soymilk
containing less than 5 milligrams of isoflavones daily,
for one month. The study diet contained more
carbohydrate and less protein than the women's
usual diets, the report indicates.

Robert Cohen
http://www.notmilk.com