Good Sunday morning to all my friends. Thought this would be of interest
to you and to think about for your deitary needs and good health.
God Bless
marty auslander
California Study Finds Evidence That Soy May Protect Against Cancer;
Genistein Cited as Anti-Cancer Agent
WASHINGTON, April 24 /PRNewswire/ -- A new university study on the anti-
cancer effects of soy has found that one of soy's components, genistein,
may inhibit the growth of cancer cells.
"Soy products contain high levels of genistein, a phytoestrogen that is
a potent inhibitor of cell proliferation," the study said. It noted
that genistein has been found to inhibit both growth of
carcinogen-induced cancers in rats, and human leukemia cells
transplanted into mice.
The new study is from the University of Southern California's School of
Medicine and is titled "Mechanism for the Suppression of the Mammalian
Stress Response by Genistein, an Anti-cancer Phytoestrogen from Soy."
It found that genistein suppresses the production of harmful stress
proteins in cells; these stress proteins, which include heat shock
proteins (HSPs) and glucose- regulated proteins (GRPs), normally help
cancer cells survive destruction by the immune system.
"Genistein used either intravenously...or orally...offers an
alternative, pharmacologic approach for the suppression of the mammalian
stress response," the study, which has been published in the Journal of
the National Cancer Institute, said.
Dr. Amy S. Lee, one of the authors of the study, also found that "the
anti-cancer effects of genistein may be related to its ability to reduce
the expression of stress response-related genes."
Genistein is one of several isoflavones found in soy.
Isoflavones are compounds with properties that can positively affect
many biological and physiological processes. Scientists have attributed
the soybean's positive health effects to its high concentration of
isoflavones.
In 1997, a study by the Cancer Research Center of Hawaii found that
isoflavones in soy, including genistein and daidzein, may reduce the
risk of uterine cancer. Other studies have also found that soy may help
prevent heart disease, osteoporosis, bone disease and other forms of
cancer, including kidney cancer and breast cancer.
The University of Southern California study compared Asia diets, which
are high in soy intake, to the diets of Americans, which are low in soy
intake.
"The much lower risk of breast, colon, and prostate cancers in Asians
who
consume 20 to 30 times more soy per capita than Americans has raised the
question whether compounds in the soy diet may be acting as a natural
chemopreventive agent," Dr. Lee, of the Norris Comprehensive Cancer
Center at the University of Southern California School of Medicine,
said.
"Soy products such as tofu contain high levels of several isoflavonoids
including genistein, which has been identified as a potent inhibitor of
cell proliferation ...with antioxidant properties," Dr. Lee wrote in the
Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
"Furthermore, studies using animal models of cancer showed that both a
soy diet and dietary genistein itself may confer a protective effect on
mammary, colon and skin tumors," she said.
The California study recommended more study of soy and genistein to
determine their anti-cancer properties.
"The effectiveness of genistein as an anti-cancer agent in humans awaits
further preclinical, clinical and epidemiologic testing," the study
concluded.
(Foods for the Future provides factual information to the media
concerning food products, health and nutrition. It is a project of the
T. Dean Reed Company and is supported by U.S. agribusiness.)
SOURCE Foods for the Future
CO: Foods for the Future
ST: District of Columbia, California
IN: FOD HEA
SU:
04/24/98 09:42 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is an automatically-generated notice. If you'd like to be removed
from the mailing list, please visit the Medicine-On-Line Discussion Forum
at <http://www.meds.com/con_faq.html>, or send an email message to:
majordomo@lists.meds.com
with the subject line blank and the body of the message containing the line:
unsubscribe mol-cancer your-email-address
where the phrase your-email-address is replaced with your actual email
address.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
