Soy (was Re: Ice Cream - Breyers Carb Smart)

May 8, 2004

Hi Dennis:

May I ask whether, between the time you started consuming

soy protein and the time you noticed the drop in your PSA test, you

also made other changes in your lifestyle?

For instance, had you dropped your caloric intake appreciably? Or

made changes to the *quality* of your food intake?

The reason I ask is because we know that mice put on CR experience

75% fewer cancer deaths, and the drop in your PSA might have been

caused by a drop caloric intake, or other factors you changed at the

same time.

The reason I mention this is because the Physicians Health Study has

indicated that several studies now show that men who consume the

highest amounts of alpha-linolenic acid (of which there is a

considerable amount in soybeans) or who have high levels of it in

their blood, have a noticeably elevated risk for prostate cancer.

The people at Physicians Health Study are quick to point out that

there are arguments on the other side - something the author of

Francesca's article noticeably failed to do. She only presented

arguments favorable to soybeans and omitted a number of arguments I

am aware of on the other side of the argument. Not helpful in my

opinion.

I have no opinion as to the health merits, or otherwise, of soy

products for males, but because of highly conflicting opinions among

apparently informed people I avoid them until the evidence becomes a

lot clearer than it is right now.

[Prostate cancer is a huge issue for men. There are very nearly as

many new cases diagnosed annually, and deaths also, from prostate

cancer as there are for breast cancer. But it seems to get less

publicity.]

Rodney.

> At the University of North Carolina, researchers found

> men with elevated blood levels of prostate-specific antigens (PSA)

who took

> megadoses of soy showed a significant slowing in rise of the PSA.

>

> this has been my experience. My PSA went from 4.5 to 2.9 (now 3.4)

I

> attribute it to Soy protien powder.

>

> Positive Dennis

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