Update on Soy: Isoflavones linked to decrease in prostate cancer risk.

Into the ongoing debate about whether soy increases or decreases cancer risk, comes a new study from Japan. It suggests increasing your intake of soy sauce, tofu, green soybeans and other soy foods, because their isoflavones cut prostate cancer risk by as much as 58 percent.

The study recruited 200 Japanese men with different stages of prostate cancer and compared their dietary intakes with 200 healthy males. An increased intake of soy isoflavones was significantly associated with a decreased risk of prostate cancer. Twelve soy foods were measured in the study: tofu, natto, miso soup, bean curd, fried bean curd, fried bean curd with vegetables, soy flour, dried bean curd, soybean milk, soy sauce, green soybeans and bean sprouts.

More than 500,000 new cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed every year worldwide. Cancer is the direct cause of over 200,000 deaths, and even more alarming is the 1.7 percent rise in the incidence of prostate cancer over 15 years.