Dietary “phytoestrogens”, plant substances which have weak estrogen-like activity, have minimal impact on the risks of developing hormone sensitive cancers, such as, breast and prostate cancer or colorectal cancers, so new research implies.
The research studied 25,000 British adults and failed to find any “significant” differences in cancer risk related to dietary intake of these compounds.
Phytoestrogens are found in many foods including , soya foods, dairy foods, fruit, vegetables, cereals, seeds, nuts, tea and coffee .
Past studies have implied that dietary phytoestrogen intake is related to increased breast cancer risk and lower colorectal cancer risk in women.
The results from earlier studies were hampered by limited data regarding phytoestrogen content in food.
No prior research has examined the relation between phytoestrogen intake and prostate cancer risk.
Unlike plants, which themselves contain phytoestrogens, phytoestrogens are generated by the digestion of animal products like meat and dairy products by microbes in the gut, the researchers explain.
Phytoestrogen consumption was estimated for cancer free adult participants in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition, Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk). EPIC-Norfolk participants, recruited between 1993 and 1997, filled out a diet diary for a week and provided information about age, height, weight, aspirin use, smoking, menopausal status, and family history of cancer amongst other factors.
Cancers that developed within 12 months of study recruitment were identified from a cancer registry totaling 244 breast cancers, 221 colorectal cancers, and 204 prostate cancers. The diets and other relevant information from those who developed cancer were compared to information from other participants who did not develop cancer.