ST LOUIS, July 20 /PRNewswire/ — A new study published by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine finds that soyfoods and soy isoflavone supplements have no significant effect on male reproductive hormone levels in men. The literature review indicates that soy does not decrease testosterone levels.

Led by Jill M. Hamilton-Reeves, PhD, RD, of St. Catherine’s University, St. Paul, Minnesota, researchers assessed the effects of soy protein and soy isoflavones on measurements of male reproductive hormones. Findings, just published online in Fertility and Sterility, a publication of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, demonstrate no significant effect of soy protein or soy isoflavone intake on circulating levels of testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin or free testosterone in men.

The comprehensive meta-analysis examined the existing scientific literature including all clinical studies examining soy’s effect on male reproductive hormones published before July 1, 2008. Fifteen placebo-controlled treatment groups with baseline and ending measures were analyzed. Thirty-two reports involving 36 treatment groups were also assessed in simpler statistical models. Studies published after July 1, 2008, which were not included in the meta-analysis, support the conclusions of the meta-analysis.

Reproductive endocrinologist William R. Phipps, MD, of the University of Rochester Medical Center, a co-author of the analysis stated, “As a high-quality source of protein that is relatively low in saturated fat, soy can be an important part of a heart-healthy diet and may contribute to a decreased risk of coronary heart disease.” He noted that some men have been reluctant to consume soyfoods due to concerns about estrogen-like effects of soy isoflavones, often referred to as phytoestrogens. But according to Phipps, “it is important for the public to understand that there is no clinical evidence to support these ideas. After conducting a comprehensive review of the existing literature, we found no indication that soy significantly alters male sex hormone levels.”

Men can benefit from soyfood consumption as a means to meet daily protein requirements and at the same time possibly also reducing their risk of heart disease.

Citing the research study, Lisa Kelly, MPH, RD, of the United Soybean Board, added,

“Soy is often praised for the positive role it can play in the diets of women. But, years of clinical research have shown that men stand to benefit from soy, too. I encourage men to incorporate soyfoods into a balanced and varied diet and talk to their healthcare provider about their own unique nutritional needs.”

SOURCE: United Soybean Board

Colostrum, both in healthy subjects and high-risk cardiovascular patients, is at least 3 times more effective than vaccination to prevent flu and is very cost-effective.

Download Journal (4.8Mb PDF)

Study: San Valentino-Spoltore Vascular Screening Project, Department of Biomedical Sciences, G D’annunzio University, Chieti, Pescara, Italy

Authors: Cesarone MR, Belcaro G, Di Renzo A, Dugall M, Cacchio M, Ruffini I, Pellegrini L, Del Boccio G, Fano F, Ledda A, Bottari A, Ricci A, Stuard S, Vinciguerra G.

Via: PubMed.gov

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Researchers say that the amount of the chemical, an antioxidant known as genistein, used in the experiments was no higher than what a human would eat in a soybean-rich diet.

Investigators from Northwestern University found that genistein decreased metastasis of prostate cancer to the lungs by 96 percent compared with mice that did not eat the compound in their chow — making the study the first to demonstrate genistein can stop prostate cancer metastasis in a living organism.

“These impressive results give us hope that genistein might show some effect in preventing the spread of prostate cancer in patients,” said the study’s senior investigator, Raymond C. Bergan, MD, director of experimental therapeutics for the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University.

“Diet can affect cancer and it doesn’t do it by magic,” Bergan said. “Certain chemicals have beneficial effects and now we have all the preclinical studies we need to suggest genistein might be a very promising chemopreventive drug.”

Bergan and his team have previously demonstrated in prostate cancer cell cultures that genistein inhibits detachment of cancer cells from a primary prostate tumor and represses cell invasion. It does this by blocking activation of p38 MAP kinases, molecules which regulate pathways that activate proteins that loosen cancer cells from their tight hold within a tumor, pushing them to migrate. “In culture, you can actually see that when genistein is introduced, cells flatten themselves in order to spread out and stick strongly to nearby cells,” he said.

In this study, investigators fed genistein to several groups of mice before implanting them with an aggressive form of prostate cancer. The amount of genistein in the blood of the animals was comparable to human blood concentrations after consumption of soy foods, Bergan said.

The researchers found that while genistein didn’t reduce the size of tumors that developed within the prostate, it stopped lung metastasis almost completely. They repeated the experiment and found the same result.

They then examined tissue in the animals, measuring the size of tumor cells’ nuclei to determine if the cells had flattened out in order to spread. “Within a tumor, it is hard to tell where the borders of cells stop, so one way to measure adherence is to look at the size of the nuclei in cells and see if they are wider due to cell spread,” Bergan said. “And that is what we found, demonstrating that the drug is having a primary effect on metastasis.”

He said that the study also found that mice fed genistein expressed higher levels of genes that are involved in cancer cell migration which, Bergan says, at first might not make sense in light of the study’s conclusion that genistein almost completely blocked metastasis.

“What we think is happening here is that the cells we put in the mice normally like to move. When genistein restricted their ability to do so, they tried to compensate by producing more protein involved in migration. But genistein prevented those proteins from being activated,” he said. “This is really a lesson for researchers who depend on biomarker studies to test whether a treatment is working. They need to be aware that those biomarkers might be telling only half of the story.”

Bergan cautioned that much is unknown about use of genistein in preventing cancer spread. For example, it may be that the effects of the compound in people who have eaten soy all their lives is stronger than benefit seen in patients who have only started to use genistein.

“The problem we have faced is that epidemiology studies that found men who eat soy are at reduced risk of prostate cancer death are all associative. They don’t prove anything,” he said. “The only way we will find out how promising genistein is will be from conducting clinical trials.”

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080314085038.htm#

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