Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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When searching pubmed, I only find studies that show soy is protective against cancer... and there are a lot of them - I stopped looking after find these

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20956506

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20591221

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20056634

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19996398

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19789300

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19403632

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19353280

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19321587

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19318430

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14628433

Why are there so many articles/discussions linking soy to cancer if there are so many studies that show the opposite? I've read Dr. Mercola articles where he argues the Isoflanones are unhealthy, but many of the above studies argue those are the very things that protect against cancer.

flag	asked Feb 24 2011 at 21:20 Fred B 1,304●3●14

Travis Culp · Answer 1 · 2011-02-24 21:54:41Z UTC

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I'm sure there are plenty of studies that show the health benefits of various subsidized grains and legumes. I wish pubmed listed all of those who funded them.

answered Feb 24 2011 at 21:54

Travis Culp♦
39.8k●1●32●134

	So what are we going on then? Why do people like Dr. Mercola say it's unhealthy, yet there are plenty of studies showing the opposite? – Fred B Feb 24 2011 at 21:57
	On the flip side, what "organization" has the incentive to dis-prove this notion, that soy is beneficial for breast cancer? These organizations do the studies so they prove something about their product (or give money to have it studied) – FanOfSunshine Feb 24 2011 at 23:40
	I wonder if soy is more dangerous for Estrogen positive type cancers and less dangerous for progesterone positive or other types of hormone positive cancers. My mom had Estrogen positive breast cancer which is primarily why I went paleo- to help with my estrogen dominance symptoms in the hopes of getting my heredity under control. Although I avoid soy, I do think sugar and grains and omega 6/3 ratios are more important to look at for cancer prevention. – wood Mar 20 2011 at 5:49

Helen · Answer 2 · 2011-02-24 22:11:57Z UTC

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I recommend that you read The Whole Soy Story: the dark side of America's favorite health food by Kaayla T. Daniel, PhD. CCN. for the answer to your question.

answered Feb 24 2011 at 22:11

Helen
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i would second this--this book answered a lot of my questions--and scared the crap out of me. – amanda Feb 25 2011 at 1:28

Jack Kronk · Answer 3 · 2011-02-24 22:45:18Z UTC

Yah and although WAPF is not really Paleo per se, they have a lot of pretty informative articles on the dangers of soy. I'm not saying I agree with all of it, but I think I've read enough to know that soy carries far too many risks to consume it on purpose. If you are out with friends and have a couple of appetizer edamame beans, then fine whatever... but I avoid soy and soy based foods now.

Senneth · Answer 4 · 2011-02-24 23:35:44Z UTC

Soy is beneficial is you need an estrogen boost (like menopausal women). These studies probably used extracts or isolates. But overall Soy is not so great (beyond not so great)for digestion, thyroid ect..

Here are a couple of links:

http://civileats.com/2010/12/09/the-truth-about-soy-health-claims/

http://www.foodrenegade.com/dangers-of-soy/

Here is a great book to read that has a whole section on the dangers of soy...

The vegetarian myth by lierre keith

Interesting note: this author was attacked at a book reading by vegans. They threw hot pepper laden whip cream pies in her face. Wow, the power of meat is amazing.

FanOfSunshine · Answer 5 · 2011-02-25 01:11:16Z UTC

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I would never take the risk & I was happily surprised that my girlfriend's Oncologist (she has breast cancer) told her to NEVER eat estrogen containing stuff (food) like soy ever in the future.

edited Feb 25 2011 at 1:11

answered Feb 24 2011 at 23:43

FanOfSunshine
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Sandra · Answer 6 · 2011-02-24 23:47:47Z UTC

I'm not sure the linked studies prove a protective effect from soy... didn't look at them all, but the few I checked were epidemiological. So, were there fewer cancers in the soy groups because of the soy consumption or because of some other factor soy eaters have in common?

Susan J. Komen for the Cure has a list of risk factors for breast cancer... soy is listed as "under study"... the explanation they provide is that some studies show a protective effect and others show a negative one. Individual links were not provided as far as I could tell though - just a long list of references that I do not have time to read through!

I am a breast cancer survivor and do not eat soy. My oncologist gave me the green light invoking the "Asians eat soy and have less breast cancer..." line. However, there is some controversy about the quantities/type of soy actually consumed in Asia. Also, soy seems to have many other negatives and few (if any) positives that I see no reason to take the risk.

BTW, I got breast cancer at 38 years old. No significant family history, brca negative. I was vegetarian from about age 19 until around 29 and ate lots of soy during this period. According to what I've read a cancerous tumor that can be felt has most likely been growing for about 8-10 years...

Soy and cancer risk

6 Answers