Originally published June 24 2014
Does soy cause cancer?
by Jeanette Padilla
(NaturalNews) Soy is a staple food for vegans and vegetarians. You don't need to be a vegetarian to enjoy soy; however, many people stopped consuming soy because of the negative press it's received in recent years. The manufacture of soy-based food increased significantly in the last decade, but now most people are eating far less or have given it up altogether. Why? Isn't soy good for you? Many articles say that soy causes cancer. This is what most people think nowadays. Women especially are afraid of eating soy products because of the link to breast cancer. Let's look at the facts.
Soy acts like estrogen
This is partly true. Soy contains compounds knows as isoflavones. The compounds are similar to estrogen chemically. They also behave like estrogen in the body; however, they are far less potent than estrogen found in the body. The basis of some studies is that more estrogen equals higher risk of breast cancer, leaving one to conclude that, if isoflavones behave like estrogen, then that will also put one at higher risk for breast cancer. This, however, is not the case.
This is where it gets a little tricky. Isoflavones can also have anti-estrogen properties, and this is a good thing. When estrogen locks into an estrogen receptor, it sends a flood of signals that can trigger estrogen-receptor-positive breast tumor growth. Isoflavones can prevent natural estrogen from binding to estrogen receptors. The anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of isoflavones can help reduce and even prevent cancer growth.
What do the studies actually show?
Most available studies are either poorly designed or are inconclusive. Tests performed on rodents typically utilize soy protein isolate, which to this day has not been proven to be harmful to humans. Additionally, studies often feature unusually high amounts of soy injected into rodents; these high levels of soy are not truly representative of how much soy humans consume. Lastly, rodents process soy differently than humans do, making those studies completely irrelevant.
Practice safe soy
Like most other major crops, most soy available today is genetically modified. Only consume soy that is non-GMO. Food should not be genetically modified. Modified food will cause disease. Man-made chemicals in food and genetically engineered foods are not good for the human body; this is just logical. Also, remember to eat whole soy. This is a great general rule for all foods but for soy especially. Many soy companies spend a lot of money trying to make soy foods taste more like meat, but what this really means for you is more added chemicals, colorants and preservatives. Stick to unprocessed, non-GMO, whole soy such as tofu, tempeh, edamame and miso.
Click here for more facts about soy and cancer written by the author, Jeanette Padilla.
For more information and breaking news on genetically modified soy and other GMOs, visit GMOs.NaturalNews.com.
Sources for this article include:
www.cancer.org
www.drhyman.com
www.doctoroz.com
http://science.naturalnews.com
About the author:
Jeanette Padilla is an experienced herbalist, writer, and co-creator of Sunshine Natural Healing. Read more of her work at Sunshine Natural Healing, or follow her on Facebook
Jeanette Padilla is an experienced herbalist, writer, and co-creator of Sunshine Natural Healing. Read more of her work at Sunshine Natural Healing, or follow her on Facebook
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