Soya reassuring
There is strong evidence that eating soya food in adolescence can protect against breast cancer later in life. New evidence suggests that soya may also offer protection to women who have had this disease. The Shanghai Breast Cancer Survival Study looked at over 5,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer an average of four years previously. Results showed that those who ate more soya foods (11 grams of soya protein per day, the amount in around one and a half servings of soya foods like tofu or soya milk) were 29 per cent less likely to die from the disease and had a 32 per cent lower risk of recurrence. The researchers concluded that for women with breast cancer, consuming soya foods improves prognosis.
Shu et al., 2009. Soy food intake and breast cancer survival. JAMA. 302 (22) 2437-2443.
About the author
Dr. Justine Butler
Justine joined Viva! in 2005 after graduating from Bristol University with a PhD in molecular biology. After working as a campaigner, then researcher and writer, she is now Viva!’s head of research and her work focuses on animals, the environment and health. Justine’s scientific training helps her research and write both in-depth scientific reports, such as White Lies and the Meat Report, as well as easy-to-read factsheets and myth-busting articles for consumer magazines and updates on the latest research. Justine also recently wrote the Vegan for the Planet guide for Viva!’s Vegan Now campaign.
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