Does Soy Really Decrease the Risk of Breast Cancer?

When it comes to soy, there is a general point of view which indicates it as being extremely beneficial for your health. This fact is determined by its richness in potassium, magnesium, fiber and amino acids. For this reason, these positive properties are supposed to demonstrate its effectiveness on your health. However, it appears that despite its positive compounds, soy presents a number of properties that cannot be accounted for beneficial.

The Disadvantages of Soy

Besides being loaded with compounds that improve your health condition, soy may be detrimental for you because it includes isoflavones. The way these compounds act is kind of controversial. They function as hormones, similar to estrogen. In this view, estrogen is considered to be linked to the development of breast cancer. This would be because breast cells embody estrogen receptors and when estrogen is released, it may cause the appearance of a possible tumor. Moreover, in the treatment of cancer, tamoxifen and raloxifene are used in order to repress the estrogen receptors, in this way preventing the tumor from developing. On the other hand, isoflavones, besides presenting estrogen properties, they incorporate anti-estrogen particularities as well.

Nonetheless, the state in which the research on this subject is at the moment does not hold the answers to this controversial problem. On the other hand, even though there is evidence that estrogen determines the growth of breast tumors, certain studies show that women who included soy in their diet presented lower breast cancer risk.

Soy: It Could Not Be So Harmful After All

As I mentioned before, research on the effects of soy in relation to breast cancer appearance is still being developed. There is a wide range of studies that present opposing sides of the problem. According to particular research, for some people, soy had no detrimental impact with regard to breast cancer and for others it even helped them prevent its emergence. In order for these studies to present certain and incontestable facts, they should be repeated, ideally through controlled study.

The reason why soy is assumed to hinder cancer from its appearance is that it contains fiber. A diet rich in fiber is acknowledged to decrease the risk of different types of cancer. Moreover, according to research, the introduction of soy in the diet of prostate cancer survivors indicated that soy-based aliments diminished the PSA level.

Conclusion

To sum it up, all these particularities soy has determine the lack of certainty with regard to its exact implications on our health. As there is no certainty regarding its impact in relation to breast cancer, you may consider including it in your diet from time to time, in order to cultivate a well-balanced diet. However, if you fear the detrimental effects it may have on your health, you should avoid it, and try replacing it with other aliments that present similar beneficial particularities.

The bottom line is that the most important aspect is to try managing a healthy, balanced way of living, trying to make no excess whatsoever with regard to your diet. Keep in mind that there are a number of facts that determine the emergence of breast cancer, for instance genetics or lifestyle, therefore there is no secret ingredient that will definitely make you deter from breast cancer.