Does Soy Increase The Risk Of Breast Cancer Recurrence?

The Truth About Soy And Breast Cancer

Author: Dr. Stephen Chaney

With so much misleading information about Soy, I am sharing this great informational piece by Dr. Stephen Chaney...

You've probably heard the warnings: "Soy may increase the risk of breast cancer!" "Women with breast cancer shouldn't use soy!"

The first warning was never true. Numerous clinical studies have shown that consumption of soy protein is associated with a lower risk of developing breast cancer.

Furthermore, the science behind the second warning has never been very strong. The concerns that soy might stimulate the growth of breast cancer cells was based primarily on cell culture experiments and one experiment in mice - even though a second experiment in mice came to the exact opposite conclusion.

Was The Hypothesis That Soy Could Increase The Risk Of Breast Cancer Recurrence Plausible?

The possibility that soy isoflavones could stimulate the growth of estrogen- responsive breast cancer was biochemically plausible because soy isoflavones bind to the estrogen receptor and have a very weak stimulatory effect (much weaker than estrogen itself).

Even that evidence was not definitive because soy isoflavones also turn on several tumor suppressor pathways in breast cells and help strengthen the immune system - so they could just as easily inhibit the growth of breast cancer cells.

However, because the concerns were plausible and had not been definitively disproved, most experts, including me, recommended for several years that women with estrogen- responsive breast cancer might want to avoid soy protein.

Has The Hypothesis Been Rigorously Tested?

In fact, the definitive clinical studies have been performed, and it turns out for women who are breast cancer survivors, consumption of soy foods does not increase either the risk of breast cancer recurrence or of dying from breast cancer.

The first of these studies was reported in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association by researchers at Vanderbilt University and Shanghai Institute of Preventive Medicine (Shu et al, JAMA, 302: 2437-2443, 2009).

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). 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 receptor-positive and estrogen receptor negative cancers, for early stage and late stage breast cancer and for pre- and post-menopausal women. In short this was a very robust study.

The study also showed that soy protein intake did not interfere with tamoxifen, a drug that blocks the binding of estrogen to its receptor on cancer cells. Tamoxifen is used for both for treating estrogen-responsive breast cancer and preventing its recurrence. In this study, 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 because the soy isoflavones were also blocking the binding of estrogen to its receptor.

Other Clinical Studies

If that were the only published clinical study to test the soy-breast cancer hypothesis, I and other experts would be very cautious about making definitive statements. However, at least four more clinical studies have been published since then, both in Chinese and American populations. The studies have either shown no significant effect of soy on breast cancer recurrence or a protective effect. None of them have shown any detrimental effects of soy consumption by breast cancer survivors.

A meta-analysis of all 5 studies was published earlier this year (Chi et al, Asian Pac J Cancer Prev., 14: 2407-2412, 2013). This study combined the data from 11,206 breast cancer survivors in the US and China. Those with the highest soy consumption had a 23% decrease in recurrence and a 15% decrease in mortality from breast cancer.

The Bottom Line:

What does this mean for you if you are a breast cancer survivor?

1) There are many reasons to include soy protein foods as part of a healthy diet. Soy foods are one of the highest quality vegetable protein sources and provide a great alternative to many of the high fat, high cholesterol animal proteins in the American diet.

2) I personally feel that these studies are clear cut enough that breast cancer survivors no longer need to fear soy protein as part of a healthy diet.

3) The responsible websites agree with this assessment. For example, WebMD and the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) both say that breast cancer survivors need no longer worry about eating moderate amounts of soy foods.

4) The irresponsible websites (I won’t name names, but you know who they are) are still warning breast cancer survivors to avoid soy completely. As a scientist I really have problem with people who are unwilling to change their opinions in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary.

5) Of course, some of those bloggers have now shifted their arguments to say that it is unfermented or genetically modified soy that causes breast cancer. Those statements are equally bogus - but that’s another story for another time.

6)    Finally, I want to emphasize that the published studies merely show that soy does not increase the risk of breast cancer and is safe to use for breast cancer survivors. None of those studies suggest that soy is an effective treatment for breast cancer. The protective effects of soy are modest at best. If you have breast cancer, consult with your physician about the best treatment options for you.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

Are you letting your calendar age determine how "old" you are?

     ~Tips to Slow Aging Naturally~

Excerpts by Dr. Jamie McManus

The thousands of studies that have been done on aging are beginning to point to one inescapable conclusion:  
we may be able to modify our aging process by changing what we consume and how we live.

 

Here are the steps everyone can take to naturally slow the aging process:

Get active
In recent studies, regular exercise has been associated with a 75% risk reduction in breast cancer, 49 percent for cardiovascular and heart diseases, 35 percent for diabetes, and 22 percent for colorectal cancer. Some studies have suggested that for every minute of exercise, you prolong your life by 7 minutes.

Reduce Stress
Sustained stressors such as emotional trauma, feeling threatened or unsecure, and even natural disasters appear to be associated with increased aging biomarkers. You can work to reduce the stress you feel from those events by practicing relaxation techniques such as meditation, breathing exercises, and biofeedback.

Maintain an ideal weight
Being overweight is associated with a wide variety of aging diseases, including diabetes, colon cancer, gallstones, hypertension, heart disease, and stroke (men only). Achieving ideal weight can be hard, but there are many tools available that can help you maintain your lean body mass and lose weight.

More Sleep
Lack of sleep can have devastating effects on our health, impacting our mood, our memories, and even cold and flu resistance. To improve sleep consider having a consistent sleep schedule, use your bed only for sleep, try a "white noise generator" such as a fan, and avoid caffeine in the afternoon.

Stay Connected
The role of good social relationships is important to our overall health. As we age, having good social ties is linked to less depression, better cognitive skills, and even a longer life.

Nutrients
Eat Fruits and Vegetables: Since only nine percent of Americans eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day, the opportunity for improving health (and longevity) by improving diet is great.

Take a Multivitamin: Deficiency of vitamins B12, B6, C, E, niacin, folic acid, iron, or zinc all seem to mimic damage to DNA from radiation.Everyone should consider a good multivitamin to cover their base nutritional needs.

Load up on Polyphenols: Polyphenols are found in many fruits, vegetables, green tea, black tea, red wine, coffee, chocolate, olives, and extra virgin olive oil. They are plant-based nutrients that have antioxidant benefits and are protective effects against cellular aging.

• Muscadine Grapes: Possess one of the highest antioxidant levels among fruits.They contain a high concentration of polyphenols, but unlike other plants they also contain a high amount of ellagitannin and ellagic acid. Extracts of muscadine grape have been studied for their ability to help maintain inflammation and act as antioxidants
• Resveratrol: Studies suggest that resveratrol may slow cellular aging and have antiplatelet, anti-inflammatory, and cardio protective properties. Resveratrol can do a whole host of beneficial things – from protecting against a variety of cancers and heart disease to extending lifespan.
• Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a flavanol found in tea, has been shown to act as an antioxidant and possibly protect against aging.

How fast you age may truly be in your hands. There is a lot you can do to help slow cellular aging and perhaps delay some of the diseases that are so common in the aging.

Want to learn more about aging gracefully, polyphenols or resveratrol? 

Go To www.gaskell.myshaklee.com to learn more

Don't Fall For It! Tips for Avoiding Unhealthy Fall & Winter Temptations

 

As the temperatures cool and the days shorten, we see and feel many changes in the Autumn season. 

This time of year becomes a great time to evaluate our personal health changes as well!

For many of us the cooler temperatures and shorter days may mean less time outdoors and reduced activity.  Reducing essential exercise and vitamin D absorbed from sunshine exposure has been proven to increase back pain, increase stress, linked to higher rate of colds/flu's, depression, and more. 

And get this, according to John de Castro, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Sam Houston State University in Texas, we eat about 200 calories more per day in the fall, and not because of Thanksgiving--this is in addition to that weight gain. Yikes!

The good news is that you don't have to, "fall" into this pattern.

    ~3 simple tips for staying active and healthy in the Fall & all year long~


1. Be proactive and not reactive
You can't just wing it! 

When it comes to exercise and diet decisions in the fall and winter, work on being proactive and not reactive. Think through how you are going to structure your work-out time; when will you exercise? Can you make time on your lunch break, for a few minutes before or after work? It is suggested that we move 10,000 steps a day or exercise 30 minutes several days each week. 
In addition, look up healthy recipes and make a grocery list.  Plan for healthy meals & snacks so shopping doesn't become a cart full of fattening fall fads. 
Just like you have to be organized about your work, child care, vacation planning, etc., use the same organizational skills to map out how you will exercise and eat during challenging times. Need a quick, healthy, and low calorie meal? Check out Shaklee's delicious Shaklee 180 smoothees & bars.

 2. Don’t do it alone
It is a lot easier to maintain good habits if  you have support from trusted others.

Keeping a good diet and exercise plan during the fall and winter is a lot easier if you are reporting in to someone or trying to do it with others. A spouse, close friend, family member, co-worker, or anyone you might trust and enjoy can allow you the opportunity to have a great and collaborative teammate.

Share healthy recipes, cookbooks, and websites, try new ingredients and let others know how its going.  Many people are looking to learn healthy tips, so share what you've tried and hear what others are doing.


3.  Build Your Immune Health

The common cold is highly contagious -- it can be inhaled or picked up from tainted surfaces and rubbed into an eye or the mouth or a nostril. But beyond frequent hand washing, there are a number of ways you can raise your immunity.

Getting enough zzz's is crucial to the proper functioning of your immune system. Make sure you have a well-established sleep pattern and you get at least 7 to 8 hours of solid sleep. High stress levels also play a role in impairing our immune system as people who are under persistent stress are more likely to get ill when exposed to cold viruses than people who aren't. While it seems tough to combat chronic stress, daily meditation can make a huge difference. Up your Vitamin D intake! Research shows,  Adults who have low vitamin D levels are more likely to report having had a recent cough, cold, or upper respiratory tract infection. Another way to strengthen your immunity during cold and flu season is to maintain a regular exercise routine. Aside from helping you stay in shape, exercise has been shown to bolster the immune system. Plus, it takes only five minutes for the mood-enhancing benefits of working out to kick in!

In addition, Shaklee's Nutriferon supplement has been clinically proven to fight the flu naturally!  There is nothing like it on the market! Nutriferon has been clinically proven to activate your Immune System-Naturally. Get started on building your Immune System and fight the flu and other nasties all year long.

So, as we now enter fall and winter is right around the corner don’t let your health and fitness gains made during the spring and summer atrophy. Use these three tips to hopefully maintain or even improve exercise and diet and you’ll thank me later for doing so!


Be Fabulous This Fall & All Year Long~