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Question: Should we stay away from soy products because of their estrogen connection?

Answer: Yes, it is true that isoflavones in soy mimic estrogen and increased estrogen in the body can promote the growth of estrogen sensitive cancers. However, studies have also shown that isoflavones from soy can inhibit prostate and breast cancer and that these cancers have a decreased incidence in countries like China and Japan (where soy products are consumed regularly).1 The bigger take home message is how much soy are we eating and in what form. Our best advice to you when eating soy products, is to choose traditional forms of soy (such as tofu, tempeh, miso, tamari) over synthetic/processed forms (burgers, cheese, bars, etc). Next, use these foods as condiments or flavorings for your meal and not the meal itself. Finally, if you are going to have synthetic or processed soy products do so on special occasions that are few and far between.

1 (drmcdougal.com -Adlercreutz H. Phyto-oestrogens and cancer. Lancet Oncol. 2002 Jun;3(6):364-73.)

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