Soy, Estrogen, and Cancer

What is the relationship between Soy, Estrogen, and Cancer? Soy, like all things, in moderation.

Below is a transcript you can use to follow the video with links to more information on the topic.

It is time to address the elephant in room 2017. A topic that is more dividing and scary as politics, religion, and ISIS combined.

If you can't tell by now clearly we're talking about whether or not soy is a safe alternative to dairy and meat products. Well, first let's talk about what soy is.

Soybeans are nothing more than a native east Asian legume, and as Dr. Michael Greger says "mimic the protein profile of meat."

Soy is the plant kingdom's prize protein for its 'completeness', having almost the spectrum of essential amino acids which our body cannot produce on their own.

Just like animal and dairy products, soy has estrogens that raise IGF 1 or insulin-like growth factor levels which have the ability to grow cancer cells when they are over consumed, especially in cases of breast and prostate cancer.

Unlike animal products, soy raises IGF 1 binding protein levels which if you can’t guess by the name helps to BIND together these extra igf1 molecules helping to lower their overall levels.

For example, take the Okinawans from Japan. They are regular consumers of soy and have so for much much longer than westerners have. This comes without increased risks of mortality according to the epidemiological studies. The only problem is the soy WE consume is 90% genetically modified and fractionated soy products, for which Dr. Andrew Weil says we have no long-term studies to prove their safety. While we do have our short term studies that test for IGF 1 markers. They compared an insanely high soy plant-based diet against a standard meat eating diet but the soy group was getting many times the amount of protein, 7 to 18 servings per say for a year, and yet with the much higher quantity of excess protein, the two groups IGF 1 levels were nearly identical, both slightly elevated.

The explanation of this comes from their IGF 1 binding scores, which were noticeably higher in the soy group.

Ok so how hard to we have to step on the brakes of soy so we aren't increasing our risk of cancer? According to Michael Gregor “the studies to date that have measured the effects of varying levels of soy consumption on IGF-1 levels. Five to ten servings per day increased IGF-1 levels, but two to three servings did not” - Dr. Michael Greger

Dr. Weil went on to say that whole soy sources like edamame, soy nuts, tempeh, tofu, and even soy milk, were safe for moderate consumption. But in case you're still skeptical like many respected professionals are, there are plenty of milk alternatives out there without the estrogen activity.

Like most things, soy is completely safe in moderation. But has the ability to raise cancerous biomarkers when consumed blindly.

Soy is a great source of protein when consumed in its organic whole food form and should be minimized in its genetically modified and refined versions.