Can Soy Protein Reduce the Recurrence of Breast Cancer?

The confusion has been lifted … we have clear evidence that SOY PROTEIN IS ONE OF THE BEST FOOD CHOICES to include in your diet DAILY! (This, of course, applies to both women and men..breast cancer rates among men have increased over the last several years) However, please remember that not all soy protein is created equal. It depends on if the soy beans are Non GMO and how the protein is processed. See this blog post for more details) But lets assume you have a good quality soy like Shaklee that has been processed with low heat etc. There is good evidence that Soy can benefit as a preventative and recurrence of breast cancer.

The results of a very definitive study that proves to women that consumption of soy foods decreases the risk of dying from breast cancer, and actually decreases their risk of breast cancer recurrence was released and printed on December 9th, 2009, in the Journal of the American Medical Association (by researchers at Vanderbilt University and Shanghai Institute of Preventative Medicine)

It was a large, well designed, study that enrolled 5042 Chinese women aged 20 to 75 years old who had been diagnosed with breast cancer and followed them for an average period of 3.9 years. The women were divided into four groups based on the soy content of their diet (ranging from 5 grams/day to 15 grams/day). In short, this was a very robust study. The results were clear cut:

• Breast cancer survivors with the highest soy intake had 25% less chance of breast cancer recurrence and 25% less chance of dying from breast cancer than the women with the lowest soy intake.

• The effect was equally strong for women with estrogen receptorpositive and estrogen receptor negative cancers, for early stage and late stage breast cancer and for pre- and post-menopausal women.

• The study also showed that soy protein intake did not interfere with tamoxifen. The reduction in the risk of breast cancer recurrence & death was just as great whether the breast cancer survivors were taking tamoxifen or not. In fact, tamoxifen was protective only for women with low soy intake. It conferred no extra protection for the women at the highest level of soy intake.

What does this mean for YOU …

You no longer need to be confused regarding the benefits of soy protein as part of a healthy diet

In fact, if you want to reduce your risk of breast cancer, it would be very wise to include it as a part of your regular diet intake

AND if you have already had breast cancer and would like to reduce your risk of a recurrence, it would be a great food to support your goal.

Shaklee has been producing a wonderful non genetically modified soy with low heat extraction for over 50 years. Most people find that they have more energy. Check out Energizing Soy by Shaklee

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