Soybeans and Soy Products
Full of Nutrients and Isoflavones

Soybeans and various soy products have one of the most important sources of isoflavones, which is a type of antioxidant. Relatively, the Asian population consumes higher amounts of soy products than the Westerners.

Therefore, it is shown that among the Japanese breast cancer women there are better prognosis and lower mortality compared to the Western counterparts. The isoflavones found in soy are known in many studies to have protection against cancer.

There are basically two types of isoflavones: daidzen and genistein. They are the most beneficial nutrition available in soybeans and soy products. They are best available through natural food rather than supplements.

The reason is it is believed that there are other natural isoflavones within soy that could be synergistic and works with these daidzen and genistein to complete their protection against cancer.

This powerful antioxidant is a phytoestrogens that acts very much like estrogens and so they bind to specific cell receptors in our body. Therefore, they compete against our natural estrogens in our body at these receptors.

Once the natural estrogens do notget attached on the receptors they are cleared from our body. As such, this helps to lower the risk of breast cancer among women since high estrogen exposure has been linked with higher breast cancer risk.

However, recent animal studies have also shown that isoflavones, genistein, has been linked with increased risk of breast cancer. Genistein stimulates growth of estrogen-receptor positive tumors but also stops the growth of breast cancer cells lacking in estrogen-receptors.

There are also arguments that the use of trials using only genistein did not allow other synergistic and beneficial isoflavones to act together against cancer cells. Refer to Should women with breast cancer eat soy? for more in-depth explanation of soy and breast cancer risk.

A recent study using isoflavones in end-stage-renal-disease patients showed that they are able to reduce systemic inflammation in hemodialysis patients with high blood C-reactive protein. C-reactive protein is actually a marker of inflammation occurring within our body.

This trial is extreme in that they were tested on hemodialysis patients (supposed very sick people with difficulty of kidney filtering) to prove isoflavones well-known anti-inflammatory effects.

There is no doubt that we would want soybeans and soy products within our detox diet for their richness in nutrients and antioxidants. In terms of taste and variety, soybeans can be made into milk or cheese. Tofu can be whipped into smoothies or creamy sauces.

Another type of soy product is the miso that is widely consumed by the Japanese. The miso can be added as a nice condiment into soups and sauces. I would usually add my miso onto my fishes for added taste.

It is recommended that organic soy products be eaten rather than processed or genetically modified ones. Organic soy provides us with the best access for the isoflavones and there is still no proof of genetically modified soy containing all the necessary isoflavones or unnecessary additives.

Other great detox foods to read about:
Whole grains
Cruciferous vegetables, garlic & onion
Legumes
Essential fatty acids
Herbs and spices
Juice fasting
Raw food diet

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