Soy: Prevent Prostate Cancer, Male Baldness?
Many people here seem to have problem with hairloss and damn male patern baldness, i for myself am one of them and i would look quit dumb with a shaved head, tried it and once was enought for me, i have search the internet and found this study, the source is legit cause its coming from webmd.
Soy: Prevent Prostate Cancer, Male Baldness?
Block Male Hormone Involved in Prostate Cancer, Male Baldness
By Jeanie Lerche Davis
WebMD Medical News Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD
on Tuesday, March 30, 2004
March 30, 2004 -- For a healthy head of hair, real men reach for tofu. A new study shows soy protein may prevent prostate cancer, even male baldness.
A little-known molecule called equol -- not to be confused with the sweetener Equal - is showing promise as a powerful blocker of a potent male hormone involved in prostate cancer, male baldness, even acne, researcher Kenneth D. R. Setchell, PhD, with Children's Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Ohio, tells WebMD. His paper appears in the current issue of Biology of Reproduction.
So far, his studies involve only rats. But it looks promising for humans, Setchell says.
Understanding Equol
Soy protein is known to be a rich source of phytoestrogens -- plant-derived compounds that behave like estrogen in the body. Equol is a natural molecule created in the intestine when soy is digested, explains Setchell, who says he discovered the molecule 20 years ago.
Actually, the protective effects occur when two chemicals in soy protein -- genistin and daidzin -- reach the digestive system, Setchell explains. There, they are metabolized to form genistein and daidzein. Daidzein is metabolized once again, to form equol.
When we eat lots of fruits, vegetables, and soy products, we have lots of geneistein, daidzen, and equol all circulating in the bloodstream at very high concentrations, says Setchell. Earlier studies have hinted that mice fed high doses of phytoestrogens have less prostate cell growth.
Equol Handcuffs Powerful Male Hormone
In this recent study, Setchell and his research group looked more closely at the potent male hormone dihydrotestosterone (DHT), which is known to stimulate prostate cell growth. Prostate growth can lead to enlarged prostate (benign hyperplasia) and prostate cancer.
In a series of experiments, male rats first had their testes removed, so they no longer produced testosterone. Then they got injections of equol, or DHT daily for seven days. When researchers injected DHT into rats, their prostates grew. When they gave equol to rats, nothing happened.
When both DHT and equol were injected, equol prevented DHT from triggering prostate cell growth. "What we believe is, equol seems to 'handcuff' DHT, prevents it from stimulating prostate cell growth," Satchell tells WebMD. That is another good sign equol did not change hormone levels, it only completely blocked the effects of them.
The implications are large: "DHT is an extremely important hormone," he says. DHT is implicated in a number of other areas -- skin problems such as acne, although we have no evidence to support that yet, he says. DHT also causes loss of the hair follicles. If equol can block DHT this has tremendous potential in preventing male pattern hair loss, says Satchell.
There's just one complication. Not everyone produces equol when they eat fruits and vegetables. "Only about 35% of the population is an equol producer," Satchell tells WebMD. "We're not sure why that is. It may relate to other components in your diet. If your intake of complex carbohydrates is high, that increases the fermentation rate in your intestine, which could increase your production of equol."
However, the human body should be able to utilize a synthesized form of equol, he says.
Findings Are Preliminary
Current treatments for prostate cancer involve decreasing or blocking the production of testosterone. Essentially, the result is castration, with fatigue and low libido, says Vin Tangpricha, MD, PhD, an endocrinologist with Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. He agreed to comment on Setchell's study.
"This study is very preliminary, but if it works in humans, that would be very exciting," he says. "We've always thought soy proteins were estrogen-related. But this explains why soy protects against prostate cancer."
Vasily Assikis, MD, director of prostate cancer research the Winship Cancer Center of Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, is also cautious. "What are effects on prostate cancer? What are the effects in humans?" Also, there have been contradictory findings about phytoestrogens, he says.
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SOURCES: Lund, T. Biology of Reproduction, March 2004; vol 76: pp 1188-1195. Kenneth D. R. Setchell, PhD,Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, Ohio. Vin Tangpricha, MD, PhD, endocrinologist, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta. Vasily Assikis, MD, director, prostate cancer research, Winship Cancer Center of Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta.
