Delicious UK – (10)October 2019

ILLUSTRATIONS:

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IMAGES

Soyafoodsaresafeforeveryoneto

eat,includingbreastandprostate

cancerpatients❑TRUE ❑FALSE

Somestudiessuggestthatsoyafoods

canprotectagainstsomecancersbut

thereisnoconclusive evidence

❑TRUE ❑FALSE

Consumingsoyacaneasethe

symptomsofmenopause for some

women❑TRUE ❑FALSE

Scientistsagreethatsoyaisproven

toreducetherisk of heart disease

❑TRUE ❑FALSE

Thereisabsolutelynoassociation

betweena diethighinsoya and male

fertility ❑TRUE ❑ FALSE

TRUE OR FALSE?

showeddifferentresultsfrom

studiesconductedonhumans.

“Ratsexposedtohighlevelsofthe

isoflavonefoundinsoyaproducts

showedanincreasedriskofbreast

cancer,”shesays.“However,rats

breakdownsoyadifferentlyfrom

humans,andthedosesgivento

themweremuchhigherthan those

foundinhumanstudies.”

O’Riordansayssoyais “asafe,

healthycomponentofanydiet”.

Butsheaddsthatsoyaisoflavone

supplementsintabletandpill

formarenotrecommended

becausenostudieshavebeen

doneintowhethersuchhigh

levelsofisoflavonesaresafe.

Whataboutother soya-related

healthclaims?

Menopausalsymptoms

SejalJacob(MScDietetics),

a registereddietitianand

spokespersonfortheBritish

DieteticAssociation,saysthereis

goodevidencethatsoyacanhelp

easesymptomsofthemenopause

suchashotflushesandlossofbone

mineral.“Consumingabout40mg

isoflavonesdaily,whichis about

twoglassesofsoyamilk,mayhelp

reducetheincidenceofhotflushes

byjustover 20 percent,andtheir

severitybymorethan 26 percent,”

shesays.AccordingtoJacob,

studiesdosuggestthatwomen

whoconsumesoyamayhave

higherbonedensity,butmore

evidenceandresearch are needed.

Heartdisease

Some1990sstudiessuggestedsoya

mighthelplowerlevelsof‘bad’

cholesterolandprotectagainstheart

disease,butrecentresearchsuggests

thiseffectmighthavebeen

overstated.“Despiteconflicting

opinionsaboutthecholesterol-

loweringabilitiesofsoyaprotein,

theremaybeotherbenefitsfrom

includingit inyourdiet,”says

VictoriaTaylor,seniordietitian

at the British Heart Foundation.

“Thebeansarenutritiousbecause

theycontainprotein,fibre,

unsaturatedfatsanda range of

vitaminsandminerals.”

Prostatecancer and

men’shealth

Somestudiessuggestthatdiets

highinsoycanprotectagainst

prostatecancer.“Soyamaybenefit

menwhoareatriskofdeveloping

prostatecancer,butthosewhoare

alreadydiagnosedmaynotreceive

anybenefit,”SejalJacobsays.A

spokesmanforCancerResearchUK

added:“Morestudiesareneeded to

understandif thereis a link.”

Researchcontinuesintoa possible

associationbetweenhighsoya

consumptionandlowspermcounts

• butagain,studyresultshavebeen
  contradictory.Untilmoreresearch
  is done,theNHSwebsitesuggests
  that,formenwithlowspermcounts
  whoaretryingtoconceive,“thereis
  noharm”inlimitingsoyaintake.
  SejalJacobsuggestsa “reasonable”
  intakeof10-70gofsoyaproteinper
  dayhasnoeffectontestosteroneor
  oestrogenlevels,oron fertility.

Thyroidfunction

Jacobsayssoyafoodscanaffectthe

absorptionofsyntheticthyroid

hormones(suchaslevothyroxine),

sopeoplewithpoorlyfunctioning

thyroidglandsshouldlimittheir

intake– butthere’snoneedtocut

outsoyaaltogether.If youhave

concerns,consultyourdoctor.

THEBOTTOMLINE

Soyais anexcellentsourceof

proteinandnutrientsandit’ssafe

foreveryone– includingcancer

patients– toeataspartofa healthy

balanceddiet.Researchinto

possiblecancerandheart-protective

benefitsis ongoing,andtheresults

ofstudiesintheareahavebeen

contradictory.Menwithlowsperm

countswhoaretryingtoconceive

mightthinkaboutcuttingdownon

the amount of soya they eat.

your health.

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