Can you believe these articles were right next to each other? When are the news agencies going to start doing their homework on this stuff? Pure and simple, Soy Sucks!!! Take that E-man
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Soy May Reduce Heart Risk Factors
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Including hearty amounts of soy in the diet may improve some heart disease risk factors in healthy men and postmenopausal women, recent study findings suggest.
Individuals who consumed soy protein reduced their blood pressure, cholesterol levels and other fatty substances in the blood over 3 months, compared with individuals who consumed protein that did not contain soy, report researchers.
However, those who consumed soy also had higher levels of the blood protein lipoprotein A, which has been linked with heart disease risk, and the men showed declines in endothelial function. Postmenopausal women, on the other hand, had no change in endothelial function.
The endothelium is a thin layer of cells that line blood vessels and help control the flow of blood to oxygen-demanding muscle tissue. Dysfunction in endothelial cells contributes to the narrowing and hardening of heart arteries.
Still, the results of the present study suggest that soy may have a role to play in the prevention of cardiovascular disease,'' conclude Dr. Helena J. Teede from Monash University in Clayton, Australia, and associates. They stress that more research is needed, particularly in people with high blood pressure and high blood fats, before public health recommendations can be made. According to the study in the July issue of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, phytoestrogens, which are plant-based estrogen-like compounds found in soy, may mimic the beneficial effects of estrogen on the heart. Soy also contains antioxidants--compounds that neutralize disease-causing free radicals before they can damage cells. In the study, the researchers measured blood pressure, blood fats, endothelial function and other factors in 179 healthy people ages 50 to 75. The study subjects consumed a protein containing 40 grams (g) of soy and 118 milligrams (mg) of isoflavones (the antioxidant compounds in soy) or another type of protein. After 3 months, those who had consumed soy had lower blood pressure, lower LDL (''bad'') cholesterol in relation to HDL (''good'') cholesterol, and lower blood levels of triglycerides, a type of fat associated with heart disease.<P> Estrogen May Play Role in Lung Cancer Risk By Melissa Schorr NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The sex hormone estrogen may be responsible for putting women at a higher risk for lung cancer, possibly by increasing the effects of known cancer-causing agents, according to a new article published in a medical journal. Women may have this extra risk factor,‘’ Dr. Jill Siegfried, co-director of the Lung Cancer Program at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, told Reuters Health. That's only going to make smoking that much more harmful in women.'' Researchers have some evidence that women may be even more vulnerable to developing lung cancer than men. For example, on average, women who are diagnosed with lung cancer have smoked less than men diagnosed with the disease, and women who do not smoke are diagnosed with lung cancer more than twice as often as men who do not smoke. In particular, the evidence that estrogen plays some role in lung cancer is strong, Siegfried said. When we grow lung tumors in mice and give the mice estrogen, the tumors grow much faster,‘’ she said. Similarly, women who have less exposure to estrogen throughout their lifetime, such as those who undergo early menopause, have been found to have a lowered risk of lung cancer, while women who take estrogen replacement therapy have an elevated risk.
One possible explanation for these findings, Siegfried said, is that estrogen strengthens the effects of carcinogens such as environmental tobacco smoke, cooking fumes and radon.
Estrogen can cause increased growth of lung cells, which might drive the carcinogenic process,'' Siegfried said. With a weak carcinogen, the effect might be magnified.‘’
However, she said, there are other possible reasons for women’s greater vulnerability to lung cancer, including less of an ability to correct genetic mistakes in cells or a greater risk of lung diseases such as emphysema.
The report was published in the August issue of the British journal The Lancet Oncology. Siegfried’s work is funded by the National Cancer Institute (news - web sites).
The US Surgeon General dubbed lung cancer in women, which causes more deaths than breast cancer, a full-blown epidemic'' in a 2001 report Women and Smoking.‘’ Lung cancer is now the leading cause of cancer deaths among US women, with approximately 60,000 deaths per year.SOURCE: The Lancet Oncology