Soy reduces the risk of uterine cancer

June 2, 2004—A regular soyfood diet reduces the risk of uterine cancer, especially among women who are overweight.

A team of Chinese researchers made the discovery after conducting a retrospective case-control study¹ among 832 women with cancer and 846 without cancer. All participants were between 30 and 69 years of age and lived in Shanghai.

Based on the women’s soy consumption habits during the previous five years, the study showed that soy consumption is inversely proportional to the risk of uterine cancer, which gradually decreases as soy product consumption increases.

Soy is packed with isoflavones, a natural active compound that can affect women in two ways: It can block the negative effects of excess estrogen production or provide the body with the estrogen it needs if production is insufficient.

1. Zu WH, Zheng W, Xiang YB, Ruan ZX, Cheng JR, Dai Q, Gao YT, Shu XO, Soya food intake and risk of endometrial cancer among Chinese women in Shangai: population based case-control study, Department of Epidemiology, Shangai Cancer Institute, China, 2004.