Early studies of estrogen as treatment for menopausal symptoms and hormone replacement therapy showed promising results for these conditions and for the prevention of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and various cancers. However, more recent studies reveal that these treatments are not as safe as were once thought. An article in USA Today stated that estrogen used in hormone replacement therapy is being considered for listing in the next federal “Report on Carcinogens.” It is becoming well-accepted that estrogen dominance promotes endometrial cancer as well as a small increase in the risk of breast cancer.
Researchers theorize that the Western diet alters hormone production, metabolism or biochemical action at the cellular level, contributing to increased risks of breast and other hormone-dependent cancers. Animal proteins and the lack of fiber, antioxidants and other essential nutrients contribute to the poor quality of a Western diet compared to that of Asian cultures such as Japan and China. Significant differences exist between risk factors for those eating an Asian or vegetarian diet and those eating a typical Western diet. This is attributed in part to consumption of phytoestrogen-containing foods – especially soy products. A typical Asian diet includes 20–80 mg of the soy isoflavone daidzein per day while the average American consumes only 1–3 mg per day of this valuable nutrient. Diet patterns can be directly tied to the differences in symptoms and risk factors that exist between cultures. In cultures that consume mostly vegetarian diets, women rarely experience hot flashes and other menopausal symptoms. Studies have shown that when Asians begin consuming a typical Western diet, their risk factors increase to those of the average Westerner. Many diseases of the Western hemisphere are hormone-dependent cancers associated with excess estrogen. Phytoestrogens that inhibit the actions of estrogen may lower the risks of such cancers.
Animal and clinical studies have revealed a number of beneficial physiological actions associated with phytoestrogen consumption.
These include :
• inhibition of estrogen receptor binding sites
• interference with sex hormone-releasing hormones (gonadotropins)
• inhibition of estrogen production
• an increase in synthesis of estrogen-binding protein
• antioxidant activity against estrogen-generated cancer cells.
by April Nance
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