Dietary Isoflavones May Protect against Prostate Cancer in Japanese Men
There are no shortage of websites out there touting that soy is killing us all, causing infertility, breast cancer, thyroid cancer and mineral deficiencies. The research just doesn’t match all this fear. While allergy is a concern, I feel it’s more from overdosing infants with soy-based formulas then anything else.
Here we have yet another study finding positive health benefits of soy, with men with the highest levels of isoflavones in the blood having a whopping 58% decreased risk of prostate cancer in Japanese men when compared to men with the lowest. Now, there are other things to consider here. Not only is the intake of soy products important, but we have to have the right type of bacterial flora in the gut to convert the isoflavones in soy to their more potent counterparts–the aglycone form. So antibiotic use could drastically alter the protective effect of soy on risk of prostate cancer. So…next time your PCP gives you that antibiotic prescription for a viral infection, ask how this is going to alter your risk of prostate cancer by destruction of normal flora.