Is Soy Really A Health Food? A Doctor Settles The Debate

The Soy Myth, or the word on the street that soy is a dangerous food that destroys your health, is almost as pervasive as the Protein Myth, which my friend Rich Roll wrote about in the past. And you should know that there is both older and brand-new data regarding soy and health that should put you at ease about eating organic tofu, edamame, and tempeh.

Chinese researchers studied 1,312 cases of first-time heart attack sufferers and 2,235 control subjects. An unhealthy dietary pattern increased the risk of heart attack while an increased intake of vegetables, fruits, and tofu were associated with a significant drop in heart attack rates.

A meta-analysis of men diagnosed with prostate cancer found that the risk of this serious disease was cut in half by regular ingestion of soy and soy isoflavones.

Japanese researchers performed an evaluation of research and identified studies that showed everything from a slight to a significant reduction in breast cancer with increased soy food intake. Additionally, a meta-analysis of 35 studies from Asian countries was performed to examine soy intake and breast cancer risk. Soy intake significantly reduced breast cancer risk by 40 percent in both pre- and postmenopausal women in these countries.

In southern China, 500 women with ovarian cancer were compared to 500 controls, and the amount of soy products eaten was assessed. Regular soy intake was associated with a dramatically lower rate of ovarian cancer with a dose-response relationship, meaning the more soy the women ate the lower their risk became.

The Singapore Chinese Health Study examined more than 52,000 men and women free of chronic diseases at entry between 1993 and 1998 and followed them all the way through 2011. During that time, there were more than 10,000 deaths. A pattern of eating a vegetable-, fruit- and soy-rich diet was associated with up to a 25 percent lower risk of dying during the study period and was also linked to fewer heart and cancer deaths.

The lead study author, Dr. Fang Fang Zhang, added "for women with hormone receptor-negative breast cancer, soy food products may potentially have a protective effect. Women who did not receive endocrine therapy as a treatment for their breast cancer had a weaker, but still statistically significant, association." The totality of data on soy is that it's a far better choice than animal products and need not be feared. In my restaurant, GreenSpace Café, we serve organic tofu and tempeh and it is reassuring to know that the Soy Myth can be declared a true myth.