Is soy dangerous for women with ovarian cancer?

[Fantasia]

I was diagnosed with a borderline cyst, I had surgery and they removed ovaries, uterus and omenctum. Biopsy was made of all the tissues and nothing was found. I had a control after surgery and everything is ok. I would like to know if eating soy protein could be bad for me. Is soy protein the cause of my borderline cyst? Could I have a borderline cyst again if I eat soy? I don't have ovaries, nor uterus, how could I have a cyst again? Are borderline cysts related to breast cancer? Can soy protein cause breast cancer? Thanks for your help.

[Cropcrop]

Hi Fantasia (favourite film of mine 😊)

I eat edamame beans also known as soya beans because they're a really good source of protein, but they're eaten as a part of a really well balanced diet.

There is a school of thought in America that says that eating medium amounts (?) of soya could cause a mutation in genes that in turn could develop into breast cancer. They carried out a test case on women who already had the disease, some were given soya and some a placebo, of those who had the soya some (not all) patients had a change/mutation in their cells. However, some of these changes were bad and some changes were good, i.e. The good ones showed a resistance to the cancer (not necessarily an improvement) and some showed a detrimental effect on the cancerous cells already present in which they 'turned' on the patients. These patients were having mastectomies and I believe the tests on the cells were done following surgery. I read this to mean they really don't know as there were mixed results and this trial was in 2014 so things may well have moved on since then.

These days just breathing seemingly is an issue because of all the toxins out there. We can't drink our water because of toxins, our crops are full of pesticides, meat is full of goodness knows what so what do we do? I'm a believer in moderation in all things and try to eat as well as possible and unless certain foods are proven to be bad for you then why not have them? Life is just too damned short. Hope you stay as well as you can ❤️Xx Jane

[kristinaapril in reply to Cropcrop]

Jane made a really good point but I thought I would add to it. As an American, the new fad, for probably the last 10 years, has been to consume milk alternatives. This has been primarily, almond or soy milk. Since making both of these milk alternatives are quite time consuming; American's typically purchase them already made. Like most convenience foods, they are heavily processed and loaded with chemicals to stabilize and lengthen the shelf life of the product. Since individuals who switch to these milk alternatives tend to consume more 'milk' than the average person (average is roughly 1 cup a day); this could put them at a higher risk for mutation.

On a side note - America has poor criteria when determining if chemical additives are safe. Quite a few chemical addictive are legal in the U.S. but illegal in the U.K., such as dyes, BHA, talc, and potassium bromate.

I believe in maintaining a well-balanced diet, which edamame can be a part of!

[Cropcrop in reply to kristinaapril]

It's the same now here, there are soya alternatives to milk, yoghurts and ice cream we also have almond milk (how do you milk an almond?😂) and yoghurts etc. etc. I think people consume these as they believe them to be more healthy because of their lower fat content but, as in most things, where there's an upside there's inevitably a downside too. Its like decaf coffee, the chemicals used to remove most of the caffeine are really unpleasant and potentially noxious so the upside is less caffeine if you're caffeine sensitive but the downside is awful chemicals being used in the process which must have a knock on effect somewhere along the line. Simple is always best. Mother Nature gives us what we need but we as a race are seemingly intent on changing everything to suit a trend and along the way line some fat cats pocket 🤔. I hate it that so many good foods are messed with. Keep well over the pond in your lovely country ❤️Xx Jane

[Fantasia in reply to kristinaapril]

Thanks for your answer. I don't eat processed food. But anyway who knows what we breath and what is there in the food we eat?

[Fantasia in reply to Cropcrop]

Thanks for your reply. I think you are right. Nobody knows! The problem is in the quantities. It's a shake with soy protein that will kill me.

[January-2016-UK]

It's such a loaded question. One thing would be to look at countries, mainly in the Far East, where women have traditionally eaten large quantities of soy protein. Do they have higher or lower incidences of ovarian or breast cancer? If there is a difference in the incidence, can it definitely be attributed to soy protein alone or perhaps the lower consumption of saturated animal fats? Are these incidences different for the children of migrants who have moved to countries that follow a Western diet when these second or third generations have changed their diets?

Is there a difference between genetically modified soya and the non-GM kind? Kristina April also has made a very valid point regarding the use of milks made from soya and other ingredients regarding the contamination such milks may undergo in the manufacturing process. This contamination may not affect tofu as such.

I try not to eat too much meat with the thinking that my ancestors would not have wanted to be killing perhaps one their few cows or goats too frequently so would have consumed little. But the milk and it's products, cheese, yoghurts, etc would be more sustainable. I try and eat "organic" food when I can on the understanding that this is what all food was until the onset of World War II, when chemicals were encouraged to increase food production.

I wish we really knew what will harm us and what will keep us healthy.....

[angelina]

I have been eating soya mince twice a week for many years. I had a large cyst and ovarian cancer 5yrs ago and am luckily still clear. So I would say it doesn't cause cancer, but then many foods are said to cause cancer, my oncologist didn't tell me to stop eating soya and I sure do think it's better than mince meat.

X🌹X

[Fantasia in reply to angelina]

Hello Angelina, Well my gynecologist said my Herbalife shake caused my borderline cyst because it contains soy. I don't believe that. It was a cyst, not a cancer and I have not taken a shake every day, and only once a day. I like the shakes and sometimes I have eaten soy cheese that I also very much like. I have also read that soys protects against ovarian and breast cancer. And what about all the substances they put in our food? I think nobody knows.

[Aurelie]

Hi Fantasia

Can only tell you what my oncologist told me, which is that the tumour I had was oestrogen receptive, and therefore I should avoid eating sage and soy. Soy contains phytoestrogen, which is a plant produced oestrogen and the same probably applies to sage. I haven't touched either since that day!