Soy includes plant compounds called isoflavones that act like estrogen in your body. You can include soy in your diet through a variety of ways: soy protein, soy milk, whole soybeans, tofu and an abundance of other products and dishes that contain soy as an ingredient. Due to mixed results and limited studies, the medical community is currently uncertain on soy's safety and effectiveness for women, so more research is needed.
Type and Amount
Because isoflavones act like estrogen in your body, too much might eventually cause negative effects, like cancer. Soy isoflavone is considered safe if you consume between 35 to 55 mg per day. Some health experts are recommending a daily upper limit of 100 mg. Foods that naturally contain soy, like tofu and tempeh, are generally seen as safe because they contain low amounts of isoflavone. Even women with a high breast cancer risk can consume soy one to two times a week, and women without a risk can have natural soy foods as much as two to three times a day, according to J. Lynne Brown of Penn State University.
Dietary Cautions
Many foods contain added soy isoflavones; it is easy to add up so you consume too much in one day. A serving of tofu has 28 mg; soy milk has 10 mg; a soy burger has 50 mg; and a soy bar has 60 mg. Soy oil and soy sauce have none. As you can see, some soy foods greatly add to the 100 mg limit per day, while others do not. Taking soy isoflavone supplements is considered potentially dangerous. These come in pill or powder form and many contain excessively high levels of the isoflavone. Health experts do not currently know what consequences can come from high levels of soy isoflavone but the consensus is to use caution.
Cancer
Soy might lower your risk of hormone-related cancer, like breast and endometrial cancers, but the studies done so far on this are flawed. Studies on soy's relationship to cancer have looked at soy foods; more research is needed on soy supplements. Also, researchers are not sure how much soy you should take for cancer prevention or how often. They are not even certain on its safety. Paradoxically, soy might encourage breast cancer cells to grow in women who have previously had breast cancer. Also, women who have breast cancer and are taking tamoxifen medication should not eat soy. The phytoestrogens in soy seem to counteract this drug.
Age and Life Stage
Soy eaten when young seems to reduce a woman's risk of breast cancer later in life, although it is unclear why. Eating soy as a young woman also seems to prevent a recurrence of breast cancer later in life. Conversely, eating soy after menopause might increase your breast cancer risk. Soy in the diet seems to help many women with hot flashes and night sweats during menopause but study results on its effectiveness are inconclusive. Eating soy foods during pregnancy and while breast-feeding is considered safe.
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